Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
RCAF Station Port Albert
RCAF Station Port Albert was a Second World War, Royal Canadian Air Force station located near Port Albert, Ontario, Canada in the Ashfield–Colborne–Wawanosh township. The station was home to the Royal Air Force's No. 31 Air Navigation School.
In the summer of 1940 the United Kingdom was faced with the loss of Norway, Denmark, the Low Countries, and France, and the British Isles came under constant air attack by the German air force, in what is known as the Battle of Britain. The British decided to move some of their air training schools elsewhere, and reached an agreement with the Canadians to transfer fourteen training schools to Canada. The first was No. 7 Service Flying Training School from Peterborough, England, which was relocated to Kingston, Ontario as No. 31 Service Flying Training School, and the second was Navigation School No. 48 General Reconnaissance from St. Athan, Wales, which moved to Port Albert as No. 31 Air Navigation School in October 1940. The school opened 18 November 1940 and closed 17 February 1945. The RAF school was integrated into the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in 1942. Like other RAF schools in Canada, it was subject to RCAF administrative and operational control.
The Canadian navigator Group Captain Kenneth C. Maclure developed his method of Grid Navigation while stationed at No. 31 Air Navigation School in 1941, and in 1945, became one of the first men to fly over the North Pole.
In approximately 1942, the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Port Albert, Ontario at 43°53′N 81°42′W / 43.883°N 81.700°W with a variation of 6 degrees west and elevation of 691 ft (211 m). The aerodrome was listed with three runways as follows:
The site came under the control of the Canadian Government's War Assets Corporation, and by the summer of 1949 the buildings had been demolished or sold to other governments and private individuals. The Royal Canadian Branch 309 Lucknow, Ontario building and the Dungannon Agricultural Society hall are both buildings moved from No. 31 Air Navigation School.
Mr. Reg McGee purchased the property in 1950, and for a few years in the late 1950s the London Automobile Sports Club held car races on the runways. McGee's sons sold the site in 1969, and subsequently the airport site has had several more owners, who used it as farmland.
A memorial cairn was erected in 1988 on Highway 21 near the north entrance road to Port Albert.
There are still a few signs of No. 31 on the airfield site in 2017.
Hub AI
RCAF Station Port Albert AI simulator
(@RCAF Station Port Albert_simulator)
RCAF Station Port Albert
RCAF Station Port Albert was a Second World War, Royal Canadian Air Force station located near Port Albert, Ontario, Canada in the Ashfield–Colborne–Wawanosh township. The station was home to the Royal Air Force's No. 31 Air Navigation School.
In the summer of 1940 the United Kingdom was faced with the loss of Norway, Denmark, the Low Countries, and France, and the British Isles came under constant air attack by the German air force, in what is known as the Battle of Britain. The British decided to move some of their air training schools elsewhere, and reached an agreement with the Canadians to transfer fourteen training schools to Canada. The first was No. 7 Service Flying Training School from Peterborough, England, which was relocated to Kingston, Ontario as No. 31 Service Flying Training School, and the second was Navigation School No. 48 General Reconnaissance from St. Athan, Wales, which moved to Port Albert as No. 31 Air Navigation School in October 1940. The school opened 18 November 1940 and closed 17 February 1945. The RAF school was integrated into the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in 1942. Like other RAF schools in Canada, it was subject to RCAF administrative and operational control.
The Canadian navigator Group Captain Kenneth C. Maclure developed his method of Grid Navigation while stationed at No. 31 Air Navigation School in 1941, and in 1945, became one of the first men to fly over the North Pole.
In approximately 1942, the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Port Albert, Ontario at 43°53′N 81°42′W / 43.883°N 81.700°W with a variation of 6 degrees west and elevation of 691 ft (211 m). The aerodrome was listed with three runways as follows:
The site came under the control of the Canadian Government's War Assets Corporation, and by the summer of 1949 the buildings had been demolished or sold to other governments and private individuals. The Royal Canadian Branch 309 Lucknow, Ontario building and the Dungannon Agricultural Society hall are both buildings moved from No. 31 Air Navigation School.
Mr. Reg McGee purchased the property in 1950, and for a few years in the late 1950s the London Automobile Sports Club held car races on the runways. McGee's sons sold the site in 1969, and subsequently the airport site has had several more owners, who used it as farmland.
A memorial cairn was erected in 1988 on Highway 21 near the north entrance road to Port Albert.
There are still a few signs of No. 31 on the airfield site in 2017.