RCAF Station Davidson was a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

air training station located near

Davidson, Saskatchewan Davidson is a town in south central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located south-east of Saskatoon beside provincial highway 11 as well as Highway 44, in the rural municipality of Arm River. It is located approximately halfway between Saskatoon ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

History

World War II

The

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

(RCAF), opened No. 23 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) at RCAF Station Davidson on 9 November 1942. The school and station were a component of the

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zea ...

. The school was relocated to

RCAF Station Yorkton RCAF Station Yorkton was a Second World War air training station located near Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada. History World War II The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), opened No. 11 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) at RCAF Station Yorkton o ...

19 January 1945 and the station was decommissioned shortly thereafter. No. 23 EFTS was the only RCAF operated EFTS in Canada, and was twice the size of all but 2 EFTS. The school produced 1,513 pilots of whom 973 were RCAF and 540

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Aerodrome information

The airfield was constructed in the typical BCATP wartime pattern, with three runways formed in a triangle. In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Davidson, Saskatchewan at with a variation of 19 degrees east and elevation of . Three runways were under construction (serviceable) and listed as follows:

Relief landing field – Davidson West

The only relief landing field for RCAF Station Davidson was located west of the community of Davidson, Saskatchewan. The relief field was constructed in the typical triangular pattern but was listed on decommissioning of the facility as a turf all way field. The cost to develop the aerodrome was $60,673.39. The aerodrome was located on approximately 78 acres of the south west quarter of section 36 in township 26 in range 1, west of the 3rd meridian. Using tools on the Saskatchewan Land titles web page this land description was able to be cross referenced to . The aerodrome was declared surplus on 15 June 1945 and was officially turned over to the Department of Transportation on 31 October 1945.

Other occupants

The RCAF Women's Division arrived at the school on 17 May 1943. No. 205 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite was established at the Station on 1 April 1945.

Postwar

Current status

All that remains are cement foundations and the gun butt. From a survey of the location on google maps on 8 Jun 2018 it appears that two of the three runways are badly deteriorated with the last in better condition. several buildings appear to have been built on the old runways.

References

External links

Bruce Forsyth's Canadian Military History Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

Military airbases in Saskatchewan Canadian Forces bases in Canada (closed)

Defunct airports in Saskatchewan Military history of Saskatchewan