RCAF Station Mount Pleasant was a

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) station in Mount Pleasant,

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

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 ...

. Two of its runways remain in use by members of the

Experimental Aircraft Association The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 200,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapt ...

World War II

The aerodrome opened during

World War II 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 ...

in 1940 under the auspices 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 ...

(BCATP). It was intended to serve as a relief landing field for No. 9 Service Flying Training School, which was located at nearby

RCAF Station Summerside Canadian Forces Base Summerside (CFB Summerside) was an air force base located in St. Eleanors, Prince Edward Island, Canada, now part of the city of Summerside. RCAF Station Summerside World War II The airfield was constructed by the Royal Ca ...

. In September 1943, RCAF Station Mount Pleasant evolved from a relief field to a full training facility when it began hosting No. 10 Bombing and Gunnery School (B&GS). Aircraft used for this training include the

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Hi ...

Bristol Bolingbroke The Bristol Fairchild Bolingbroke is a maritime patrol aircraft and trainer used by the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. Built by Fairchild-Canada, it was a license-built version of the Bristol Blenheim Mk IV bomber. De ...

and

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's ...

. No. 10 B&GS ceased operation in June 1945. The airfield was used as a storage depot for a short time before being decommissioned by the RCAF in 1947.

Aerodrome information

The airfield was constructed in the typical BCATP wartime pattern, with runways formed in a triangle. In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed at with a Var. 25 degrees W and elevation of . Three runways were listed as follows:

References

Bruce Forsyth's Canadian Military History page
Canadian Forces bases in Canada (closed) Royal Canadian Air Force stations Airports of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Transport in Prince County, Prince Edward Island Defunct airports in Prince Edward Island Military airbases in Prince Edward Island Military history of Prince Edward Island {{PrinceEdwardIsland-stub