RCAF Station Assiniboia


RCAF Station Assiniboia was a Second World War British Commonwealth Air Training Plan flying training station located near Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was operated and administered by the Royal Canadian Air Force.

History

World War II

RCAF Station Assiniboia became the home station of the Royal Air Force's, No. 34 Elementary Flying Training School on 11 Feb 1942. On 6 Jul 1942 the RAF turned over administration of the School to the Winnipeg Flying Club, operating as the Central Manitoba Flying Training School Ltd. who operated the school until No 34 EFTS was redesignated No. 25 EFTS on 30 January 1944. No. 25 EFTS was operated by the RCAF until it was disbanded on 28 July 1944.
No. 34 EFTS trained pilots using the Cornell aircraft.
No. 25 EFTS used the Fairchild Cornell as their training aircraft.
On 2 Dec 1944 No. 204 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite was established at the station. Other units located at Assiniboia until the end of the war in 1945 include No. 41 Pre-Aircrew Training School, and No. 403 Aircraft Holding Unit.
During World War II RCAF Station Assiniboia produced 2,496 pilots, the majority belonging to the RAF. The station also had a relief landing field, located near Lethburn, Saskatchewan.

Aerodrome information

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Assiniboia, Saskatchewan at with a variation of 18 degrees east and elevation of. Three runways were listed as follows:
Runway NameLengthWidthSurface
1/19Hard surfaced
13/31Hard surfaced
7/25Hard surfaced

Relief landing field – Lethburn

A relief Landing field for RCAF Station Assiniboia was located approximately south. The site was located east of the town of Assiniboia, Saskatchewan.
In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Lethburn, Saskatchewan at with a variation of 18 degrees east and elevation of. The relief field was a square, turf, all way field measuring x.
A review of Google Maps satellite imagery on 7 June 2018 shows no details indicating a airfield at the listed coordinates.

Present day

The aerodrome is now the Assiniboia Airport.