RCAF Station High River
Encyclopedia
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
(RCAF) located at High River
High River, Alberta
High River is a town in southwestern Alberta, Canada with a population of 10,716. It is south of the city of Calgary, at the junction of Alberta Highways 2 and 23...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
The Canadian Air Board
Air Board (Canada)
The Air Board was Canada's first governing body for aviation that existed from 1919 to 1923. The Canadian government established the Air Board by act of Parliament on June 6, 1919 with the purpose of controlling all flying within Canada...
began operating the High River Air Station in January 1921 after having moved the station from Morley
Morley, Alberta
Morley is a First Nations settlement within the Stoney 142/143/144 Indian reserve in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located along the Canadian Pacific Railway between the Trans-Canada Highway and the Bow River, upstream from Ghost Lake. It has an elevation of .The settlement is located in census...
, Alberta, where the weather was discovered to be too erratic and dangerous for flying. In the early days, the station had an entirely civil
Civil aviation
Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work together to establish common standards and recommended practices...
function and was the largest in Canada with ten war-surplus aircraft. In late 1922 when the Air Board and the fledgling Canadian Air Force
Canadian Air Force (1920–1924)
The Canadian Air Force which was formed in 1920, was one of Canada's early attempts at forming an air force. When the Air Board was formed in 1919 to manage Canadian aviation, one of its responsibilities was air defence; the CAF was formed to meet this responsibility...
was reorganized, operations at High River became the responsibility of the Canadian Air Force. And when the Royal Canadian Air Force was formed in 1924, the station became a Royal Canadian Air Force station: RCAF Station High River.
Most of the flying consisted of fire-spotting forestry patrols over the mountains and foothills to the west. The aircraft used was the DH.4. Late in 1924 Avro Viper
Avro 552
-External links:*...
s began to be used, and in 1928 De Havilland Cirrus 60 Moth
De Havilland DH.60 Moth
The de Havilland DH 60 Moth was a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.-Development:The DH 60 was developed from the larger DH 51 biplane...
s were added. Initially, two patrols were made daily, to the Clearwater, Bow and Crowsnest Forest Reserves. One patrol flew north as far as the Clearwater River, and one south to the International Boundary. Eventually substations were built at Pincher Creek
Pincher Creek, Alberta
Pincher Creek is a town in the southwest of Alberta, Canada. It is located immediately east of the Canadian Rockies in the centre of ranching country, north of Waterton Lakes National Park.The town's mayor is Ernie Olsen.- History :...
in the south and Eckville
Eckville, Alberta
Eckville is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located west of Red Deer on Highway 766 just north of Highway 11.- History :Eckville gets its name from the founder Arthur E.T. Eckford, the landowner of the original Eckville. Eckville relocated to its current location in 1912, after the...
in the north to increase patrol efficiency. In 1928, a substation was constructed at Grande Prairie
Grande Prairie, Alberta
Grande Prairie is a city in the northwestern part of the province of Alberta in Western Canada. It is located on the southern edge of the Peace River Country . The city is surrounded by the County of Grande Prairie No...
to enable the patrolling of the Peace River Country
Peace River Country
The Peace River Country is an aspen parkland region around the Peace River in Canada. It spans from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where the region is also referred to as the Peace River Block.- Geography :The Peace River Country includes the...
. Of the early Canadian air stations, High River was the most active, with 215 flights flown on forest patrols.
Other responsibilities of the station included aerial photography
Aerial photography
Aerial photography is the taking of photographs of the ground from an elevated position. The term usually refers to images in which the camera is not supported by a ground-based structure. Cameras may be hand held or mounted, and photographs may be taken by a photographer, triggered remotely or...
, parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
experimentation, aircraft testing, and aerial pesticide spraying. In the early 1920s the station became involved with experimenting with radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
. The most powerful radio transmitter in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
began operating from the High River Air Station in 1922.
After jurisdiction for natural resource management was transferred to the Province of Alberta in 1930, fire towers were built and spotting aircraft were no longer necessary. Fire-spotting patrols gradually ceased. Other activities such as aircraft testing continued until the station closed on March 31, 1931. The station did, however, remain as an aircraft storage facility until the beginning of the Second World War when the station was reactivated to train pilots for wartime service.
RCAF Station High River was a major participant in British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme , was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War...
aircrew training during the war. No. 5 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) was established at High River in 1941 using civilian instructors from the Calgary Aero Club. De Havilland Tiger Moth
De Havilland Tiger Moth
The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft...
s were the first aircraft used. They were later replaced by Fairchild Cornells
Fairchild PT-19
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Mondey, David. American Aircraft of World War II . London: Bounty Books, 2006. ISBN 978-0-7537-1461-4....
. An unprepared emergency and practice landing field was located on the then dry lakebed of nearby Frank Lake.
The High River aerodrome closed in October 1944. The site is no longer a functioning airport and is used for private commercial purposes. It should not be confused with the present High River Airport
High River Airport
High River Regional Airport, , is a registered aerodrome located south southeast of High River, Alberta, Canada.-External links:* * * on COPA's Places to Fly airport directory...
, which is in a different location.