RCAF Station Tofino
Encyclopedia
When Japan entered the Second World War
the emphasis shifted from Europe to the Pacific Ocean. On Vancouver Island
we had a sea plane
base at Patricia Bay. The RCAF, due to the threat of Japanese incendiary balloons established an airfield at Tofino BC. First access was by logging road and water. An airfield was built that exists to this day for the purpose of shooting down incendiary balloons, basically firebombs that followed the air currents. When they landed they were supposed to start forest fires
. An air base was built and a complete squadron was stationed there, at that time virtually in the middle of no-where. One day a call came in that there was a Japanese balloon floating overhead. The lady that called it in said it was so close that she could read the Japanese writing on it. The squadron was dispatched. Imagine their surprise to only find a boy flying a huge box kite
with "Freddy" written on it. They didn't shoot it down, if they did it would have made a great story for some small kid to tell. From then on they were known as "The Kite Squadron".
Because of the terrain of Vancouver Island the mountains formed a hazard to pilots flying them. Most pilots in the area had only flown a short time, not to mention, never in mountains. There were a number of significant crashes, so the secondary responsibility appears to have been crash sight location and investigation. But, not one single incendiary balloon was ever recorded in our area.
The way that pilots could take off rapidly often consisted of bouncing the plane to get it airborne. One incident resulted in the ultimate collapse of the undercarriage. A photograph exists in a private collection of them actually landing one plane on top of another. It had only been known to have happened once before in Australia. Another number of incidents resulted in pilots landing on the nearby beach.
At the end of the war the station was de-commissioned and virtually abandoned. However, it is now the municipal airport for the Town of Tofino, and many buildings survived for many years.
This story is from my father who was Station Sargent and anyone wanting further information is invited to contact me at thomas.wagner@shaw.ca
The RCAF Base at Tofino was operational until at least 1958.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the emphasis shifted from Europe to the Pacific Ocean. On Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
we had a sea plane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
base at Patricia Bay. The RCAF, due to the threat of Japanese incendiary balloons established an airfield at Tofino BC. First access was by logging road and water. An airfield was built that exists to this day for the purpose of shooting down incendiary balloons, basically firebombs that followed the air currents. When they landed they were supposed to start forest fires
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
. An air base was built and a complete squadron was stationed there, at that time virtually in the middle of no-where. One day a call came in that there was a Japanese balloon floating overhead. The lady that called it in said it was so close that she could read the Japanese writing on it. The squadron was dispatched. Imagine their surprise to only find a boy flying a huge box kite
Box kite
A box kite is a high-performance kite, noted for developing relatively high lift; it is a type within the family of cellular kites. The typical design has four parallel struts. The box is made rigid with diagonal crossed struts. There are two sails, or ribbons, whose width is about a quarter of the...
with "Freddy" written on it. They didn't shoot it down, if they did it would have made a great story for some small kid to tell. From then on they were known as "The Kite Squadron".
Because of the terrain of Vancouver Island the mountains formed a hazard to pilots flying them. Most pilots in the area had only flown a short time, not to mention, never in mountains. There were a number of significant crashes, so the secondary responsibility appears to have been crash sight location and investigation. But, not one single incendiary balloon was ever recorded in our area.
The way that pilots could take off rapidly often consisted of bouncing the plane to get it airborne. One incident resulted in the ultimate collapse of the undercarriage. A photograph exists in a private collection of them actually landing one plane on top of another. It had only been known to have happened once before in Australia. Another number of incidents resulted in pilots landing on the nearby beach.
At the end of the war the station was de-commissioned and virtually abandoned. However, it is now the municipal airport for the Town of Tofino, and many buildings survived for many years.
This story is from my father who was Station Sargent and anyone wanting further information is invited to contact me at thomas.wagner@shaw.ca
The RCAF Base at Tofino was operational until at least 1958.