CFD Mountain View

Canadian Forces Detachment Mountain View, also CFD Mountain View,[1] is a Canadian Forces airfield (Trenton/Mountain View Airport) located in Prince Edward County, Ontario, south of Belleville. It is geographically close to CFB Trenton, which has administrative responsibility for the facilities.[2]

CFD Mountain View
Canada
RCAF Station Mountain View, circa 1940s
CFD Mountain View is located in Ontario
CFD Mountain View
CFD Mountain View
Coordinates44.069444°N 77.338056°W / 44.069444; -77.338056
Site information
OwnerDepartment of National Defence
OperatorRoyal Canadian Air Force
Site history
Built1941 (1941)
Garrison information
GarrisonNo. 6 Bombing and Gunnery School

History

World War II

The Mountain View aerodrome opened 23 June 1941 to host No. 6 Bombing and Gunnery School (6 B&GS), one of eleven bombing and gunnery schools that opened across Canada under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during the Second World War.[3][4] Aircraft used included the Anson, Battle, Lysander, Bolingbroke, and Nomad. The station was later designated RCAF Station Mountain View when No. 6 B&GS was renamed the Ground Instruction School and merged with the Air Armament School at RCAF Station Trenton.

Aerodrome information

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Mountain View, Ontario at 44°04′N 77°20′W with a variation of 12 degrees west and elevation of 360 ft (110 m). Three serviceable runways were listed as follows:[5]

Runway name Length Width Surface
6/24 2,500 ft (760 m) 150 ft (46 m) Hard Surfaced
16/34 2,500 ft (760 m) 150 ft (46 m) Hard Surfaced
10/28 2,500 ft (760 m) 150 ft (46 m) Hard Surfaced

Postwar

The RCAF fire fighting school moved to Mountain View from Trenton in 1946, but later moved to RCAF Station Aylmer. Also in 1946, RCAF Station Mountain View became a detachment of RCAF Station Trenton.

CFD Mountain View includes two recognized Federal Heritage building 1986 on the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings.[6]

  • Building 77 / Hangar 1 recognized - 2003
  • Building 82 / Hangar 6 recognized - 2003

Operations

The main use of CFB Trenton Mountain View Detachment is the storage and overhaul of older aircraft. This facility belongs to the Aerospace and Telecommunications Engineering Support Squadron (ATESS) based at Trenton. In September 2000, 8 Wing Trenton opened the Canadian Parachute Centre's (now the Canadian Army Advanced Warfare Centre) drop zone at Mountain View. The Mountain View facility is also used by Central Region Gliding School (CRGS) for Royal Canadian Air Cadets glider training.

A new 4800' gravel runway (06L/24R) was constructed in 2006 to train CC-130 Hercules aircraft crew in landing on unprepared landing strips. A CC-177 Globemaster III demonstrated similar capabilities in 2009.[7]

See also

References
  1. "The precise science of Precision Approach Radar tested at Mountain View" By Holly Bridges, 2 April 2007
  2. Robertson, I. (2013). Camp Picton Wartime to Peacetime. Bloomfield, Ontario: County Magazine Printshop Ltd. ISBN 978-0-9683109-6-0.
  3. Hatch, F. J. (1983). Aerodrome of Democracy: Canada and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan 1939–1945. Ottawa: Canadian Department of National Defence. ISBN 0-660-11443-7.
  4. Hewer, H. (2000). In for a penny, in for a pound: the adventures and misadventures of a wireless operator in Bomber command. Toronto: Stoddart. p. 248. ISBN 077373273X.
  5. Staff writer (c. 1942). Pilots Handbook of Aerodromes and Seaplane Bases Vol. 1. Royal Canadian Air Force. p. 137.
  6. http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/beefp-fhbro/FHB_Rech_Search_e.asp%5B%5D Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings.
  7. "Globemaster III demonstrates STOL capability at Mountain View" By Tom Philp, 5 June 2009
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