No. 1 General Reconnaissance School RCAF

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Brief History

No. 1 General Reconnaissance School RCAF was a flight training school and part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan that prepared air crews for service in Europe. It operated from Summerside Airfiled on Prince Edward Island using Avro Anson aircraft. The General Reconnaissance School trained pilots and air observers in the techniques required for ocean patrol. It was the equivalent to an Operational training Unit (OTU), and last stop before aircrew were assigned to operations. The topics included DR Navigation, Astro Navigation, Compasses and Instruments, Meteorology, Signals, Reconnaissance, Coding, Ship Recognition, Aerial Photography, and Visual Signals. Aircrew spent 9 weeks at a General Reconnaissance School.

The School was one of many units that participated in the Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. German U-Boats had succeeded in sinking 23 ships in the Gulf and the early reaches of the river, but were continually harassed and disrupted. The actions occurred between May and October 1942, in September 1943, and October - November 1944.

Trainees

• † Ernest Ronald William Oliver 24 Jul - 13 Sep 1943