BCATP info sought

[rob love]

A little off the main subject, but Old Wives Lake is still an area where Canadian student pilots from Moose Jaw, along with the aerobatics team "SnowBirds", fly over for training. I got to go on a few crash calls to the area. It is ideal as there is very little for the aircraft to hit if they do go down.

[Keith Webb]

No2 ITS was at Bradfield Park and it was also the embarkation depot. No1 ITS was at Somers in Victoria. No3 was in Queensland and 4 was in South Australia. From places like these the trainees went to their various musterings.

For pilots the NSW EFTS (Elementary Flying Training Schools) were:

4 EFTS Mascot New South Wales

5 EFTS Narromine New South Wales

6 EFTS Tamworth New South Wales

8 EFTS Narrandera New South Wales

10 EFTS Temora New South Wales

10 EFTS is where I'm writing to you from right now.

Then there were many other WAGS, BAGS, AOS and technical training schools all over the place.

[japes]

As Rob said in an earlier post, a little off topic but...The old BCATP base at Mossbank is now the local golf course. Some of the runways and taxiways are still there but for the most part unrecognizable. Only one building still exists and I believe that it is used as the clubhouse. There is a plaque recognizing it's former history out front by the highway. A few years ago, during a particularly bad drought, the remains of an Anson were recovered off the dry lake bed as well as practice bombs, MG links and other bits from it's days as #2 B&G. It's quite amazing to think that such a large lake was actually dry not that many years ago.
On a more sobering note, there are still a couple of Aussies that never left Mossbank buried in the local cemetery. If I remember correctly they crashed while trying to find the base in a fog. I can pass on names etc if anyone is interested.

J.P. Brescacin