Camp Picton

Current occupants include a skid factory, a hammock store, an archery club, a welding shop, a flying club and a marine shop.

A far cry from what it once was:

It was 1940 and the British were fighting for their very lives. Literally thousands of flyers needed to be trained in an extremely short period of time and the British, quite simply, lacked the necessary aerodrome space to do this. They turned for help to their allies in Canada. Prince Edward County, with its sparse population, long coastline, and the added benefit of being a continent away from prying Nazi eyes, seemed ideal for the location of an RAF Bombing and Gunnery School

Camp Picton was first used in the fall of 1938. Following the start of World War II, the area was expanded as part of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The buildings and runways were built during the summer of 1940. Construction was completed at lightning speed and by November 1940 the RCAF had moved in and were using the base for military training of commercially licensed pilots. In April 1941 the British RAF moved in and by early 1942 had taken over the base. The camp was an excellent training installation. It had several hangars, 2500 foot runways, five bombing ranges and facilities to house close to 1000 officers and airmen.

A tip of the toque to Nicholas at Quotulatiousness, where you can find more pictures like the one above.