A note on the Operational Training Unit

As noted in the last installment, Kittyhawk 877 was with the Fighter Affiliation Flight of 5 Operational Training Unit. 5 OTU was established on April 1, 1944 at RCAF Boundary Bay, British Columbia, which is situated just south of Vancouver. The airfield had been previously occupied by 33 Elementary Flight Training School which was disbanded and 132 Squadron flying Kittyhawks, which moved to Pat Bay. British Columbia, The OTU was tasked with training Canadian and British B 24 Liberator crews for the SEAC Liberator squadrons. The initial strength was 40 B25D Mitchells for introductory training, 3 Bolingbrokes for target towing and 17 Liberator BVI’s. The Liberator B VI was the equivelent to the B 24J. The unit soon outgrew the facilities at Boundary Bay and was divided between two airfields. While the Mitchells, Kittyhawks, Bolingbrokes and a flight of Liberators used for gunnery training remained at Boundary Bay, the majority of the B24’s moved to RCAF Abbotsford, British Columbia. Abbotsford is located 50 km east of Boundary Bay and had been the home of 24 Elementary Flight School, which was moved to Saskatchewan. 5 OTU moved to Abbotsford on August 15, 1944 and the transfer of ground crew included LAC Walter Gates. The OTU continued to grow and in 1945 it was operating 43 Mitchells, 38 Liberators, of which 24 were in Abbotsford, and 12 Kittyhawks. Of note is that all 59 Liberator BVI’s delivered to the RCAF would serve with 5 OTU. With the end of the war in Europe, 5 OTU was to become a Lancaster training unit to supply crews for the planned invasion of Japan. The first aircraft arrived in Abbotsford from Europe on July29, 1945. The final Liberator course, course 29 was made up of the instructors who were veterans who had completed their tours of duty as well as Liberator ground crew from 5 OTU. Walter Gates was trained as a flight engineer. Although the nuclear option ended the war with Japan, the final course was completed on August 20, 1945. Following this, 5 OTU was disbanded and Abbotsford became a storage site for the Liberators until their disposal.