Aerodrome of Democracy

F.J. Hatch Aerodrome of Democracy: Canada and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan 1939-1945 Cover The painting, Looking South on No. 10 R.D. by Peter Whyte, courtesy of the Canadian War Museum, shows a scene at No. 10 Repair Depot, Calgary, Alta. where aircraft from flying training schools in Alberta and the southern part of Saskatchewan were repaired. Although the unit repaired many different types of aircraft the artist centres on Avro An- sons which most likely belonged to No. 3 Service Flying Training School, also at Calgary, and No. 7 at Fort Macleod. Peter Whyte was born at Banff, Alta. and studied art in Los Angeles and Boston. He is unique among war artists in that he found his theme in the flying training schools based on the Canadian Prairies. Maps drawn by William R. Constable Published by Authority of the Minister of National Defence DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE DIRECTORATE OF HISTORY Monograph Series No. 1* * This publication continues, in a revised and enlarged format, the Directorate of History’s series of occasional publications, hitherto known as “Occasional Papers.” Occasional Paper No. 1: T. W. Melnyk, Canadian Flying Operations in South East Asia, 1941- 1945 Occasional Paper No. 2: O. A. Cooke, The Canadian Military Experience, 1867-1967: a Bibli- ography © Minister of Supply and Services Canada 1983 Available in Canada through Authorized Bookstore Agents and other bookstores or by mail from Canadian Government Publishing Centre Supply and Services Canada Ottawa, Canada K1A 0S9 Catalogue No. D63-1-3E Canada: $11.00 ISBN 0-660-11443-7 Other countries: $13.20 Price subject to change without notice Également disponible en français sous le titre LE CANADA, AÉRODROME DE LA DÉMOCRATIE: LE PLAN D’ENTRAÎNEMENT AÉRIEN DU COMMONWEALTH BRITANNIQUE, 1939-1945 F.J. HATCH The Aerodrome of Democracy: Canada and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, 1939-1945 Directorate of History Department of National Defence Ottawa, Canada 1983 “Once in Washington I was even a ghost writer for President Roosevelt, though he may never have known it. The President wished to send a message of congratulation to Mr. King on the third anniversary of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, a project in which Canada now took a great and justifiable pride. I was surprised when a friend on the White House staff, ignoring all rules of diplomatic propriety and without telling the State Department anything, asked me whether I would be kind enough to do a draft of the message for the President. I did. So on 1 January 1943 the Prime Minister of Canada received a very impressive letter lauding Canada as the ‘aerodrome of democracy’ drafted by me but signed by the President of the United States!” L. B. Pearson Mike, The Memoirs of the Right Honorable Lester B. Pearson, University of Toronto Press 1, 1972, 208. iv Acknowledgements The theme of this narrative was first developed to meet the requirements of a doctoral dissertation in military history. Both in the original work and the present study, I am greatly indebted to col- leagues in the Directorate of History, Department of National De- fence, for their guidance, support and criticisms. Mr. Brereton Greenhous, and Dr. Norman Hillmer have been particularly helpful. I am also grateful to Miss M.H. Sabatier for having prepared the French translation, to Dr. J.J.B. Pariseau for having edited the French version and to Mr. W.R. Constable who drew the maps. It must be added that men and women involved in the BCATP as students, instructors or in a ground support role made a most valuable contribution by generously granting interviews, providing photo- graphs and in some cases through published accounts of their experience. F.J.H. Note: In the writing of this volume the author has been given full access to rele- vant official documents in possession of the Department of National Defence; but the inferences drawn and the opinions expressed are those of the author himself, and the Department is in no way responsible for his reading or presentation of the facts as stated. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements........................................................................... v List of Maps and Charts................................................................... ix List of Abbreviations ....................................................................... xi Ranks in the RCAF ........................................................................xiii Introduction (W.A.B Douglas) ....................................................... xv Chapter 1 An Undertaking of Great Magnitude ................ 1 2 The Plan Takes Shape..................................... 33 3 ‘A Bit of Panic’ 1940-1941............................. 47 4 The RAF Schools............................................ 61 5 Americans and the BCATP............................. 81 6 A New Agreement - 1942............................... 99 7 Pilot Training in the BCATP ........................ 113 8 The Other Members of the Aircrew Team.... 159 9 The ‘Manpower Crisis’ of 1943 and Curtailment of Air Training.......................... 177 Epilogue ........................................................................................ 195 Appendices A Statistical Analysis of Aircrew Graduates .... 199 B Summary Of Aircrew Graduates .................. 202 C Flying Training Establishments .................... 203 D Principal Ground Establishments and Support Units Of The BCATP...................... 207 Index ............................................................................................. 209 vii List of Maps and Charts PAGE Table A-1 EFTS and SFTS opened in 1940 - 1941........................ 52 Table A-2 Usual Sequence of Pilot Training in the BCATP........ 120 BCATP - Pilot Training Schools - Eastern Canada ............................................................. 121 - Western Canada............................................................ 122 BCATP - Non-pilot Aircrew Training Schools ............................ 170 Table A-3 Summary of BCATP Costs and Contributions............ 196 ix List of Abbreviations AFU Advanced Flying Unit AP Air Publication ANS Air Navigation School AOS Air Observer School BCATP British Commonwealth Air Training Plan BFTS British Flying Training School BGS Bombing and Gunnery School CAS Chief of the Air Staff CFS Central Flying School DCER Documents on Canadian External Relations DFC Distinguished Flying Cross DHist Directorate of History, Department of National Defence DOT Department of Transport DSC Distinguished Service Cross DSO Distinguished Service Order EFTS Elementary Flying Training School HQ Headquarters ITS Initial Training School OTU Operational Training School PAC Public Archives of Canada PRO Public Records Office RAF Royal Air Force RAAF Royal Australian Air Force RCAF Royal Canadian Air Force RDF Radio Direction Finding xi RNAS Royal Naval Air Service RNZAF Royal New Zealand Air Force RS Reconnaissance School SFTS Service Flying Training School USAAC United States Army Air Corps (before June 1942) USAF United States Army Air Forces (after June 1942) VHF Very High Frequency WETP War Emergency Training Plan WS Wireless School xii Ranks in the RCAF Boy Boy Aircraftman, 2nd Class AC2 Aircraftman, 1st Class AC1 Leading Aircraftman LAC Corporal Cpl Sergeant Sgt Flight Sergeant Flt Sgt Warrant Officer, Class II WO II Warrant Officer, Class I WO I Pilot Officer P/O Flying Officer F/O Flight Lieutenant F/L Squadron Leader S/L Wing Commander W/C Group Captain G/C Air Commodore A/C Air Vice-Marshal A/V/M Air Marshal A/M Air Chief Marshal A/C/M xiii Introduction This book is one in a series of occasional publications in Cana- dian military history, and the first in the Directorate of History’s Monograph Series. It describes the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), a scheme that produced more than 130,000 trained aircrew for the Allies during the Second World War. The training took place in Canada, and the Royal Canadian Air Force was the controlling authority. It is a subject of considerable impor- tance because, in aerial warfare, an effective training programme is the key to success. All other requirements, such as equipment, intel- ligence, tactical innovation and strategic advantage, are of limited value without adequately trained personnel. The official history of the RCAF will also address itself to the subject, but not in comparable detail. It is necessary in the official history to compress and adapt detail, to place it in context with other aspects of air force activities, politics, and strategic developments. Dr. Fred Hatch has devoted many years to his examination of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, and he has accordingly been asked to prepare an account that will make the record of a major air training programme during the Second World War available to students of military aviation. They will find it an important source. The first volume of the official history, Canadian Airmen and the First World War, by S.F. Wise, describes how Canada became a major centre of air training for the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force in 1917 and 1918. That experience did not, however, lead inevitably to the scheme developed between 1939 and 1945. There were large differences. In 1917 the “Imperial Royal Flying Corps”, as its representatives styled it in Canada, established itself in the country by an administrative agreement with the Canadian government through the good offices of the Chief of General Staff, Major General Willoughby

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