Royal Canadian Air Force

The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was the air force of Canada from 1924 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Armed Forces. The modern Canadian air force has been known as Canadian Forces Air Command (AIRCOM) since 1975, but still refers to itself as the "Air Force" and maintains many of the traditions of the RCAF.

History

WWI and the formation years

Canada's first aircraft, the AEA Silver Dart, in flight

The aviation age came to Canada on February 23, 1909, when Alexander Graham Bell's Silver Dart took off from the ice of Bras d'Or Lake at Baddeck, Nova Scotia with J.D. McCurdy at the controls. This flight was the first "controlled powered flight" (also the first flight of a "heavier than air craft") in the British Empire. The craft also set other firsts with a March 10, 1909 flight of over 20 miles around Baddeck and on August 2, 1909, the Silver Dart made the first passenger flight in Canada and the British Empire.

Despite these successes, the craft was similar to many early aircraft of the day and had poor control characteristics. "The Canadian Army was unimpressed at the headway made by the group. The general impression of the time was that airplanes would never amount to much in actual warfare. One official felt otherwise, and the group was finally invited to Camp Petawawa, to demonstrate their machine. The sandy terrain of the Ottawa River valley proved to be the wrong thing for an aircraft with landing wheels about 2 inches in diameter, and there was great difficulty taking off. Worse still, on the fifth flight McCurdy wrecked the craft on landing when one wheel struck a rise in the ground. Thus ended the career of the Silver Dart."[1]

Several years later, the beginning of the First World War on August 4, 1914, found Canada immediately embroiled in the conflict by virtue of Britain's declaration. Some European nations were using airplanes for military purposes and Canada's Minister of Militia and Defence, Sam Hughes, who was organizing the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), enquired if London required had any need for aviators. London answered with a request for six experienced pilots immediately, but Hughes was unable to fill the requirement.

Hughes did authorize the creation of a small aviation unit to accompany the CEF to Britain and on September 16, 1914, the Canadian Aviation Corps was formed with two officers, one mechanic, and $5000 to purchase a biplane from a Massachusetts company for delivery to Quebec City. The plane was delivered on October 1, 1914, and was shipped immediately with the CEF. On arrival in Britain, the biplane was transported to Salisbury Plain where the CEF was marshalled for training. The craft never flew. It quickly deteriorated in the damp winter climate and was written off. On May 7, 1915, the Canadian Aviation Corps was decommissioned.

In 1915, Britain asked the Dominions to consider training crew to serve with the Royal Flying Corps, but Canada did not act on the request until 1918 (likely owing to other war priorities). During this period, Canadians served with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service producing such greats as William Barker, W.A. "Billy" Bishop, Roy Brown, and Wilfrid "Wop" May. In spring 1918, the Canadian government proposed forming a wing of eight squadrons for service with the Canadian Corps in France, but Britain felt the disruption to their war effort by relocating Canadian pilots and mechanics from their own air service was not worth the effort. Britain was short of ground crew; and so, Canadians filled this void for several months until August 5, 1918, when the British Air Ministry formed two Canadian squadrons (one bomber, one fighter). On September 19, 1918, the Canadian government authorized the creation of the Canadian Air Force to take control of these two squadrons under the command of Canada's Lieutenant-Colonel W.A. Bishop, the leading ace of the British Empire and the first Canadian aviator awarded the Victoria Cross.

Several weeks previous, on September 5, 1918, the government authorized the Royal Canadian Navy to form the Royal Canadian Naval Air Service (RCNAS), with a main function to carry out anti-submarine operations using "flying boat" patrol aircraft. The U.S. Navy's Naval Air Station Halifax, located on the eastern shores of the harbour at Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, was acquired, but following the November 11, 1918, Armistice, the RCNAS was decommissioned.

The infant Canadian Air Force had planned to form six additional squadrons in Europe, but the Armistice also disrupted these plans and in late November, the existing two squadrons were merely upgraded with new aircraft. The following spring, on June 19, 1919, the Canadian government decided against a permanent, peacetime air force and in January 1920, the two squadrons were disbanded and equipment shipped back to Canada. On February 5, 1920, the Canadian Air Force was disbanded.

Inter-war years

Following the lead of using the Royal Canadian Navy for civilian purposes in aiding federal departments during the 1920s, it was decided to create an air service for the same purposes and on April 1, 1924, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was formed to take on tasks of anti-smuggling patrols, forest fire watches, aerial forest spraying, and surveying/aerial photography. The birthplace of the RCAF was at Camp Borden in Ontario's Muskoka region north of Toronto, but headquartered in Ottawa.

On May 25, 1925, the following squadrons were authorized for civil duties:
* No. 1 Flying Training Station — Camp Borden, Ontario
* No. 1 (Operations) Wing — Winnipeg, Manitoba
* No. 1 (Operations) Squadron — Vancouver, British Columbia
* No. 2 (Operations) Squadron — High River, Alberta
* No. 3 (Operations) Squadron — Ottawa, Ontario
* No. 4 (Operations) Squadron — Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Disagreement arising in government about having the RCAF perform civil air operations led to the 1927 creation of the Directorate of Civil Government Air Operations (DCGAO), and RCAF operations squadrons were transferred to DCGAO, leaving the RCAF with a headquarters, two training stations, and five training squadrons. Following the decision to remove civil duties from the Royal Canadian Navy in the mid-1930s and return that organization to a purely military operation, in 1936, it was decided the RCAF should follow suit. The Department of Transport (Canada) was formed to handle the federal government's civil aviation and marine policies (and operations), although RCAF maintained control of aerial photography.

During the late 1930s, the RCAF undertook to create military squadrons with an authorized peacetime strength of 23 squadrons (11 operational, the remainder being training). Training took place at the following locations:
* RCAF Station Borden (landplane training)
* RCAF Station Vancouver (seaplane training)

World War II

The outbreak of the Second World War saw the RCAF only fielding eight of its eleven permanent operational squadrons but by October 1939, 15 squadrons were available (12 for homeland defence, three for overseas service). There were over 20 different types of aircraft at this point, over half being for training or transport, and the RCAF started the war with only 29 front-line fighter and bomber aircraft. By the end of the war, the RCAF would be the fourth largest allied air force.

On 15 August 1940, 1 (Canadian) Squadron became the first RCAF unit in action.

During the war, the RCAF had the following three key responsibilities:
* British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), Canada's massive contribution to training military aviators would see the RCAF expand to a ubiquitous presence across the country
* Home War Establishment (HWE), fielding 37 squadrons for coastal defence, protection of shipping, air defence and other duties in Canada
* Overseas War Establishment (OWE), headquartered in London, fielding 48 squadrons serving with the Royal Air Force in Western Europe, the Mediterranean and the Far East

The RCAF played key roles in the Battle of Britain, antisubmarine warfare during the Battle of the Atlantic, the bombing campaigns against German industries, and close support of Allied forces during the Battle of Normandy and subsequent land campaigns in northwest Europe.

The RCAF reached peak strength of 215,000 (all ranks) in January 1944 (including 15,000 women). Of that total, 100,000 were training air and ground personnel in the BCATP, 65,000 with HWE, and 46,000 with OWE. At that time there were 78 squadrons, 43 at home, 35 overseas. According to the RCAF's official history, 13,657 personnel were killed or died and a further 1889 were declared missing. One fact which is often overlooked is the number of pilots and aircrews killed in flight accidents (including training accidents.) Over 3,000 RCAF personnel lost their lives in flight accidents.

On the homefront, the R.C.A.F. developed a volunteer organization called the Aircraft Identity Corps. Because there were no radars early in the war, the R.C.A.F. developed the Aircraft Identity Corps for the early detection of enemy aircraft.

Cold War

By spring 1945, the BCATP was discontinued and the RCAF was reduced to 165,000 (all ranks) and by VJ Day on September 2, 1945, it was proposed that the RCAF maintain a peacetime strength of 16,000 (all ranks). By the end of 1947 the RCAF had five squadrons and 12,000 personnel (all ranks). The RCAF, along with the RCNAS, also began fielding Canada's first front-line fighter jet aircraft during the latter half of the 1940s.

The CF-100 "Canuck" was the mainstay of Canada's interceptor force early in the Cold War.

The Cold War and the Korean War saw the peacetime plan disrupted and the RCAF grew to 54,000 (all ranks) by 1954 and reached a 1955 peak of 41 squadrons. The Soviet nuclear threat posed by a growing bomber fleet in the early 1950s saw the USAF and RCAF partner to build the Pinetree Line network of early warning radar stations across Canada at roughly the 50° north parallel of latitude with additional stations along the east and west coasts. This was expanded in the mid-1950s with the building of the Mid-Canada Line at roughly the 55° north parallel and finally in the late-1950s and into the early 1960s the DEW Line was built across the Arctic regions of North America. The nature of the Soviet bomber threat and of other hostile incursions into North American airspace saw an RCAF and USAF partnership in the creation of the North American Air (Aerospace, after 1981) Defence Command (NORAD) which was formed on August 1, 1957.

The Soviet threat to Europe also saw the RCAF filling a large part of NATO's air forces during the early-mid 1950s with the backbone being the Avro CF-100 Canuck and Canadair built Sabre (F-86) fighter jets. At its peak in the early 1960s, No. 1 RCAF Air Division consisted of four wings made up of twelve squadrons.

The Soviet bomber threat posed to North America also saw the RCAF begin the development of Canada's most famous (and infamous) military aircraft, the Avro CF-105 Arrow fighter-interceptor. The changing nature of the Soviet threat from bombers to ICBMs in the late 1950s saw the CF-105 programme scrapped in favour of Bomarc nuclear-tipped anti-aircraft missiles. The RCAF underwent further changes as its 1950s-era aircraft began to be retired and replaced with smaller numbers of second-generation aircraft (the CF-101 Voodoo armed with the AIR-2 Genie nuclear-armed air-to-air missile, and CF-104 Starfighter).

By the late 1960s, the RCAF was actively involved in the aerial defence of Canada, North America, and Europe, as well as performing maritime coastal patrols on Canada's east and west coasts as part of anti-submarine operations, and finally, the RCAF was heavily involved with the USAF in operating radar early warning stations across Canada.

Unification

On February 1, 1968, the Royal Canadian Air Force was merged with the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Army to form the Canadian Armed Forces.

Initially air force and naval aviation units were scattered among five commands of the new force, but in 1975, Canadian Forces Air Command (AIRCOM) was created, and most aviation units were placed under it. AIRCOM preserves many traditions of the RCAF, such as the RCAF tartan and the command march, "RCAF March Past." In 1988, Canadian air force personnel returned to the traditional light-blue uniform colour of the RCAF and in 1993, air force formations called wings were reintroduced within AIRCOM, echoing the similar structure of the RCAF thirty years previously. However, the army-style ranks were retained and the RAF-derived RCAF ranks and insignia were not re-adopted.

Ranks

The Royal Canadian Air Force used a rank structure similar to the Royal Air Force's. The RCAF ranks, in English and French, were:
* Air Chief Marshal / maréchal en chef de l'Air
* Air Marshal / maréchal de l'Air
* Air Vice-Marshal / vice-maréchal de l'Air
* Air Commodore / commodore de l'Air
* Group Captain / colonel d'aviation
* Wing Commander / lieutenant-colonel d'aviation
* Squadron Leader / commandant d'aviation
* Flight Lieutenant / capitaine d'aviation
* Flying Officer / lieutenant d'aviation
* Pilot Officer / sous-lieutenant d'aviation
* Officer Cadet / élève-officier
* Warrant Officer, class 1 / adjudant de 1^re classe
* Warrant Officer, class 2 / adjudant de 2^e classe
* Flight Sergeant / sergent de section
* Sergeant / sergent
* Corporal / caporal
* Leading Aircraftman / aviateur-chef
* Aircraftman / aviateur

Symbols

The RCAF Ensign.

The ensign of the Royal Canadian Air Force was based on the ensign of the Royal Air Force, a light (sky) blue ensign, but with the Canadian roundel. The roundel was a version of the British roundel which has a red inner circle. The maple leaf replaces the inner circle to give it a distinctive Canadian character.

External links

* RCAF.com — The History & Heritage
* Canadian World War II Newspaper Archives — The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
* RCAF Memorial Museum, Trenton, Ontario, Canada
* The Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association
* Sabre Pilot's Association of the Air Division (SPAADS)
* Canadian Starfighter Association

Royal Canadian Air Force: Encyclopedia BETA

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