Canadian+Air+Force+in+WW2

= = ~Canada's Air Force in WW2~

====The threat of an air or naval attack by Japan in the west or by Germany in the east prompted the Canadian government to make territorial defence its military priority. Canada also took on the responsibility of training pilots from all parts of the British Commonwealth: the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan became of such vital importance that on its account Canada was referred to as “the aerodrome of Democracy”.====

====In 1939 the Canadian Government still hoped that the overseas involvement of its air force would remain limited; the fall of France and the ensuing Battle of Britain, however, forced a radical revision of priorities. Fighter and bomber squadrons from the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) were sent abroad to join the RAF(Royal Air Force), playing a significant role in protecting the British Empire, and later in attacking Nazi Germany. To fulfill its mission, the RCAF could count on the support of its numerous female auxiliaries, as well as on the contribution of civilian workers. Military and civilian personnel worked together to fly overseas the airplanes built in American and Canadian factories.====

The British Commonwealth Air Training Program.
Canada has wide-open spaces, well protected by their remoteness from possible hostile intrusions. Its population, among the largest in the British Commonwealth, can provide many recruits. Canada’s industrial infrastructure can produce airframes for training planes. Towards the end of the 1930s, Canada met all the requirements to become the training ground for the air force that the defence of the British Empire demand ed.

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In response to the growing threat of a war between Japan and the Unites States, the Royal Canadian Air Force established Western Air Command on March 1st, 1938, and started building facilities to support a Pacific Coast-based air force. Following the Munich crisis, the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) set up Eastern Air Command (EAC) on September 15th, 1938, and prepared a new defence plan that included building bases and deploying squadrons in the Maritimes. British military doctrine viewed fighter squadrons as a defensive weapon, to be used in case Great Britain were to be attacked, while bombers were to serve the offensive. It is only after the successes of the Battle of Britain that the Royal Air Force used fighters in offensive operations. For the Army, fighters had a support role to play in both defensive and offensive ground actions. =====

RCAF Anti-Submarine Overseas Squadron Fighters
The Canadian government shared the British view with regard to strategic bombing and the Royal Canadian Air Force assigned more squadrons to Bomber Command than it did to Fighter Command or to Coastal Command. In all, 15 Canadian bomber squadrons were formed in Great Britain. 