Canadian Participation in the Royal Flying Corps National Historic Event of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
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colincan
N 45° 27.487 W 075° 38.688
18T E 449586 N 5034045
Britain trained most of its air force personnel of World War One offshore. Aerodromes were built in Canada. More than 22,000 Canadians joined this service during hostilities and prior to the establishment of the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1924.
Waymark Code: WMZT55
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 01/01/2019
Views: 4
The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was a British aviation institution that preceded the establishment in 1917 of the Royal Air Force. The latter came about through an amalgamation of the existing naval and army air services. Meanwhile Canadians wishing to become military pilots, as necessitated by World War One, had few options. Either they trained on their own dime and went independently to England or they enrolled in the other services and sought a transfer to the air wing. As with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in the Second World War, Britain by 1917 opted to train most of its air squadron personnel outwith its shores. Initially 3 RFC training airbases were established in Canada, rising to 9 by war’s end. Camp Borden, Desoronto and North Toronto all hosted RFC aerodromes. Over 2500 graduated Canadian pilots served overseas in the war, 10 of whom downed thirty or more enemy aircraft in dogfights. Billy Bishop, William Barker and Alan McLeod all won Victoria Crosses resulting from their air exploits. Norman Bethune is another famous Canadian who served for a time at the Camp Borden RFC/RAF facilities. Thousands more Canadians were recruited for less dangerous support roles. By 1924 the RFC antecedents evolved into the Royal Canadian Air Force. Canadian Participation in the Royal Flying Corps was designated of national significance in 2012 and a federal plaque was installed at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in 2018.
Classification: National Historic Event
Province or Territory: Ontario
Location - City name/Town name: Canadian Aviation and Space Museum, Ottawa
Link to Parks Canada entry (must be on www.pc.gc.ca): [Web Link]
Link to HistoricPlaces.ca: Not listed
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