List of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facilities in Canada

This article contains a List of Facilities of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) in Canada. The BCATP was a major program for training Allied air crews during the Second World War that was administered by the Government of Canada, and commanded by the Royal Canadian Air Force with the assistance of a board of representatives from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.Hatch 1983

Schools and facilities were set up at 231 locations across Canada.Forsyth, Bruce. "A Short History of Abandoned and Downsized Canadian Military Bases." Canadian Military History by Bruce Forsyth, 1998. Retrieved: 24 August 2013. Many of these facilities were airfields, and some were existing airports like the Edmonton Municipal Airport. In December 1939, the Canadian government identified 24 existing airfields that could be used, leaving 80 new ones to be built. Classroom facilities with residences were commandeered from universities, colleges, and other provincial institutions. Basic training facilities were commandeered from private schools and municipal governments. These "borrowed" facilities were augmented with new construction as required.For example, Wireless Schools required a shooting range. At No. 4 WS in Guelph, an "armament building" was constructed on the Ontario Agricultural College grounds.

Planning and operation of facilities There were four phases to the acquisition, construction, and operation of BCATP facilities:

the beginning as specified in the Riverdale Agreement of 17 December 1939 an expansion as a result of the move of RAF facilities to Canada starting in July 1940After the Fall of France the British government decided to move RAF assets out of the United Kingdom to Canada together with their RAF personnel. The first unit to move was No. 7 Service Flying Training School from Peterborough, England, which sailed for Canada on 29 August 1940. No. 7 re-opened on 7 October 1940 at Kingston, Ontario as No. 31 SFTS. All the RAF schools moved to Canada were given numbers with "31" or above to distinguish them from the original BCATP schools. The RCAF controlled their administration and operations. Starting in 1942 the RAF schools officially became part of the BCATPHatch 1983, pp. 62, 68, 69

An example of this is the Elementary Flying Training School at De Winton, Alberta. It began as a transplanted RAF school run by RAF personnel. It opened on 18 June 1941 as No. 31 EFTS. On 13 July 1942, it was taken over by the Toronto Flying Club under contract to the RCAF. an expansion as a result of the Ottawa conference of May and June 1942 closures as a result of the decision to begin winding down in November 1943 and terminate the plan on 29 March 1945

BCATP activities were managed through four Training Commands. Each command was responsible for activities in a region of Canada:

No. 1 Toronto, Ontario,Headquarters was at Prudential House, 55 York St., Toronto covered southern Ontario No. 2 Winnipeg, Manitoba, covered northwestern Ontario, all of Manitoba, and part of Saskatchewan No. 3 Montreal, Quebec, covered Quebec and the Maritimes No. 4 Regina, Saskatchewan, covered most of Saskatchewan, and all of Alberta and British Columbia: moved to Calgary, Alberta, in October 1941

Manning Depots Trainees began their military careers at a Manning DepotLougheed 2002. where they learned to bathe, shave, shine boots, polish buttons, maintain their uniforms, and otherwise behave in the required manner. There were two hours of physical education every day and instruction in marching, rifle drill, foot drill, saluting, and other routines.

Remedial high school education was offered to bring 17- and 18-year-old trainees up to the RCAF academic level. There was also a standard aptitude test: the RCAF Classification Test.

After four or five weeks, a selection committee decided whether the trainee would be placed in the aircrew or groundcrew stream. Aircrew "Wireless Air Gunner" candidates went directly to a Wireless School. "Air Observer" and "Pilot" aircrew candidates went to an Initial Training School.

Trainees were often assigned "tarmac duty" to keep busy. Some were sent to factories to count nuts and bolts; others were sent to flying schools and other RCAF facilities to guard things, clean things, paint things, and polish things. Tarmac duty could last several months or more.

The No. 1 Manning Depot in Toronto was the Coliseum Building on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds, which accommodated up to 5,000 personnel.

No. 1 Toronto, Ontario No. 1a Picton, Ontario No. 2 Brandon, Manitoba, moved to Swift Current, Saskatchewan No. 2a Penhold, Alberta No. 3 Edmonton, Alberta No. 4 Quebec City, Quebec No. 4a Saint-Hubert, Quebec No. 5 Lachine, Quebec No. 6 Toronto, Ontario,No. 6 was opened at the original site of Havergal College, 354 Jarvis St., Toronto (Women's Division, October 1941 – May 1942)Ziegler 1973. No. 7 Rockcliffe, Ontario (Women's Division, Fall 1942) No. 8 Souris, Manitoba (4 January 1943 – 1 June 1943)

Aircrew training facilities

Pre-Aircrew Education Detachments Pre-Aircrew Education Detachments (PAED) provided academic training in mathematics, physics, English, and other subjects requested by the RCAF for potential aircrew recruits lacking the necessary education. They greatly reduced the percentage of failures at Initial Training Schools (ITS). PAED were established on university campuses across the country.

No. 2 University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta No. 4 University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia No. 9 McGill University. Montreal, Quebec No. 15 Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, OntarioNo. 4 Wireless School administered No. 15 PAED No. 18 Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario No. 20 University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan No. 23 University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario No. 25 Brandon College, Brandon, Manitoba

Initial Training Schools

Pilot and Air Observer candidates began their 26- or 28-week training program with four weeks at an Initial Training School (ITS).Scherer 1941, pp. 4–8.Dunmore 1994, They studied theoretical subjects and were subjected to a variety of tests. Theoretical studies included navigation, theory of flight, meteorology, duties of an officer, air force administration, algebra, and trigonometry. Tests included an interview with a psychiatrist, the 4-hour-long M2 physical examination, a session in a decompression chamber, and a "test flight" in a Link Trainer, as well as academic tests. At the end of the course, the postings were announced. Occasionally candidates were re-routed to the Wireless Air Gunner stream at the end of ITS.

No. 1 Eglinton Hunt Club, Toronto, Ontario No. 2 Regina College & Regina Normal School, Regina, Saskatchewan No. 3 Sacred Heart College, Victoriaville, Quebec No. 4 Edmonton Normal School, Edmonton, Alberta No. 5 Ontario Provincial School for the Deaf, Belleville, Ontario No. 6 Toronto Board of Education, Toronto, Ontario No. 7 Saskatoon Normal School & Bedford Road Collegiate, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Elementary Flying Training Schools

An Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) gave a trainee 50 hours of basic flying instruction on a simple trainer like the De Havilland Tiger Moth, Fleet Finch, or Fairchild Cornell over 8 weeks. Elementary schools were operated by civilian flying clubs under contract to the RCAF, and most of the instructors were civilians. For example, No. 12 EFTS Goderich was run by the Kitchener-Waterloo Flying Club and the County of Huron Flying Club. The next step for a pilot was the Service Flying Training School.

No. 1 Malton, Ontario (Moth) No. 2 Fort William, Ontario (Moth) No. 3 London, Ontario (Finch) No. 4 Windsor Mills, Quebec, (Finch and Moth) at Saint-François-Xavier-de-Brompton, Quebec No. 5 Lethbridge, Alberta, moved to High River, Alberta (Moth and Cornell) No. 6 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (Moth and Cornell) No. 7 Windsor, Ontario (Finch, Cornell) No. 8 Vancouver, British Columbia (Moth) No. 9 St. Catharines, Ontario (Moth) No. 10 Hamilton, Ontario, moved to Pendleton, Ontario (Moth, Finch and Cornell at Pendleton) No. 11 Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec (Finch and Cornell) No. 12 Goderich, Ontario (Finch) No. 13 St. Eugene, Ontario (Finch, Cornell) No. 14 Portage la Prairie, Manitoba (Moth and Finch) No. 15 Regina, Saskatchewan (Moth and Cornell) No. 16 Edmonton, Alberta (Moth and Finch) No. 17 Stanley, Nova Scotia (Finch and Moth) No. 18 Boundary Bay, British Columbia (Moth) No. 19 Virden, Manitoba (Moth and Cornell) No. 20 Oshawa, Ontario (Moth, Cornell) No. 21 Chatham, New Brunswick (Finch) No. 22 L'Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec (Finch) No. 23 Davidson, Saskatchewan, moved to Yorkton, Saskatchewan; operated by the RCAF. (Cornell) No. 24 Abbotsford, British Columbia (Cornell) No. 25 Assiniboia, Saskatchewan; originally No. 34 RAF (Cornell) No. 26 Neepawa, Manitoba; originally No. 35 RAF (Moth) No. 31 De Winton, Alberta (Moth, Stearman and Cornell) No. 32 Bowden, Alberta (Moth, Stearman and Cornell) No. 33 Caron, Saskatchewan (Cornell) No. 34 Assiniboia, Saskatchewan (Moth, Cornell) No. 35 Neepawa, Manitoba (Moth and Cornell) No. 36 Pearce, Alberta (Moth and Stearman)

Service Flying Training Schools

Graduates of the EFTS "learn-to-fly" program went on to a Service Flying Training School (SFTS) for sixteen weeks. For the first eight weeks, the trainee was part of an intermediate training squadron. The next six weeks were spent in an advanced training squadron. The final two weeks of training was conducted at a Bombing & Gunnery School. The Service schools were military establishments run by the RCAF or the RAF.

There were two different types of Service Flying Training Schools. Trainees in the fighter pilot stream went to an SFTS like No. 14 Aylmer, where they trained in the North American Harvard or North American Yale. Trainees in the bomber, coastal or transport pilot stream went to an SFTS like No. 5 Brantford, where they learned multi-engine technique in an Airspeed Oxford, Avro Anson or Cessna Crane.

No. 1 Camp Borden, Ontario (Harvard and Yale) No. 2 Uplands, Ontario (Harvard and Yale) No. 3 Calgary, Alberta (Anson and Crane) No. 4 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (Yale, Anson and Crane) No. 5 Brantford, Ontario (Anson) No. 6 Dunnville, Ontario (Harvard and Yale) No. 7 Fort MacLeod, Alberta (Anson) No. 8 Moncton, New BrunswickHistory of Moncton (Anson and Harvard) No. 9 Summerside, Prince Edward Island, moved to Centralia, Ontario (Anson and Harvard) No. 10 Dauphin, Manitoba (Harvard and Crane) No. 11 Yorkton, Saskatchewan (Harvard, Crane and Anson) No. 12 Brandon, Manitoba (Crane and Anson) No. 13 St. Hubert, Quebec, moved to North Battleford, Saskatchewan (Harvard and Anson) No. 14 Aylmer, Ontario (Anson, Harvard, Yale, and Supermarine Walrus)McIntyre 1979, pp. 67–86. No. 15 Claresholm, Alberta (Anson and Crane) No. 16 Hagersville, Ontario (Anson and Harvard) No. 17 Souris, Manitoba (Anson and Harvard) No. 18 Gimli, Manitoba (Anson and Harvard) No. 19 Vulcan, Alberta (Anson) No. 31 Kingston, Ontario (Battle and Harvard) No. 32 Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (Harvard and Oxford) No. 33 Carberry, Manitoba (Anson) No. 34 Medicine Hat, Alberta (Harvard and Oxford) No. 35 North Battleford, Saskatchewan (Oxford) No. 36 Penhold, Alberta (Oxford) No. 37 Calgary, Alberta (Oxford, Harvard and Anson) No. 38 Estevan, Saskatchewan (Anson) No. 39 Swift Current, Saskatchewan (Oxford) No. 41 Weyburn, Saskatchewan (Anson and Harvard)

Air Observer Schools