THE HISTORY OF CANADA'S AIR FORCE
the Establishment
Royal Canadian Air Force 1924 - 1938
The reorganization of the Canadian Air Force was completed, and the prefix "Royal" officially adopted, on April 1, 1924. That date, on which Canada's third air force organization came into being as a permanet componet of her defence forces, marked the birthday of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
RCAF Headquarters - Ottawa, Ontario 1924
- 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
Civil Air Force 1925 - 1932
On May 19, 1925 the Government authorized an establishment for the RCAF that provided for service squadrons to fulfill operational requirements of various government departments and agencies.
In 1927 there was strong opposition to the performance of civil operations by a military organization. This resulted in the formation of the Directorate of Civil Government Air Operations (DCGAO) to control all government air operations (other than military) and all RCAF operational flying units were transferred to this new organization. The RCAF establishment was reduced to a headquarters and two training stations and five training squadrons.
Unfortunately with most of the RCAF personnel posted to DCGAO and lacking sufficient funds, the RCAF was only a paper force and never functioned in a military sense.
A Military Air Force 1932 - 1938
Since it inception in 1924 the RCAF had been heavily involved in civil air operations. Forestry patrols, anti-smuggling, forest spraying, and surveying. In 1936 it was decided that the RCAF should be a purely military organization
and the Department of Transport was formed to establish and implement a civil aviation policy. Thereafter the RCAF's only involvement in civil aviation was aerial photography, a task that would increase in importance as time passed.
Freed of its civil responsibilities, the RCAF was reorganized along service lines and developed into a military air force. The first service squadrons began to appear in 1933 with the formation of No. 4 (Flying Boat) Squadron at Vancouver and No. 5 (Flying Boat) Squadron at Dartmouth. Two more squadrons were formed No. 7 (General Purpose) at Ottawa and No. 8 (General Purpose) at Winnipeg.
With the creation of the Department of Transport to handle civil aviation the RCAF was authorized to form three purely military squadrons. No. 2 (Army-Cooperation) Squadron and No. 6 (Torpedo Bomber) Squadron which consisted of two flights each. No. 3 (Bomber) Squadron with a two flights one bomber and one fighter. In May 1937 No. 3 (Bomber) Squadron was reorganized as a purely bomber unit with the fighter flight becoming No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron - the last squadron to be formed before World War II.
RCAF Headquarters - Ottawa, Ontario 1932
RCAF Station Camp Borden (landplane training)
- No. 1 (Ab Initio Training) Squadron
- No. 2 (Advanced Training) Squadron
- No. 3 (Service) Squadron
- "A" Flight - Fighter - Siskins
- "B" Flight - A/C - Atlas's
- "C" Flight - Communications - Fairchild 71s and Bellanca
RCAF Station Vancouver, British Columbia (seaplane training)
- No. 4 (Training) Squadron
- No. 5 (Service) Squadron
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