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Canada and the Second World War 1939-1945
The War in the Air
Canadian achievements in the air during Second World War were remarkable. The smallest of Canada's
three services in 1939, with insufficient manpower and inadequate
equipment, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) expanded by 1945 to the fourth largest air
force of the Allied powers. RCAF units took part in every major
air operation overseas, from the Battle of Britain to the bombing
of Germany and, in addition, played an important role in air training
and in the protection of shipping and transportation. They flew
every kind of aircraft there was from the workhorse Dakota to
the Mosquito, Halifax, Liberator, Lancaster and the glamorous
Spitfire. In all, more than 232,500 men and 17,000 women served
in the RCAF both in home defence and farther afield. They flew
into the German industrial heartland, with the Desert Air Force
in the Middle East, on coastal patrol from Ceylon, over the Burma
Road, the Norwegian fiords, and out over the Atlantic on U-boat
patrol. In addition, thousands of Canadians served with the RAF
overseas.
Canadian air personnel were involved in three major areas of service during the war: the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan; the theatre of war overseas; and the Home War Establishment.
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