British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Plaque

THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH
AIR TRAINING PLAN

With the outbreak of hostilities in 1939, one of Canada's
major responsibilities was to provide air training facilities
removed from the theatre of war. On December 17, 1939, the
Plan was inaugurated. The first schools were opened the
following year, among them No. 12 Elementary Flying Training
School here at Sky Harbour. At the height of operations
there were 39 training units in Ontario alone, including 32
air training schools. Before termination of the Plan on
March 31, 1945, these and 70 similar establishments elsewhere
in Canada trained over 300,000 aircrew, ground crew and
airwomen, mostly from Canada, Britain, Australia and New
Zealand but including American volunteers and escapees from
Nazi-occupied Europe.

Archaeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario.