The slow rise of a Canadian air force

At the time of the Great War, Canada did not yet have an air force. Far from the battlefields, the government was still not very concerned about creating a national military aviation force. However, 20,000 Canadians did enlist in the British Air Force. In June 1919, the Canadian government established the Air Council. A temporary body, it offered two-year advanced training courses to former aviators who had served in Europe during the war.

In the spring of 1922, it became necessary to completely reorganize the Canadian military aviation force. Between 1922 and 1924, the Canadian government developed a transition plan and decided to create the Department of National Defense to oversee the Militia, the Naval Service, and the Air Council. In 1923, King George V granted the epithet “royal” to the country's air force. The Royal Canadian Air Force's regulations and royal orders were officially promulgated on April 1, 1924.

At its inception, the RCAF had 260 members. In 1926, it purchased its first two Armstrong Whitworth Siskin aircraft, manufactured in the United Kingdom. Until the outbreak of World War II, a dozen of these aircraft were used to train a new generation of aviators in fighter tactics. However, the RCAF devoted about two-thirds of its time to civilian activities such as aerial reconnaissance, forest fire patrols, and fisheries and customs surveillance. The Great Depression of 1929 was devastating for the RCAF. Its budgets were cut, preventing the purchase of new aircraft. Until then, the air force had nearly 900 airmen, but the crisis forced the dismissal of 20% of the personnel.

With the rise of fascism in Europe in the mid-1930s, the Royal Canadian Air Force saw its budget and personnel increase. And its situation would change dramatically...

Photo: A Siskin aircraft about to take off at Camp Borden.