The Creation of a National Air Force : The Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Volume II / William A.B. Douglas.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Douglas, William A.B., Author.

Series:

Official history of the Royal Canadian Air Force ; Volume 2.

Heritage

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Canada. Royal Canadian Air Force--History.

Canada.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (839 pages).

Place of Publication:

Toronto : University of Toronto Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

From a small militia organization the Canadian air force had grown by 1945 into one of the country's three major autonomous military services. In this second volume of the RCAF's official history, covering the years from 1918 to 1945. W.A.B. Douglas chronicles the force's rapid growth and provides a vivid portrait of the Battle of the Atlantic as it was fought from the eastern shoes of Canada. Military necessity had brought Canada into the air age. In the peaceful 1920s, civil more than military concerns governed the shape, size, and functions of the RCAF; in the following decade the rise of international tensions forced the service to concentrate on its military role. During the Second World War the RCAF grew from a few hundred airmen to a force of some eighty squadrons and nearly a quarter of a million people: RCAF squadrons, wings, and groups took their place beside other Allied air forces in many theatres of the Second World War, and in the process acquired capabilities in virtually every phase of air warfare. The roots of the RCAF's growing reputation in overseas theatres, especially in the Northwest Europe campaign, were to be found at home. Responsible for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada, the RCAF trained large numbers of other Commonwealth and Allied airmen as well as Canadians. Charged with the air defence of Canada, it built up a big Home War Establishment which fought on the Pacific Coast and also played a significant part in the defeat of enemy attempts to destroy Allied shipping, particularly in the Battle of the Atlantic. The latter was a crucial role, sustaining Great Britain and the Allied forces in Europe. Directed from headquarters at Halifax, aircraft of Eastern Air Command ranged from the St. Lawrence River to mid-ocean, ultimately thwarting German U-boats that nearly severed the North Atlantic under British command. Douglas's account is the first to give proper credit to the RCAF for the part it played in these operations. It also incorporates new information on personalities, technology, and intelligence. This volume recreates an exciting chapter in Canada's military history.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Maps and Illustrations

Preface

Abbreviations

Part 1: Between the Wars

Introduction

1. The Birth of the RCAF

2. The RCAF and Civil Aviation

3. Bush Pilots in Uniform

4. Towards a Military Air Force

Part 2: The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

5. Origins

6. Building the Plan

7. Mid-War Modifications

8. The Plan in Maturity

Part 3: The Air Defence of Canada, 1939-45

9. Policy and Procurement

10. Eastern and Central Canada

11. The Pacific Coast

Part 4: The North Atlantic Lifeline

12. The Beginnings of Anti-Submarine Warfare

13. The Battle of the St Lawrence

14. Ocean Operations, I 942

15. Defeating the Wolf Packs

16. Securing the Lifeline, 1943-4

17. The Dawn of Modern ASW, 1944-5

Appendices

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 26. Nov 2019)

ISBN:

1-4875-7211-5

OCLC:

1129202546