British Commonwealth Air Training Plan is created
Training Planes in Formation, Peter Whyte, August 1944. CWM, 19710261-5879
1939
In December 1939, Australia, Canada, Britain and New Zealand signed an agreement that created the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. This plan set up a series of training commands within Canada that were charged with the schooling of aircrew: pilots, navigators, bomb aimers, wireless operators and flight engineers from the Commonwealth. The southern parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan were seen as critical in this training plan as they had the unoccupied land, open skies and generally clear weather needed for flying. From April 1940 to March 1945, 131,553 men were trained in Canada — over half of the total aircrew used in British and Commonwealth air operations.
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