Abstract:
In 1939, the Canadian government reached an agreement with Great
Britain and other Commonwealth Dominions that created a monumental
training regime within Canada's borders. The British Commonwealth Air
Training Plan has been recognized by historians, politicians and
economists as a tremendous contribution to the war effort, as it trained
nearly 137 000 aircrew for service in the Second World War. The memory
of the training plan is dwindling along with the old airfields and this paper
seeks to recall the contribution by providing a descriptive overview of the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.