Post by larryc1 on Apr 14, 2015 16:06:48 GMT
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), initially known as the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS), was initiated in December, 1939 and ran until September, 1945, training air crews in Canada, South Africa, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Australia and New Zealand.
This program was put in place in countries well away from the conflict in Europe and, moreover, where weather conditions for student airmen were better suited to safety.
Over 168,000 air crew were turned out by the plan and then sent to Europe (mainly England) for their final conversion to combat readiness. This number breaks down as follows:
75,000 pilots
40,000 navigators
15,000 air bombers
37,000 wireless operator/air gunners.
The plan consisted of a number of different types of schools:
Initial Training School Learning military life (drill) ITS
Elementary Flying Training School Getting your wings EFTS
Service Flying Training School Conversion to more advanced training aircraft SFTS
Air Observers School Beginning of navigation skills AOS
Air Navigation School Navigation ANS
Bombing & Gunnery School Self explanatory B & G S
General Reconnaisance School Self explanatory GRS
Wireless School Learning radio WS
Operational Training Unit Conversion to combat aircraft OTU
Flying Instructors School Training Flight Instructors FIS
Central Navigation School Training Navigation instructors CNS
The aircraft involved were:
DeHavilland Tiger Moth Primary Trainer
Fairey Battle Target towing and gunnery training
Avro Anson Bombing and Navigation training
Airspeed Oxford Twin engine advanced trainer
Harvard/Texan AT6 Advanced single engine trainer
Fairchild Cornell Primay trainer
Boeing Stearman Intermediate single engine trainer
Cessna Crane Intermediate twin engine trainert
Despite the dreams of the majority of these young men, the bulk of them were assigned to bombers, rather than fighter aircraft. This became more prevalent later in the war when Bomber Command losses rose. Lest we forget, Bomber Command suffered over 55,000 losses during the course of the war, second only to the carnage in the Kriegsmarin U-Boot service!
As to the airfields themselves, today they range from completely unrecognisable (Pearson International/Vancouver International) through perfectly preserved examples (Brantford ON ) to barely distinguishable prairie relics (Davidson and Mossbank SK) and mere shadows of former runways (Moose Jaw SK). The BACTP airfield was a standardised design, laid out as an equilateral triangle of runways, each 800 meters long and 30 meters wide. The triangular configuration allowed take-offs and landings into the wind, no matter the wind direction, a safety bonus in the era of tail-draggers. There was usually a taxi-way along the hanger side of the triangle. Once you have seen the lay-out it becomes very easy to pick them out, they are so distinctive.
I am certain that I have made errors of commission and omission. I would be very please to hear of corrections in order to preserve the hisorical record. See also:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Commonwealth_Air_Training_Plan/
GE9.kmz (17.28 KB)
This program was put in place in countries well away from the conflict in Europe and, moreover, where weather conditions for student airmen were better suited to safety.
Over 168,000 air crew were turned out by the plan and then sent to Europe (mainly England) for their final conversion to combat readiness. This number breaks down as follows:
75,000 pilots
40,000 navigators
15,000 air bombers
37,000 wireless operator/air gunners.
The plan consisted of a number of different types of schools:
Initial Training School Learning military life (drill) ITS
Elementary Flying Training School Getting your wings EFTS
Service Flying Training School Conversion to more advanced training aircraft SFTS
Air Observers School Beginning of navigation skills AOS
Air Navigation School Navigation ANS
Bombing & Gunnery School Self explanatory B & G S
General Reconnaisance School Self explanatory GRS
Wireless School Learning radio WS
Operational Training Unit Conversion to combat aircraft OTU
Flying Instructors School Training Flight Instructors FIS
Central Navigation School Training Navigation instructors CNS
The aircraft involved were:
DeHavilland Tiger Moth Primary Trainer
Fairey Battle Target towing and gunnery training
Avro Anson Bombing and Navigation training
Airspeed Oxford Twin engine advanced trainer
Harvard/Texan AT6 Advanced single engine trainer
Fairchild Cornell Primay trainer
Boeing Stearman Intermediate single engine trainer
Cessna Crane Intermediate twin engine trainert
Despite the dreams of the majority of these young men, the bulk of them were assigned to bombers, rather than fighter aircraft. This became more prevalent later in the war when Bomber Command losses rose. Lest we forget, Bomber Command suffered over 55,000 losses during the course of the war, second only to the carnage in the Kriegsmarin U-Boot service!
As to the airfields themselves, today they range from completely unrecognisable (Pearson International/Vancouver International) through perfectly preserved examples (Brantford ON ) to barely distinguishable prairie relics (Davidson and Mossbank SK) and mere shadows of former runways (Moose Jaw SK). The BACTP airfield was a standardised design, laid out as an equilateral triangle of runways, each 800 meters long and 30 meters wide. The triangular configuration allowed take-offs and landings into the wind, no matter the wind direction, a safety bonus in the era of tail-draggers. There was usually a taxi-way along the hanger side of the triangle. Once you have seen the lay-out it becomes very easy to pick them out, they are so distinctive.
I am certain that I have made errors of commission and omission. I would be very please to hear of corrections in order to preserve the hisorical record. See also:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Commonwealth_Air_Training_Plan/
GE9.kmz (17.28 KB)
