What was the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan?

The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) was an ambitious Commonwealth-wide aircrew training programme operated primarily in Canada from December 1939 to March 1945. The Plan trained about 131,553 aircrew (including 72,835 Canadians, 42,110 British, 9,606 Australians, and 7,002 New Zealanders) at 107 training schools across Canada. The BCATP was one of Canada's most important contributions to Allied victory and earned Canada the Second World War nickname 'the Aerodrome of Democracy'.

The BCATP was negotiated through the Riverdale Agreement signed at Ottawa on December 17, 1939 by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, Lord Riverdale (the British representative), and the High Commissioners of Australia and New Zealand. Canada was selected as the principal host because of its large geographic space, favourable flying weather (mostly), distance from the European war zones, and strong industrial base. Canada was responsible for about 80 per cent of BCATP training overall.

The BCATP's organisational structure was complex. Trainees passed through Initial Training Schools (about 4 weeks of ground school), Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS, about 8 weeks teaching basic flight on Tiger Moth, Fleet Finch, and Fairchild Cornell biplanes), Service Flying Training Schools (SFTS, about 12 weeks of advanced flight on Harvard or Anson aircraft), and specialised schools for navigation, bombing, gunnery, wireless operation, and air observation. By war's end, BCATP graduates had populated about half of all RAF Bomber Command crews and substantial portions of other RAF, RCAF, RAAF, and RNZAF formations. The BCATP also trained hundreds of aircrew from other Allied nations.

The BCATP transformed many Canadian communities. Towns like Borden (Ontario), Trenton (Ontario), Shearwater (Nova Scotia), Saskatoon (Saskatchewan), Brandon (Manitoba), Calgary (Alberta), and Mossbank (Saskatchewan) hosted major BCATP bases. The federal government spent about 1.6 billion dollars on the Plan (equivalent to perhaps 27 billion dollars today). Aircraft used in the Plan included Tiger Moths, Cornells, Harvards, Ansons, Cranes, and Lysanders. About 856 BCATP trainees died in training accidents. American President Franklin Roosevelt called Canada the 'Aerodrome of Democracy' in a 1940 address. The BCATP wound down in early 1945 as the air war shifted toward the Pacific and as adequate aircrew had been trained. After the war, the BCATP infrastructure formed the foundation of post-war Canadian aviation. Many BCATP airfields became civilian airports, including Calgary International, Edmonton International, and Saskatoon International. The BCATP Museum at Brandon, Manitoba and the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa preserve aircraft and exhibits.