The Royal Flying Corps Canada (RFC Canada) was a training organization of the British

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

located in Canada during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. It began operating in 1917.

Background

Lecture on rigging, School of Aviation, Royal Flying Corps Canada, University of Toronto

Curtiss JN-4 aircraft C332 of the Royal Flying Corps Canada

William Faulkner in Toronto, Canada (1918)

As the war progressed, Great Britain found that it needed more trained aircrew and more training facilities. Training was provided both by the ''Curtiss Aviation School'' at Long Branch near Toronto (land plane training) and Hanlan's Point on

Toronto Island The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the ...

(for

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fuselag ...

training), and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The British realized that thousands of Canadians and Americans had joined British flying operations and more wanted to join, so it made sense to open British air training stations in Canada. Canada also had space for such facilities. After much negotiation with the Canadian government, the RFC, commanded in Canada by Lieutenant-Colonel (later Brigadier-General) Cuthbert Hoare, began operating several training stations in southern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Stations were opened at Camp Borden (main training site), Beamsville,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

(armament school), North Toronto (

Armour Heights Armour Heights is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the district of North York. It is bounded by Wilson Avenue to the south, Bathurst Street, Toronto, Bathurst Street to the west, and the west branch of the Don River (Ontario), Don ...

, Leaside and Long Branch), and

Deseronto Deseronto is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, in Hastings County, located at the mouth of the Napanee River on the shore of the Bay of Quinte, on the northern side of Lake Ontario. The town was named for Captain John Deseronto, a n ...

(Mohawk and Rathburn). The JN-4 (Canadian) ''(Canuck)'' was used for training; 500 Avro 504Ks had been ordered but only one had been completed in Canada before the war ended in November 1918 and it was not used. Hoare made several agreements with U.S. Brigadier-General George O. Squier ( US Army Signal Corps) and the US Aircraft Production Board. Squier had overall responsibility for the US Army’s air service, which was short of flight instructors. The RFC released five experienced American pilots to the US Army, where they became squadron commanders. The US Air Board acquiesced in the British opening a recruiting office in New York City, ostensibly to recruit British citizens, but it also solicited US citizens, of whom about 300 were successfully signed up. The RFC would also train many US Army flight personnel: 400 pilots; 2,000 ground-crew members; and 20 equipment officers. These Americans would then collect aircraft and equipment from the UK, before coming under RFC control in France. Ten American squadrons would train in Canada during the summer of 1917, while RFC squadrons were allowed to train during the winter in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. When the Royal Flying Corps became the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

in April 1918, the unit became known as Royal Air Force Canada. During the last two years of the war 3,135 pilots and 137 observers trained in Canada and Texas for both the RFC and the new Royal Air Force (RAF). Of these trainees, 2,624 went to Europe for operational duty.Roberts (1959), p. 9.

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

* * {{Evolution of the Military of Canada Military units and formations established in 1917