Air Board (Canada)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Air Board was Canada's first governing body for aviation, operating from 1919 to 1923. The Canadian government established the Air Board by act of Parliament on June 6, 1919, with the purpose of controlling all flying within Canada. Canada was the first country to legislate and implement rules governing the entire domain of aviation.


Functions

The Air Board had three functions: devising a means of, and administering Canadian
air defence Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...
; controlling and conducting all civil (non-military) government flying operations; and providing rules and regulations for flying within Canada, which included licensing, issuing air regulations and managing air traffic. The Board consisted of three sections: 1) the Department of the Controller of Civil Aviation which controlled all civil flying; 2) the Directorate of Flying Operations which controlled civil flying operations of the Air Board; and 3) the Headquarters of the Canadian Air Force (CAF), which operated at
Camp Borden Canadian Forces Base Borden (also CFB Borden, French: Base des Forces canadiennes Borden or BFC Borden), formerly RCAF Station Camp Borden, is a large Canadian Forces base located in Ontario. The historic birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Forc ...
.


Flying operations

Five air stations were established for civil flying operations in 1920: *
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
, a former
US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...
base responsible for the overhaul of Curtiss HS-2L flying boats,
fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish far ...
and forestry patrols, and aerial photography. * Roberval, Quebec, a seaplane base on Lac Saint-Jean responsible primarily for
forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
patrols and surveying. * Jericho Beach, British Columbia, a seaplane base responsible for fishery, forestry, anti-smuggling patrols. * Morley, Alberta, a landplane base responsible primarily for forestry patrols. * Rockcliffe, Ontario, a landplane and seaplane base responsible primarily for photo surveying. Additional stations were added in subsequent years: * Victoria Beach, Manitoba, established in 1921 as a seaplane base responsible primarily for forestry patrols. * High River, Alberta, moved from Morley in 1921 due to poor flying weather. *The Northern Ontario Mobile Unit, a temporary seaplane base operated from boxcars on a
Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...
siding in
Sioux Lookout, Ontario Sioux Lookout is a town in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, with a population of 5,838 people (up 10.8% since 2016). Known locally as the "Hub of the North", it is serviced by the Sioux Lookout Airport, Ontario Highway 72, Highway 72, and the Sioux ...
for the 1921 flying season responsible primarily for forestry patrols. *Temporary seaplane bases at Whitney, Ontario and Parry Sound, Ontario for the 1922 flying season, responsible primarily for forestry patrols.


Members

List of members of the board from 1920: * Arthur Sifton, Chairman 1919–1921 and Minister of Customs and Inland Revenue (Canada) * Hugh Guthrie - Chairman 1921 - appointed to replace Sifton * George Perry Graham - Chairman 1921–22 - appointed to replace Guthrie * Oliver Mowat Biggar, Vice Chairman 1919–1922 and Judge Advocate General * Sydney Chilton Mewburn, Member and Minister of Militia and Defence (Canada) *
Charles Ballantyne Charles Colquhoun Ballantyne, (August 9, 1867 – October 19, 1950) was a Canadian politician. A millionaire and one-time owner of Sherwin Williams Paints in Montreal, Ballantyne was president of the Canadian Manufacturer's Association and ...
, Member and Minister of Naval Service * Dr. Robert M. Coulter – Member and Deputy Postmaster General * John Armistead Wilson, Member and Assistant Deputy Minister for Naval Service – later Controller of Civil Aviation with Department of National Defence and Transport Canada 1922–1941 * Edward S. Busby – Chief Inspector of Department of Customs and Inland Revenue * Willoughby Gwatkin – Inspector General 1919–22


Senior staff

*
Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...
Arthur Kellam Tylee - Air Officer Commanding, Canadian Air Force until 1 March 1921 * Wing Commander Ronald Francis Redpath - Officer Commanding, Canadian Air Force from 22 March to 12 July 1921 * Lieutenant Colonel Robert Leckie – Superintendent of Flying Operations, retitled Director of Flying Operations in November 1920 * Lieutenant Colonel / Wing Commander James Stanley Scott – Superintendent of Certificates Branch, retitled Controller of Civil Aviation Branch in November 1920. Also held the post of Officer Commanding, Canadian Air Force from 12 July 1921 to 1 July 1922. * Lieutenant Colonel Ernest Walter Stedman – Director of Technical Services, retitled Director of Technical and Supply Services in 1921 * Wing Commander James Lindsay Gordon - Acting Director, Canadian Air Force from 1 July 1922 *
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
Alexander Macdonald Shook – Secretary


Succession

In 1922 the Air Board was combined with the Department of Militia and Defence and the Department of Naval Service to form the Department of National Defence (DND). January 1, 1923, however, was set as the formal change-over date to allow time for reorganization.Milberry 1984, p. 23. The CAF, which had been a small non-permanent air
militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
directed by the Air Board and originally formed to provide refresher flying training to veterans, was reorganized and became responsible for all Canadian aviation, including the control of civil aviation. Both the Controller of Civil Aviation Branch and responsibility for civil government air operations remained under DND (though they were moved in and out of the RCAF's organization) until 1936. In November 1936 the Civil Aviation Branch was transferred to the new Department of Transport, which would control all civil flying except for work directly related to defence.Roberts 1959, p. 110.


See also

* Air Board (Australia) * Canadian Aviation Corps * History of aviation in Canada


Notes


References

* Milberry, Larry, ed. ''Sixty Years—The RCAF and CF Air Command 1924–1984''. Toronto: Canav Books, 1984. {{ISBN, 0-9690703-4-9. * Roberts, Leslie. ''There Shall Be Wings''. Toronto: Clark, Irwin and Co. Ltd., 1959. No ISBN.


External links


Canadian Military Aircraft Serial Numbers – The Air Board Years 1919 to 1927 (and beyond)


Military history of Canada Aviation in Canada 1919 establishments in Canada 1923 disestablishments in Canada Former Canadian federal departments and agencies Government agencies established in 1919 Government agencies disestablished in 1923