The NATO Air Training Plan was an aircrew training program which ran from 1950–1958, authorized by

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

, and implemented by the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

(RCAF). The program trained pilots and navigators from NATO signatory countries with the purpose of improving NATO airpower in response to the perceived military threat in Europe from

Soviet bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...

countries. Like the

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a large-scale multinational military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand during the Second Wo ...

(BCATP) of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Canada was chosen because of its remoteness from the potential battle areas in Europe. Also, like the BCATP, the NATO Air Training Plan trained aircrew from many countries other than Canada and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and used air stations throughout Canada, with many located on the prairies well away from congested urban areas and where the land was open and flat. Many of the old BCATP stations were expanded and used for the NATO training program. Trainees came from such countries as the UK, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, France, Portugal, Turkey, West Germany, Belgium, Greece, and Italy. Training began at RCAF Station London,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, at the ''NATO Training & Induction School'' ( relocated to

RCAF Station Centralia RCAF Station Centralia was a Royal Canadian Air Force training base located just outside the village of Centralia near Exeter, Ontario, Canada. It became one of the largest training stations in Canada. It was turned over to civilian use after 1967 ...

in 1954) where students were familiarized with RCAF aircraft and flying terminology, and were taught flight procedures, meteorology, basic navigation and basic English. Student navigators went to an Air Navigation School (ANS) such as RCAF Station Winnipeg or RCAF Station Summerside. For pilots, the next step was Flying Training School (FTS) using

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

aircraft. Training continued on

Canadair CT-133 Silver Star The Canadair CT-133 Silver Star (company model number CL-30) is the Canadian license-built version of the Lockheed T-33 jet trainer aircraft, in service from the 1950s to 2005. The Canadian version was powered by the Rolls-Royce Nene 10 turbo ...

jet trainers, Beechcraft Expeditors, or Mitchells at an Advanced Flying School (AFS). Training changed in 1956 when a Primary Flying Training school was opened at RCAF Station Centralia. At Centralia, student pilots first trained on

de Havilland Chipmunk The de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk (or Chippie) is a tandem, two-seat, single-engined primary trainer aircraft designed and developed by Canadian aircraft manufacturer de Havilland Canada. It was developed shortly after the Second World Wa ...

s and then on Harvards. After primary training, pilots were selected to train on multi-engine aircraft or single-engine aircraft. For multi-engine aircraft, trainees went to an Advanced Flying School where they would train on Expeditors or Mitchells. For single-engine aircraft, trainees would go to one of several other Advanced Flying Schools using T-33 jet trainers such as

RCAF Station Gimli RCAF Station Gimli was an air station of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) located near Gimli, Manitoba, Canada. World War II (1943–1945) On September 6, 1943, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan established No. 18 Service Flying Tra ...

. RCAF graduate pilots would be posted to an Operational Training Unit (OTU) where they would learn to fly operational aircraft. Foreign pilot graduates would be sent home. By 1957, many of the countries involved had their own training facilities so the program began to wind down. Limited bilateral training continued, however, for countries unable to train their own aircrew. Two of these countries were Denmark and Norway. Canada currently operates a similar program called NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC).

References

* Greenhous, Brereton; Halliday, Hugh A. ''Canada's Air Forces, 1914 - 1999''. Montreal: Editions Art Global and the Department of National Defence, 1999. {{ISBN, 2-920718-72-X. * Roberts, Leslie. ''There Shall Be Wings''. Toronto: Clark, Irwin and Co. Ltd., 1959. No ISBN.
Nato Air Training Plan Information from The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
Royal Canadian Air Force History of NATO