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SOURCE: National Defence Image Library, PL 3740. |
Months of hard work were in store for the many men who enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
to serve in the Allied cause. In order to ensure each member was placed in the position best suited to their capabilities and then, properly
trained as such, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) required that recruits pass through multiple levels of testing and
schooling before they were posted.
The first step in joining the RCAF was contacting the local recruitment office. After signing up, a recruit was asked to report to a Manning
Depot. At a Manning Depot, trainees were given a series of medical tests and issued uniforms. They practiced marching drills and performed
guard duty until there was room for them at Initial Training School (ITS).
Designed to be difficult, ITS was used as an introduction to air training, and recruits that were not capable of serving to RCAF standards
were quickly eliminated. Trainees were immersed in a five week basic training class that covered air force law, navigation, meteorology,
aircraft recognition, the theory of flight, mechanics and, of course, discipline. Nine out of 10 men wanted to be trained as pilots and often
a Link Trainer was a definitive moment in that decision.
Aircrew trainees graduated from ITS to a specialized school that matched their capabilities.
At the beginning of World War II, those destined to be air observers graduated from ITS to Air Observer School (AOS)1 for a 12 week course on aerial photography, navigation and reconnaissance. After AOS, trainees would move onto Bombing and Gunnery School
(B&GS)2 for 10 weeks and then to Air Navigation School (ANS) 3 for another
four weeks. In June 1942, it was decided that these duties were too much for one person and the position of air observer was broken up into
two positions: navigator and air bomber.
Navigators could specialize in bombing or as wireless operators. Those training for the former were at Bombing and Gunnery School for eight
weeks and then Air Observer School for 12 weeks. These men were qualified as both bomb aimers and navigators. Navigators who trained to
specialize in wireless operations spent a great deal of time receiving training—28 weeks at Wireless School followed by 22 weeks at Air
Observer School.
Men designated to be wireless operators attended Wireless School for a total of 28 weeks, becoming adept at radio work. They were also trained
in air gunnery at B&GS for six weeks.
Recruits going into air bombing were trained not only to drop bombs accurately, but to assist navigators as well. They spent eight to 12
weeks at B&GS and six weeks at an AOS. Air gunners underwent a 12 week program at B&GS that included ground training and air firing
practice.
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SOURCE: National Defence Image Library, PL 3740. |
SOURCE: Wings Over Alberta website.
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