Canadians in the Air

Flyboys Training 16:27-21:56

Air Training in Canada In August 1914, flying was still in its infancy. Taking off and landing a plane without crashing was a significant accomplishment. The major powers combined had only a few hundred front line aircraft and airships at the outbreak of war. With the rapidly expanding role for aircraft in photography and aerial intelligence, all flying services soon grew in size and sophistication.

Air Training in Canada Canada did not have its own air force until the last month of the war, but 22,000 Canadians served in the British flying services. By November 1918, 25 per cent of Royal Air Force officers were Canadians. Thousands more Canadians were training to become pilots and observers when the war ended.

Flyboys Dog fights 33:29-41:36

Risky Business Flying these early airplanes at the front was dangerous Their open cockpits offered little protection, and pilots often flew low over enemy lines to take pictures, gather information, drop bombs and fire at enemy soldiers Soon after the beginning of the war planes were equipped with machine guns Airborne battles with enemy planes were called dogfights Pilots often had only a few hours of training before being put into service

Risky Business Once pilots started active service, they could expect to live about 3 weeks, at one point as little as 11 days. Planes were nicknamed “flying coffins” and the air service was called the “suicide service” Parachutes were not available until the end of the war. As a result the greatest fear of a pilot was to be hit and go down in a “flamer” Pilots however did get, better pay, were able to fly cutting edge machines, eat better food, have nicer uniforms, and sleep in a warm bed at night. More than 50 000 pilots and aircrew died during the war

Aerial Reconnaissance Aircraft were initially used for reconnaissance to track the movement of enemy troops and often carried cameras to photograph the battlefield. These photographs were later used to study enemy fortifications and transformed into maps for the infantry. By 1916, aircraft assisted the artillery in spotting the fall of shells, helping to coordinate and correct fire. Enemy guns and troops were forced to camouflage their positions to hide them from aerial observation.

Aerial Reconnaissance Air-to-ground communication was a problem throughout the war. Dropping a message from the air by streamers or in packages was perhaps the most effective technique, but only if the intended party on the ground could retrieve it in time for the message to prove useful. Later in the war, primitive wireless communication allowed for the transmission of short, simple messages.

Command of the Air Most aircraft at the outset of war were unarmed and used mainly for observation and reconnaissance. Air crew soon were shooting at one another with hand-held weapons and, later, with machine-guns mounted on the plane. These “fighters” patrolled the skies looking to shoot down enemy observation planes or airships, to gain control of the air for friendly forces, and to hide ground movements from the other side.

Command of the Air The main challenge to making fighter aircraft more lethal was the location of the propeller. The most effective location for the gun was at the front of the aircraft, near the pilot, who could then point the gun and plane at the enemy at the same time during aerial combat. But this would mean firing through the rotating propeller Both sides sought technical solutions to the propeller problem. In 1915, the Germans introduced an interrupter that allowed machine-gun fire to pass through the spinning propeller.

Canadian Aces An Ace is a pilot who registered 5 enemy kills Canadians made up the greatest number of Aces of any country in the war. Billy Bishop, from Owen Sound, is credited with 200 dogfights and 72 kills

Show You Know The pilots of World War I have been described as heroes. They have also been described as brave victims. Think about the differences between a hero and a brave victim. Which description would you use? Explain your choice.