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In historical terms the life span of the Royal Canadian Air Force can hardly be described as anything but brief, a mere 44 years from creation to unification with Canada's other two armed services.
Yet, from its modest beginning of fewer than two thousand men, it reached at wartime peak that exceeded two hundred thousand. This included 78 operational squadrons, 35 were stationed overseas and 43 in Canada.

The true measure of its greatness, however, is to be found in its growth and acomplishments, which both in peace and war are truly magnificent.


Per Ardua Ad Astra

Welcome to my privately run, unofficial website designed to tell the history of Canada's Air Force. This site is not affiliated with, nor endorsed by, the Department of National Defence or the Air Force Association of Canada and as such we cannot provide, nor do we have access to, official information on behalf of the Canadian Forces .This includes personnel records and/or other personal information. It is maintained by myself during my (limited) spare time so please read the Terms of Use. I hope you enjoy the experience and visit again soon.

On This Day In RCAF History

1936 › No. 8(GP) Squadron formed with Fairchild 71 aircraft.

1984 › Marc Garneau named first Canadian Astronaut. Slated to fly on space shuttle Discovery on October 1984.

No. 6 (RCAF) Group

Looking for Richard Koval's site on the the RCAF's No. 6 Bomber Group, follow this link to his new site:

http://www.6grouprcaf.com/

No. 439 Squadron (Unofficial) Hompage

Looking for Mike Melnick's page on No. 439 Squadron, follow this link to his new site:

http://www.thisisme.ca/439squadron/

The CF-101 Voodoo

It was the aircraft that was given to Canada after the fall of the Arrow and it fought the Cold War armed with nuclear weapons (though that was never officially confirmed at the time). The Voodoo was located at Air Force bases from Comox, B.C. to Bagotville, Que.
It was the main strike fighter against any incoming Soviet attack and carried the Genie nuclear missile before carrying the Falcon missile as its main armament. Flying at Mach 1.72, (1,825 km/h or 1,134 mph) at 10,500 m (35,000 ft) the Voodoo kept the peace.

Canada built Lancasters

For many Canadians, the Lancaster bomber was a symbol of Allied victory. For many in southern Ontario that symbol became a part of their everyday work.
At its peak of production in 1944, a force of 10,000 workers - one-quarter of them women - laboured at the Victory Aircraft Plant in Malton, Ont. during the Second World War to produce 430 Mark X Lancasters.
The aircraft were sent directly to Bomber Command's No. 6 Group, which was composed entirely of RCAF squadrons and personnel. Eventually, the plant was producing one plane per day.