WorldWar II
FallenSoldiers - RockwoodCenotaph
Page 26
Pilot Officer (P/O)
is the lowest commissioned officer rank in theRCAF andRAF. It can be
confusing because it does not alwaysmean the holder is a qualified pilot.
FlyingOfficer (F/O)
is
thenext highest rank and it too does not alwaysmean the holder is a qualified pilot, but it usually
means the holder is an aircrewmember.
408 “Goose”Squadron
was part of the
RCAFGroup 6of Bomber Command
. At this time, they
were flying Lancaster andHalifax bombers onnight missions over occupiedEurope andGermany.
ByVictory inEuropeDay (“VEDay”) the 5,700 airmen and the aircraft of theRCAF had flown over
40,000 operational missionswith the loss of 814 aircraft and 4,277 airmen, for an operational loss
rateof 75%. Only theGermanU-Boat crews suffered higher loss rates duringWWII. During this
time, approximately eight thousand decorations for braverywereawarded toGroupVI aircrew,
including twoVictoriaCrosses. Canada’sBomber CommandMemorial lists the names of 10,659
menwhowere killed due to all causeswhile servingwithBomber Command during thewar.
TheBritishCommonwealthAir TrainingPlan (BCATP)
was conceived byPrimeMinister
MackenzieKing in 1939.
“Across the country, Canadiansmobilized to take part in this gigantic undertaking—an army of
experts had to be assembled, airfields developed and equipment, including airplanes, had to be
obtained. Between 1940and1945, some 151 schools had beenestablished acrossCanadawith a
groundorganization of 104,113men andwomen.
By the end of theSecondWorldWar, theBCATPhad produced 131,553 aircrew, including pilots,
wireless operators, air gunners, and navigators for theAir Forces of Great Britain,Australia, New
ZealandandCanada.”
Pilotswere also trained fromBelgium, Czechoslovakia, FreeFrench, Norway andPoland.
Inall, 107 schools and 184 other supporting units at 231 locations acrossCanadawere constructed.
This created anetwork of airports acrossCanada andmany of them still exist today, alongwith their
characteristic triangular runway pattern.
