- Title:
- The politics of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan base selection in Western Canada.
- Creator:
- Heide, Rachel Lea
- Date Created:
- 2000
- Degree Awarded:
- Master of Arts
- Subjects:
- Aeronautics, Military Study and teaching British Commonwealth Air Training Plan World War, 1939-1945 Canada
- Geographical Focus:
- Canada
- Supporting Materials:
- n/a
- Description:
- Between 1940 and 1945, Canada made one of its largest contributions to the Allied war effort by training 131,533 Commonwealth pilots and air crew under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP). Expanding the RCAF's aerodrome infrastructure to accommodate over one hundred training schools and their auxiliary fields was the most important task in making the BCATP a reality. Nevertheless, few historians have considered the site selection process. The two studies that mention this question in passing suggest that lobbying and voting Liberal gave communities a greater likelihood of being chosen. To verify these hypotheses, this thesis has consulted the RCAF and Department of Transport site investigation files, the minutes of Aerodrome Development Committee meetings, and the personal papers of the politicians involved in base selection. From these primary records - communities’ lobbying letters, investigation reports, and final selection decisions - this thesis has reconstructed the BCATP selection process and concluded that partisan politics played no part. Experts from the Department of Transport and the RCAF evaluated and selected sites according to pre-determined, objective, and technical criteria that ensured the timely and economical development of aerodromes suitable for military air training.
Source
- Preferred Citation:
- Heide, Rachel Lea. 2000. "The politics of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan base selection in Western Canada.", Department of History, Carleton University
- Link to this page:
- https://cuhistory.github.io/grads/items/hist_189.html
Rights
- Rights:
- Copyright the author, all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.