The BCATP in Calgary

Description

During the Second World War, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan played a major role in the success of the air war in Europe. Its presence in the City of Calgary played a brief, but very significant role in the city’s development and in its history.

Within and immediately adjacent to Calgary, the building and operation of four airfields, three flying schools, a radio operator school, a major aircraft repair and maintenance base, a huge equipment supply facility, and a command centre that oversaw the administration of BCATP operations in much of western Canada had a major effect on the city.

There were as many as five hundred aircraft, nine thousand air force personnel, and thousands of civilians involved at a time when Calgary had a population of only 86,000. Fourteen thousand students from Commonwealth and other countries trained in Calgary.

Sadly, flying accidents were inevitable and 127 young airmen lost their lives in and adjacent to the City of Calgary.

[102 pages ; 8.5”x11” ; 196 photos]