Saturday, January 8, 2022

The Aerodrome Of Democracy

 The question of volunteers versus conscription was one that lingered throughout the war years in Canada.


Canadians served in the air alongside British and other allies during the pivotal Battle of Britain.


The Link Trainer is a predecessor to flight simulators. It was one way to get novice pilots to learn before putting them up in the air.


This is one of them.


Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand formed the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in 1939. BCATP bases were established across the country, giving pilots a safe ground for learning how to fly for real. President Roosevelt, sympathetic to the Allied cause but contending with an isolationist sentiment at home prior to Pearl Harbor, called Canada the aerodrome of democracy.


With so many men joining the war effort directly, women went to work, including in the BCATP.


Actor James Cagney made a film, Captains Of The Clouds, about the organization. Canadian ace Billy Bishop, who had flown to glory during the First World War, was a consultant for the film.


There were a lot of bases across the country for this work.


Merchant mariners were part of the war effort, though not recognized as veterans until decades later. The effort to bring supplies to Europe started from the first day and lasted until the end of the war, and it was hazardous. The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest campaign of the war.


The corvette was a class of escort ships used by the Canadian navy during the war. They saw a lot of use throughout.


This is a model of one of those corvettes, the H.M.C.S. Chamblay, which was in war service from 1940 through 1945.

30 comments:

  1. Women were real stars back then, I can guarantee men thought they wouldn't be able to step up but they did.

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  2. Interesting piece about the construction of the military apparatus.

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  3. That simulator is fascinating.

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  4. The link trainer is the showstopper here.

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  5. ...technology sure has come a long way.

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  6. I would love to take a close up look at the link trainer.

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  7. There was a airforce training base here during WW2. It was operational until the early 1990s. The air strip is still in use.

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  8. @Amy: they really did.

    @Jan: very much so.

    @Sharon: and compact.

    @Gemel: I agree.

    @Tom: it has.

    @Nancy: it's quite something.

    @Marie: that's not a surprise.

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  9. Great exhibit. I like the model ship!
    Take care, enjoy your weekend!

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  10. The older I get, the more insane this all seems.

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  11. These were brave people who went up in those planes.

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  12. An interesting bit of history!
    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  13. This museum is so thorough in covering all aspects of the war. Why do we keep having war?

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  14. I know from my parents how much the efforts of the Canadian airmen were appreciated here in England. My mother's parents ran a pub near to an airfield where a Canadian squadron was based (LQ Squadron, so I was told) and got to know many of the young airmen.

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  15. We had an air training base not far from our farm. Planes were flying over the farm many times a day and sometimes at night.

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  16. Great war history display and photos ~

    Wishing you a gentle day,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  17. Took Ingo to such a "real" flight simulator in Bremen - he loved it.

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  18. I wonder what would happen now if conscription was brought back.

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  19. @Eileen: thank you.

    @Sandi: insane is apt.

    @RedPat: very much so.

    @Lea: thank you.

    @Jeanie: it's in our nature.

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  20. @John: many young airmen got to know Britain that way.

    @Red: the nearest base here still serves as an airstrip.

    @Carol: thanks.

    @Iris: I can imagine.

    @Fun60: a volunteer is worth twenty conscripts.

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  21. Thank you for making this display real to us.

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  22. I like the term Aerodrome of Democracy.

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  23. You are giving us a good history lesson in your posts William, thank you!

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  24. I'm learning new things from your Museum posts:)

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  25. That video must be quite an experience.

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