British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan ( BCATP ; " The Plan " ) , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme ( EATS ) , was a massive , joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom , Canada , Australia and New Zealand , during the Second World War . BCATP / EATS remains as one of the single largest aviation training programs in history and was responsible for training nearly half the pilots , navigator s , bomb aimer s , air gunner s , wireless operators and flight engineers who served with the Royal Air Force ( RAF ) , Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) , Royal Canadian Air Force ( RCAF ) and Royal New Zealand Air Force ( RNZAF ) during the war . Under a parallel agreement , the Joint Air Training Scheme , South Africa trained 33 , 347 aircrew for the South African Air Force and other Allied air forces . This number was exceeded only by Canada , which trained 131 , 500 personnel . Southern Rhodesia at the time was a British Crown Colony ( rather than a Dominion ) and was not involved in the negotiation or signing of the BCATP ; the Southern Rhodesia Air Force was subsumed by the RAF in 1940 . However , Rhodesia provided significant EATS facilities and contributed personnel to British units . Students from many other countries attended schools under these plans , including Argentina , Belgium , Ceylon , Czechoslovakia , Denmark , Finland , Fiji , France , Greece , the Netherlands , Norway , Poland and the United States , where the similar Civilian Pilot Training Program was already underway by the end of 1938 . Background . The United Kingdom was considered an unsuitable location for air training , due to the possibility of enemy attack , the strain caused by wartime traffic at airfields and the unpredictable climate , so the plan called for the facilities in the Dominions to train British and each other ' s aircrews . Negotiations regarding joint training , between the four governments concerned , took place in Ottawa during the first few months of the war . On 17 December 1939 , they signed the Air Training Agreement – often referred to as the " Riverdale Agreement " , after the UK representative at the negotiations , Lord Riverdale . The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was viewed as an incredibly ambitious programme . The 1939 agreement stated that the training was to be similar to that of the RAF : three initial training schools , thirteen elementary flying training schools , sixteen service flying training schools , ten air observer schools , ten bombing and gunnery schools , two air navigation schools and four wireless schools were to be created . The agreement called for the training of nearly 50 , 000 aircrew each year , for as long as necessary : 22 , 000 aircrew from Great Britain , 13 , 000 from Canada , 11 , 000 from Australia and 3 , 300 from New Zealand . Under the agreement , air crews received elementary training in various Commonwealth countries before travelling to Canada for advanced courses . Training costs were to be divided between the four governments . Article XV of the agreement stipulated that graduates belonging to Dominion air forces , where they were assigned to service with the RAF , should be placed in new squadrons identified with the RAAF , RCAF and RNZAF . These units later became known as " Article XV squadrons " . Articles XVI and XVII stipulated that the UK government would be wholly responsible for the pay and entitlements of graduates , once they were placed with RAF or Article XV units . Some pre - war / regular RAAF and RCAF squadrons also served under RAF operational control , while New Zealand and Rhodesian personnel were frequently assigned to RAF squadrons with the honorific s of " and " " in their names . However , in practice – and technically in contravention of Article XV – most personnel from other Commonwealth countries , while they were under RAF operational control , were assigned to British units . On 29 April 1940 , the first Canadian training course officially commenced , with 221 recruits , at No . 1 Initial Training School RCAF , located initially at the Eglinton Hunt Club , Toronto . From this intake , 39 received their wings as aircrew on 30 September 1940 . All of these graduates , however , were retained by the BCATP in Canada , as instructors , staff pilots or in similar flying assignments . The first BCATP personnel sent to the UK were 37 Canadian observer s , who received their wings at RCAF Trenton , near Trenton , Ontario , on 27 October 1940 . The first BCATP - trained pilots posted to Europe as a group were 37 RAAF personnel who graduated in November 1941 , from No . 2 Service Flying Training School , RCAF Uplands , Ottawa . Countries involved . Australia . Prior to the inception of the Empire Air Training Scheme ( as it was commonly known in Australia ) , the RAAF trained only about 50 pilots per year . Under the Air Training Agreement , Australia undertook to provide 28 , 000 aircrew over three years , representing 36 % of the total number trained by the BCATP . By 1945 , more than 37 , 500 Australian aircrew had been trained in Australia ; a majority of these , over 27 , 300 , had also graduated from schools in Australia . During 1940 , Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) schools were established across Australia to support EATS in Initial Training , Elementary Flying Training , Service Flying Training , Air Navigation , Air Observer , Bombing and Gunnery and Wireless Air Gunnery . The first flying course started on 29 April 1940 . Keith Chisholm ( who later became an ace and served with No . 452 Squadron RAAF over Europe and the Pacific ) was the first Australian to be trained under EATS . For a period , most RAAF aircrews received advanced training in Canada . During mid - 1940 , however , some RAAF trainees began to receive advanced training at RAF facilities in Southern Rhodesia . On 14 November 1940 , the first contingent to graduate from advanced training in Canada embarked for the UK . In January 1942 , Clive Caldwell – the highest - scoring Australian ace of the war – became the first BCATP / EATS graduate to command a RAF squadron ( 112 Sqn ) . Following the outbreak of the Pacific War , a majority of RAAF aircrews completed their training in Australia and served with RAAF units in the South West Pacific Theatre . In addition , an increasing number of Australian personnel were transferred from Europe and the Mediterranean to RAF squadrons in the South East Asian Theatre . Some Article XV squadrons were also transferred to RAAF or RAF formations involved in the Pacific War . Nevertheless , a significant proportion of RAAF personnel remained in Europe and RAAF Article XV squadrons continued to be formed there . By early 1944 , the flow of RAAF replacement personnel to Europe had begun to outstrip demand and – following a request by the UK government – was wound back significantly . Australian involvement was effectively terminated in October 1944 , although it was not formally suspended until 31 March 1945 . Canada . Canada was chosen as the primary location for " The Plan " due to ideal weather and open spaces for large - scale flying training , ample supplies of fuel , wide open spaces suitable for flight and navigation training , industrial facilities for the production of trainer aircraft , parts and supplies , the lack of any threat from either the Luftwaffe or Japan ese fighter aircraft and its relative proximity to both the European and Pacific theatre s . For initial training biplanes , as one example of the wide range of American and British aircraft designs used for Canadian - based training facilities , pilots might have started their initial flight training on the Tiger Moth , the Boeing Stearman from the nearby United States , or even the indigenously designed and produced Fleet Finch biplane . The government agreed in December 1939 to join the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , operate its bases in Canada , and pick up a large proportion of the costs . Events turned the scheme into a huge operation , one that cost Canada $ 1 . 6 billion of a total cost of $ 2 . 2 billion , and employed 104 , 000 Canadians in airbases across the land . The W . L . M . King government saw involvement in the BCATP as a means of keeping Canadians at home , but more importantly , it eased demands for a large expeditionary force and buried the politically divisive issue of overseas conscription . Negotiating the agreement and agreeing upon aspects of involvement was notably difficult . Canada agreed to accept most of the costs of the plan but in return insisted British pronouncement that air training would be Canada ' s primary war effort . Yet another negotiation point was the British expectation that the RAF would absorb Canadian air training graduates without restrictions , as in World War One , and distribute them across the RAF . W . L . M . King demanded that Canadian airmen be identified as member of the RCAF with distinct uniforms and shoulder badges . The RCAF would run the plan in Canada , but to satisfy RAF concerns , Robert Leckie , a senior RAF commander ( at the time in charge of RAF squadrons in Malta ) and a Canadian , was posted to Ottawa as Director of Training . From 1940 he directed BCATP training . At its height of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , 131 , 533 Allied pilots and aircrew were trained in Canada , 72 , 835 of which were Canadian . At the plan ' s high point in late 1943 , an organisation of over 100 , 000 administrative personnel operated 107 schools and 184 other supporting units at 231 locations all across Canada . Infrastructure development including erecting " some 8 , 300 buildings of which 700 were hangars or of hangar - type construction . " Fuel storage totalling more than was installed along with 300 miles of water mains and a similar length of sewer mains laid , involving 2 , 000 , 000 cubic yards of excavation . A total of 100 sewage treatment and disposal plants and 120 water pumping stations were completed ; and more than 2 , 000 miles of main power lines and 535 miles of underground electrical cable placed , servicing a total connected electrical power load of over 80 , 700 horsepower . In late 1944 , the Air Ministry announced the winding - up of the plan , since the Commonwealth air forces had long had a surplus of air crews . At the conclusion of the war , over 167 , 000 students , including over 50 , 000 pilots , had trained in Canada under the program from May 1940 to March 1945 . While the majority of those who successfully completed the program went on to serve in the RAF , over half ( 72 , 835 ) of the 131 , 553 graduates were Canadians . New Zealand . During the war , the RNZAF contributed 2 , 743 fully trained pilots to serve with the RAF in Europe , the Middle East , and Far East . Another 1 , 521 pilots who completed their training in New Zealand were retained in country ; either as instructors , staff pilots , or manning operational squadrons formed during the latter half of the war . In 1940 , before the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was fully developed , New Zealand also trained 183 observers and 395 air gunners for the RAF . From 1943 onwards , the training of wireless operator / air gunners , and navigators was carried on in New Zealand for Pacific operations . In addition , some 2 , 910 pilots were trained to elementary standards and sent to Canada to continue their training . More than 2 , 700 wireless operator / air - gunners , 1 , 800 navigators , and 500 bombardiers passed through the Initial Training Wing before proceeding to Canada . Of the 131 , 000 trainees who graduated in Canada under the Commonwealth Air Training Plan , New Zealanders formed 5 . 3 % . South Africa . Despite the prewar South African Air Force ( SAAF ) expansion plans , the start of the Second World War in 1939 caught the SAAF unprepared . New flying schools had been established at Pretoria , Germiston , Bloemfontein and Baragwanath , while a training command under Lieutenant Colonel W . T . B . Tasker would oversee the SAAF ' s overall training programme . With the establishment of the Joint Air Training Scheme ( JATS ) 38 South African – based air schools would be employed to train Royal Air Force , SAAF and other allied air and ground crews . Aircraft and other equipment required for the training was provided to South Africa free of charge by the United Kingdom . Under this scheme , the SAAF , by September 1941 , increased the total number of military aircraft to 1 , 709 while the personnel strength had grown to 31 , 204 , including 956 pilots . During its five year existence , the JATS was ultimately to turn out a total of 33 , 347 aircrew , including 12 , 221 SAAF personnel . Southern Rhodesia . On the outbreak of war in September 1939 , the Government of Southern Rhodesia made an offer to the British Air Ministry to run a flying school and train personnel to man three squadrons ( " 44 , 237 and 266 ( Rhodesia ) Squadrons " ) , which was duly accepted . The Rhodesian Air Training Group ( RATG ) , operating 1940 – 1945 , was set up as part of the overall Commonwealth Air Training Plan . In January 1940 the Government announced the creation of a Department of Air , completely separate from that of Defence and appointed Ernest Lucas Guest as Minister of Air . Guest inaugurated and administered what became the second largest Empire Air Training Scheme , beginning with the establishment of three units at Salisbury , Bulawayo and Gwelo , each consisting of a preliminary and an advanced training school . Rhodesia was the last of the Commonwealth countries to enter the Empire Air Training Scheme and the first to turn out fully qualified pilots . No . 25 Elementary Flying Training School at Belvedere , Salisbury opened on 24 May 1940 . The original programme of an initial training wing and six schools was increased to 10 flying training schools and bombing , navigation and gunnery school and a school for the training of flying instructors as well as additional schools for bomb aimers , navigators and air gunners , including stations at Cranbourne ( Salisbury ) , Norton , Gwelo and Heany ( near Bulawayo ) . To relieve congestion at the air stations , six relief landing grounds for landing and takeoff instruction and two air firing and bombing ranges were established . Two aircraft and engine repair and overhaul depots were set up as well as the Central Maintenance Unit to deal with bulk stores for the whole group . The trainees came mainly from Great Britain but also from Australia , Canada , South Africa , New Zealand , USA , Yugoslavia , Greece , France , Poland , Czechoslovakia , Kenya , Uganda , Tanganyika , Fiji and Malta . There were also pupils from the Royal Hellenic Air Force in training . Over 7 , 600 pilots and 2 , 300 navigators were trained by the RATG during the war . United States . By mid - 1940 , Canadian flying instructors were primarily employed in the BCATP and to increase the numbers of flying instructors , the RCAF began a campaign to recruit American pilots . Air Marshal W . A . ( " Billy " ) Bishop was instrumental in setting up a clandestine recruiting organisation in the United States . In response to the campaign , Americans began crossing the border , appearing at the nearest recruiting centres " in such numbers that they caused some embarrassment to Canadian authorities . Occasionally they were followed by worried parents who , sometimes successfully and sometimes not , pleaded with them to forget about foreign wars and go back to school . " President Roosevelt , when confronted with this mass exodus , ordered that Americans going to Canada to join the RCAF or RAF would be granted exemption by the US draft board . Prior to Pearl Harbor , training centres were made available for the RAF ; by war ' s end , 16 , 000 RAF aircrew were trained in the United States . After Pearl Harbor , 1 , 759 American members of the RCAF transferred to the armed forces of the United States , another 2 , 000 transferred later on , and about 5 , 000 completed their service with the RCAF . Legacy . Canada . The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan illustrated that the Commonwealth still had some military meaning during the Second World War and was one of Canada ' s major contributions to the early war effort . The BCATP was an impressive and uniting national achievement . Canada became , during the Second World War , one of the great air training centres contributing more than 130 , 000 trained aircrew to the Allied Cause . The federal government paid three - quarters of the total bill , an amount in excess of two and a quarter billion dollars . On the third anniversary of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , in a message ghost written by Lester B . Pearson , serving at the Canadian legation in Washington , US president Franklin D . Roosevelt enthused that the BCATP had transformed Canada into the " aerodrome of democracy " , a play on his earlier description of the United States as " the Arsenal of Democracy . " Various aircraft , transport and training artefacts may be seen at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum , located in Brandon , Manitoba . As Canada was the main participant , the legacy of the plan there included a strong postwar aviation sector and many new or improved airports across the country , the majority of which are still in use . The classic BCATP airport consisted of three runways , each typically 2 , 500 ft ( 760 m ) in length , arranged in a triangle so that aircraft could always land ( more - or - less ) into the wind – that was critically important at a time when most light training aircraft ( such as the North American Harvard ) were taildraggers , which are difficult to land in strong cross - winds . That triangular runway outline is perfectly preserved at Gananoque Airport , but is still easily visible under later runway extensions at most Canadian BCATP airports , such as Kingston / Norman Rogers Airport , Boundary Bay Airport and Pendelton , Ontario airport . Later modifications have often resulted in one runway being lengthened to handle larger aircraft such as jets , and in less - used runways being closed or converted to taxiways . The BCATP provided an enormous and continuing economic boost , particularly in the Western provinces that were still recovering from the decade long depression . The final report of the BCATP Supervisory Board calculated that “ more than 3 , 750 members of the RAF , RAAF , RNZAF and Allied nationals under RAF quotas married Canadian girls , ” many of whom remained in Canada to raise families . In 1959 , Queen Elizabeth II unveiled The Ottawa Memorial , a monument erected to " ( commemorate ) by name , some 800 men and women who lost their lives while serving or training with the Air Forces of the Commonwealth in Canada , the West Indies and the United States and who have no known grave . " The Commonwealth Air Training Plan ( CATP ) Museum is a non - profit , charitable organisation in Brandon , Manitoba , founded and operated by volunteers . The museum is dedicated to the preservation of the history of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and serves as a unique memorial to those airmen who trained and served , and especially those who died , while serving their country in the air war of 1939 – 1945 . This is the only museum in the world dedicated solely to this goal , located in Manitoba where so much of the training was carried out . The collection includes 14 aircraft on display with the museum ' s Auster , Harvard , Cornell and Stinson HW - 75 airworthy . The Commonwealth Air Training Plan may also be regarded as the precursor of post - war international air training schemes in Canada , many of them involving personnel from other NATO powers . These include the NATO Air Training Plan ( 1950 – 1957 ) that graduated 4 , 600 pilots and navigators from 10 countries . Later bilateral arrangements with individual NATO powers ( 1959 – 1983 ) , the Military Training Assistance Plan , which has trained aircrews from developing countries since 1964 and NATO Flying Training in Canada ( NFTC ) , since 1998 , a partnership of the Canadian Forces , Bombardier Aerospace Corporation and participating air forces . In 2005 , the Canadian Department of National Defence awarded a 22 - year , $ 1 . 77 - billion contract to an Allied Wings team led by Kelowna Flightcraft Ltd . of Kelowna , British Columbia , to provide flying training and support services to the Canadian Forces and international allies . These services are provided out of the Canada Wings Aviation Training Centre in the Southport Aerospace Centre near Portage la Prairie , Manitoba . South Africa . The South African Air Force Memorial at Swartkop , Tshwane includes a memorial to the Royal Air Force members who died in South Africa during the Joint Air Training Scheme . The Port Elizabeth branch of the South African Air Force Museum is still housed in the original 42 - Air School Air Gunnery Training Centre used during the Joint Air Training Scheme . Australia . The " Scheme " cost Australia about £100 , 000 , 000 for her commitments . In addition to the Empire Air Training Scheme , wartime demands had led to training for home requirements . The RAAF built air training and ground training schools , airfields and specialised schools that served the country well in wartime as well as postwar . All the service flying training schools were disbanded , except Uranquinty . The Uranquinty Base continued to provide refresher courses for qualified pilots and even briefly became a migrant centre in the late 1940s until it reopened as No 1 Basic Flying Training School between 1951 and 1959 when it finally closed . The Wireless Air Gunners ' School at Ballarat remained as the RAAF Radio School until 1961 . A memorial was dedicated to 5 Service Flying Training School RAAF , within the Empire Air Training Scheme at Uranquinty , 19 September 1999 . EATS pilot training schools at Evans Head , New South Wales , Cunderdin , Western Australia , Point Cook , Victoria , Essendon , Victoria and Laverton , Victoria are on state or national heritage lists . Wireless operator / air gunners ' schools at Maryborough , Queensland , and Ballarat , Victoria , are currently recommended for state heritage listing .