The Early Years
It
has been nearly ninety years since the first demonstration of flight
took place before a large audience of senior military and government
officials at Camp Petawawa on 12-13 August 1909. Unfortunately, both
planes crashed, one during rehearsal and the other on its second flight.
Needless to say the Canadian government took little interest
in establishing an aviation corps until after WW I. During WW I, Canada
did not have its own air force, however Canadians flew with distinction
as part of the Royal Flying Corps. Although some attempts were made
to establish an aviation corps only a single aircraft was ever shipped
to England and it was never flown. During the war Canada also contributed
to the British air services by hosting the British Flying Training Program.
In 1917, as part of our commitment, Canada built one of
the most up to date aircrew training facilities in the world at Borden.
The facilities were built by some 2800 civilian contractors and maintained
by Royal Engineers. The development was so successful that it became
the standard for later airfields.
After WW I, the need for an air service was seen by the
government as the height of absurdity. It was not until the early 1920s
that the government felt the need for a military aviation capability
to monitor the countries vast land areas and coast lines. As a result,
on 1 April 1924 the Royal Canadian Air Force was established. Over the
next decade extensive construction of air stations and support facilities
took place. However since the air force had no construction engineering
capability the work had to be completed by either the Royal Canadian
Engineers, Department of Transport or the Air Board.
It was not until 1939, 15 years after the establishment
of the RCAF, that the RCAF was authorized to establish its own construction
engineering directorate. Known as the Directorate of Works and Buildings
(DWB); it was established to coordinate the British Commonwealth Air
Training Plan (BCATP) and Home War Establishment (HWE) construction
projects. In 1940 the need for closer liaison between the DWB and air
operations was identified. To rectify this situation the DWB was transferred
to the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff. The new close liaison with the
operations staff made it easier for the DWB to define project requirements
with the operators. This close liaison between the airfield engineers
and operations has been an integral part of the air force ever since.
