User:Cadet Pilot/sandbox/Civil Government Air Operations

Civil Government Air Operations (CGAO) were operations undertaken by in Canada by the Air Board and Department of National Defence on behalf of other provincial or federal government organizations during the inter-war period. The Air Board's mandate included the operation of a "civil air service" alongside the military air service When the Air Board was merged with the Department of Militia and Defence and Department of the Naval Service to form the Department of National Defence (DND) in 1922, DND continued to conduct civil government air operations until the creation of the Department of Transport and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Air Service in late 1936. Photographic survey remained a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) responsibility until the outbreak of the Second World War.

History

Flying Operations Branch - 1919-1922

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Leckie was appointed Superintendent of Flying Operations under the Air Board on 15 December 1919, and a program of operations was planned for the summer of 1920 from air stations to be established at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia; Roberval, Quebec; Ottawa, Ontario; Morley, Alberta; and Vancouver, British Columbia. All pilots and the majority of other personnel were veterans of the First World War employed as civil servants. The majority of personnel were also members of the part-time Canadian Air Force, rotating through refresher training at Camp Borden one month in every twenty-four. Officers were usually referred to by the army equivalents of their air force ranks when performing their civil duties (e.g. Major G.M. Croil was superintendent of the Morley Air Station, but also held a commission as a Squadron Leader in the Canadian Air Force).

1920

During the summer of 1920, four air stations were established as planned. Initial operations made use of aircraft and equipment from the 1919 Imperial Gift, plus aircraft and facilities left in Nova Scotia by the United States Navy at the end of the First World War.

The former United States Naval Air Station Halifax, at Baker's Point on the Dartmouth side of Halifax Harbour, was re-activated as the Dartmouth Air Station. The Curtiss HS-2L flying boats left behind at Dartmouth by the US Navy as a gift to the Canadian government at the end of the First World War were dispatched by air and rail to Roberval, Ottawa, and Vancouver.

The Roberval Air Station was established as a seaplane station on the shore of Lac St-Jean at Roberval. HS-2Ls flown from Dartmouth were used for survey work in cooperation with the Quebec provincial government.

The Ottawa Air Station was established as a landplane field behind the backstops of the militia's Rockcliffe Rifle Range, with seaplane moorings in the Ottawa River. Aerial photography experiments were conducted using war surplus cameras, an Avro 504K and a Bristol F.2B. Two HS-2Ls were detached from Ottawa to Sioux Lookout and Haileybury, Ontario in the fall of 1920 to survey forests.

The Morley Air Station was established on the Stoney 142, 143, 144 reserve near Morley, Alberta, with temporary Bessoneau hangars erected in a suitable field along the Bow River. Airco DH.4 aircraft from the Imperial Gift were used to patrol for forest fires in the federally-managed timer reserves between the US border and Eckville, Alberta.

A site was selected for the Vancouver Air Station at Jericho Beach on English Bay in the summer of 1920, with an HS-2L flying boat arriving by rail later that season.

In October of 1920, the Flying Operations Branch flew the first half of the Trans-Canada Flight. Lieutenant Colonel Leckie, Superintendent of Flying Operations, personally flew the

The Superintendent of Flying Operations was re-titled Director of Flying Operations in November of 1920.

1921

Operations for 1921 were carried out along the same lines as they had been in 1920.

The Victoria Beach Air Station was established at Victoria Beach, Manitoba in 1921 to conduct forestry patrols across southern Manitoba. Felixstowe F.3 flying boats from the Imperial Gift were initially used on these operations alongside HS-2Ls.

The Northern Ontario Mobile Unit was created as an experiment in mobile operations, using four boxcars on a Canadian National Railway siding in Sioux Lookout for accommodation and workshop facilities in place of permanent buildings.

The Morley Air Station moved to the town of High River, Alberta over the winter of 1920-21, commencing forestry fire patrols as the High River Air Station on 6 May 1921. The location at Morley was considered unsuitable due to strong winds in close proximity to the Rocky Mountains.

Canadian Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force Civil Operations - 1922-1927

On 1 June 1922, the Flying Operations Branch was consolidated with the Canadian Air Force (CAF). The civil position of Director of Flying Operations was eliminated and all government flying, military and civilian, was brought under the command of the Director of the Canadian Air Force. On 25 November 1922, after flying operations had concluded for the season, all flying operations personnel were commissioned or enlisted in the CAF and the six air stations (Dartmouth, Roberval, Ottawa, Victoria Beach, High River, and Vancouver) were redesignated "CAF Units" (e.g. the Ottawa Air Station became C.A.F. Unit Ottawa).

Directorate of Civil Government Air Operations - 1927-1932

On 1 July 1927, the position of Director of Civil Government Air Operations was created to report directly to the Deputy Minister of National Defence. The RCAF operations squadrons at Dartmouth, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and High River were transferred to the new directorate and re-named "air stations" (e.g. No. 2 (Operations) Squadron became the High River Air Station). Unlike the civil servants of the earlier Flying Operations Branch, the CGAO organization was staffed almost entirely by personnel attached or seconded from the RCAF. The RCAF retained two stations in the re-organization. RCAF Station Camp Borden remained the center of military flying training in Canada, and RCAF Station Vancouver was home to the RCAF's seaplane conversion courses.

Royal Canadian Air Force Civil Operations - 1932-1936

At the height of the Great Depression, the Civil Government Air Operations branch was merged back into the RCAF on 1 November 1932. The civil air stations again became RCAF Stations, with each station headquarters having operational control of civil operations in their area.

Stations

• Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
• Roberval, Quebec
• Ottawa, Ontario
• Northern Ontario Mobile Unit
• Whitney and Parry Sound, Ontario
• Winnipeg, Manitoba
• High River, Alberta
• Vancouver, British Columbia

Operations

Forestry

"Timber Cruising"

Much of the initial forestry work carried out by the Flying Operations Branch was referred to as "timber cruising". Unlike later photographic survey operations, this activity consisted of flying forestry personnel over their areas of responsibility to conduct general inventories of tree types.

References

Bibliography