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The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, also known as the Empire Air Training Scheme, Empire Air Training Plan, Joint Air Training Scheme (JATS), or simply "The Plan", was a massive air-training program involving Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Southern Rhodesia during World War Two. The Plan was set up by the British Air Ministry, following an agreement signed by participating countries in December 1939. It remains the largest single air training program in history and was responsible for training nearly half the pilots, navigators, bombadiers, air gunners, wireless operators and flight engineers of the Commonwealth air forces during WWII.Canada was the primary location for this effort and paid most of the costs, due in part to ample supplies of fuel, wide open spaces suitable for navigation training, industrial facilities for the production of trainer aircraft, parts and supplies, and the lack of any real threat from Luftwaffe and Japanese fighter planes. Over 167,000 students, including over 50,000 pilots, 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 Royal Air Force, over half (72,835) of the 131,553 graduates were Canadians.
Because of its prominence in the Plan, Canada was referred to as "the Aerodrome of Democracy" by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a play on the United States being "the Arsenal of Democracy". At its height, the Plan included 231 training sites, more than 10,000 aircraft and 100,000 military administrative personnel. The legacy of the Plan in Canada included a strong post-war aviation sector and many airbases across the country, some of which became general aviationGeneral aviation (GA) encompasses all civil aviation other than scheduled airline flights and military aviation. It includes everything from a privately-owned light single-engine aircraft to business jets, news gathering, police, pipeline patrol, emergenc airports while others have since been used for drag racingDrag racing is a form of auto racing in which cars attempt to complete a fairly short, straight and level course in the shortest amount of time. Drag racing originated in the United States and is still most popular there. The most common distance is one q.
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Canadian military history
Royal Canadian Air ForceRoyal Canadian Air Force Roundel The Royal Canadian Air Force RCAF was the air force of Canada from 1924 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Armed Forces. The modern Canadian air force has been known a
