Air Crew Descriptions
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan endeavored to
train a force of men that could control air combat during World
War II. There were only a handful of aircrew
classifications and each was responsible for performing
certain duties on operations. This section will illustrate
the classifications and what they entailed.
The aircrew classifications one could enlist for were:
Pilots
Navigators
Air Bombers
Air Observer
Air Gunners
Wireless Operators
Flight Engineers
Pilot
The
majority of men who presented themselves for enlistment
in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during World War
II had high hopes of becoming a pilot. While many men succeeded,
more were trained in other trades. Most men felt that a
pilot commission was glamourous compared to others, but
the pilots themselves would be the first to say that they
relied upon other crew members on operations.
A pilot’s training was intensive. After
Initial Training
School (ITS), he attended
Elementary Flying Training School
(EFTS),
Service Flying Training School
(SFTS), was then posted to an
Operational Training Unit
or General Reconnaissance School and eventually, sent overseas,
or kept in Canada to defend the homefront or train other
pilots.
After EFTS, pilots who were going to be trained as fighter
pilots were posted to a SFTS where they would be trained,
usually on Harvard
aircraft, comparable to what they would be using in combat.
Men who were chosen to pilot bomber, coastal or transport
operations were posted to a SFTS where they could train
on larger, dual engine aircraft such as
Avro Ansons,
Cessna
Cranes and
Airspeed Oxfords.
In addition to their pilot flying training, as they were
an aircraft commander on operations, pilots were also trained
in navigation, engines, airframe, meteorology, wireless
and photography. They were trained to be able to fly at
any time of day, in any conditions. At SFTS, pilots specialized
in advanced flying techniques such as night and instrument
flying.
In the early years of the BCATP, the pilot training process
took approximately 25 weeks. By 1944, the time pilots were
required to spend in training had almost doubled. In putting
the Plan into practice, the Air Ministry soon learned how
to make improvements and took greater time to ensure that
all aircrew were expertly trained.
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Navigator
Navigators could become straight navigators, or specialize
to navigate bomber or fighter aircraft. Nevertheless, a
proficient navigator was essential to the success of any
aircraft on operation. Curtained away behind the pilot so
as to conceal the lights he needed to calculate and log
the aircraft’s course, navigators directed pilots to their
destination and then back home again. If a navigator was
not incredibly precise, the bomb aimer would miss his targets.
These men needed to be trained intensively in navigational
rules, calculations and measurements to such a degree that
they could pinpoint the position of the aircraft while in
flight without any external aid, also known as dead reckoning.
As the war progressed, so did navigational technology. Radios
and astral observation were used to assist the navigator
in his duties. However, since electronic devices could be
interfered with and the stars are not always visible, dead
reckoning was never replaced.
Air Bomber
Air Bombers were responsible for loading and dropping the
bombs. They were required to be able to calculate the exact
moment of when to drop the bomb load and then press the
button to do so. He also had to learn to take photographs
of the bombs after they had been dropped to record bomb
destruction and enemy troop placement.
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Air Observer
In 1942, Canada’s Air Ministry revised bomber crews. Instead
of a crew being comprised of two pilots, an air observer
and two wireless operator/air gunners, it was decided that
only one pilot was necessary for medium to heavy bombers
and that the position of air observer, who up until this
time was responsible for both navigating and bomb dropping,
would be broken up into two positions: air bomber and navigator.
Thus a bomber crew from 1942 onward would usually consist
of one pilot, a navigator, an air bomber, a wireless operator/air
gunner and one or two straight air gunners. In a Lancaster
bomber, a flight engineer was added to the crew.
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Air Gunner
In a Lancaster bomber, a crew was comprised of seven members.
There were two air gunners, one located in the mid-upper
portion of the aircraft and another in the rear. As well
as knowing how to target and shoot at the enemy aircraft,
the air gunner was responsible for scanning the night sky
to spot enemy fighters and directing the pilot toward evasive
action.
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Wireless Operator
Wireless operators were trained to use the radio equipment
on board an aircraft. It was this person’s job to maintain
communication with the world outside of the aircraft. In
addition, a straight wireless operator was trained in using
navigational equipment and was the member of the crew who
would administer first aid if need be.
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Flight Engineer
A flight engineer was the seventh and final member added
to a heavy bomber crew. Essentially, the flight engineer
was an aero-engine technician. Seated next to the pilot,
he would assist in take-offs, landings and monitor oil,
fuel and pressure gauges. It was also this man's duty to
take over the aircraft if anything happened to the pilot.
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