History Browser

Many of those whose lives were claimed by the Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence have no known grave. Their lives, and their sacrifices, are commemorated on Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials on both sides of the Atlantic. This website gives account of these memorials and awards.

As World War II war drew to a close, members of all the armed forces of the Allies wanted nothing so much as to shed their uniforms, and fast. But there was not enough shipping available to bring Allied troops from all over the world as quickly as they wished.

In 1939, Prime Minister Mackenzie King had a dream which he believed was a sign of "the power of the airplane in determining ultimate victory" for the war effort. That dream became a reality in the form of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP).

On 6 June 1944, Allied forces invaded Western Europe along an 80-kilometre front in Normandy, France. Of the nearly 150,000 Allied troops who landed or parachuted into the invasion area on D-Day, 14,000 were Canadians.

The Spitfire Mk. IX was the third-generation of Supermarine's famous fighter, and the final one equipped with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. The L.F. Mk. IX was an aircraft optimised for combat at lower altitudes - note the clipped wings shown in this photograph of a surviving example in the collection of the Canadian Aviation Museum. The aircraft bears the 'AU' code letters of 421 'Red Indian' Squadron, Royal Canadian Airforce. 421 Squadron was one of several Canadian fighter squadrons stationed in Europe. (Canadian Department of National Defence, PCN-5234)

This report discusses the measures taken by the Army to safeguard the civil population and vital installations in the Lower St. Lawrence region as a result of the incursion of German submarines into the Gulf and River in 1942. After Japanese forces struck at Pearl Harbour, the whole perspective of the war was changed and the Allied powers had to redistribute their naval resources to cover the new areas in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The German enemy's response to this new situation was to mount more agressive U-boat attacks from the Atlantic and heading westward.

A list of books and academic papers about the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan of the Second World War.

This 1942 radio broadcast features testimonials from airwomen of the Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division (WDs) who are proud to be serving their country in the ground jobs that keep men flying. The WDs played a vital role in the operation of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during WW II.

Listing of films from the National Film Board. Canada's Air Force has played an important role in military history. In these films the equipment, training, and types of aircraft that make up this fighting force are explored.

Like many Canadian air units formed during the Second World War, 408 'Goose' Tactical Helicopter Squadron has assumed various roles in its history. A brief profile is included in this resource along with a list of aircraft flown.