History Browser

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.

The CBC program "Comrades in Arms", which debuted in 1942 and continued till the war's end, dramatizes the life of soldiers in the Army, Navy and Air Force. This 1943 episode features the exploits of the RCAF Wolverine Squadron as they search out and destroy German U-boats in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

A young French Canadian airman describes his adventures at sea when his plane is shot down and he and his fellow Coastal Command crew members are set adrift in cold ocean waters for nearly three days.

This 1942 radio clip recounts the story of early Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division recruits - Canada's first servicewomen. Originally created in 1941 as the Canadian Women's Auxiliary Air Force, the branch was renamed a year later and was the first to accept women.

Two Canadian airmen, assigned to escort German officials to the signing of the surrender to the Soviets in Berlin, describe their impressions of the city and the V-E night celebrations.

CBC correspondent in Normandy reads a letter written by a young RCAF Spitfire pilot to his girlfriend in Canada. In it, the airman describes how he executes an early morning aerial patrol.

A CBC reporter in France gives a vivid account of an airman's day in an RCAF airfield camp as torrential rains cause flooding, wet tents, mud, and dampness everywhere.