The Aircraft Identity Corps was a Canadian

civil defence Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mit ...

organisation operating between 1940 and 1945. The corps's mission was to report suspicious aircraft and guard against German, Japanese, and Italian attack. The use of observers was deemed important because

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

was not yet in widespread use. It was rebuilt as the Long Range Air Raid Warning System in 1950. The Aircraft Identity Corps was formed in 1940 by

Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...

George Croil Air Marshal George Mitchell Croil CBE, AFC (June 5, 1893 – April 8, 1959) was an American-born Canadian Royal Flying Corps pilot during World War I who went on to become the first Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Croil ...

for service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. By the war's end in 1945 it had over 30,000 members. Among the Corps' responsibilities was a system of 266 observation posts extending from the Sault Ste. Marie locks in northern Michigan to Hudson Bay, to protect the strategically important locks against a possible long-range German air attack. The joint US and Canadian defense of these locks was coordinated by the US Army's Central Defense Command. In the then-separate

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was established on 26 September 1907, and confirmed by the Balfour Declaration of 1926 and the Statute of Westmi ...

, there was an Aircraft Detection Corps Newfoundland. At the behest of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

(RCAF), the Commissioner of Defence for Newfoundland, L. E. Emerson, amalgamated the Aircraft Detection Corps Newfoundland with the Canadian Aircraft Detection Corps. On March 15, 1942, Emerson circulated a communique stating the "Aircraft Detection Corps Newfoundland" would be organized by the RCAF as a unit of the Canadian Aircraft Identity Corps. One of the letter's recipients was Newfoundland public figure P. W. Crummey, an Aircraft Detection Corps Newfoundland volunteer. Attached to the communique was a letter from

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior Officer (armed forces)#Commissioned officers, commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) RAF officer ranks, system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. I ...

H. H. Graham, commanding officer of Torbay Airport, No. 1 Group RCAF, St. John's; glossaries of airplanes and ships; an identity card; and procedural instructions. At war's end, Aircraft Identity Corps volunteers in Canada and the Dominion of Newfoundland received a brass Volunteer Aircraft Observer button and certificate of thanks from Canada's

Department of National Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

. Some Aircraft Detection Corps Newfoundland volunteers qualified for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

's Defence Medal.

References

{{Reflist Ground-based air defence observation corps Air force units and formations of Canada Military units and formations of Canada in World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943

See also

References