Royal Canadian Air Force No. 5 Plaque

RCAF NO. 5 INITIAL TRAINING SCHOOL (5 ITS).
BELLEVILLE

IN WORLD WAR II, THE RCAF NO. 5 ITS OCCUPIED THIS FACILITY
FROM 1941 TO 1944 UNDER AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE FEDERAL
AND ONTARIO GOVERNMENTS. IT WAS ONE OF SEVEN SUCH UNITS
THAT OPERATED UNDER THE RCAF-DIRECTED COMMONWEALTH AIR
TRAINING PLAN IN CANADA. IT PROVIDED INITIAL TRAINING FOR
POTENTIAL AIRCREW. INSTRUCTION IN MATHEMATICS, LINK TRAINER,
ARMAMENT, FLIGHT THEORY, COMMUNICATIONS, METEOROLOGY,
DISCIPLINE, NAVIGATION AND OTHER RELATED SUBJECTS PRECEDED
FINAL TESTING AND SELECTION. GRADUATES WERE POSTED TO
OTHER AIR FORCE BASES IN CANADA FOR CONCENTRATED AND
ADVANCED TRAINING TO “WINGS” STANDARDS IN ONE OF SEVERAL
AIRCREW BRANCHES.

THE RCAF DIRECTED THE TRAINING OF AIRMEN FROM CANADA,
AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE UNITED
STATES. OF THE 131,500 AIRMEN TRAINED IN CANADA DURING THE
WAR, NEARLY 70,000 WERE CANADIANS AND, OF THAT MAGNIFICENT
NUMBER, 6,664 RECEIVED THEIR INITIAL TRAINING HERE.
THIS COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUE IS DEDICATED TO ALL WHO
SERVED HERE AT NO. 5 ITS, AND ESPECIALLY TO THOSE WHO GAVE
THEIR LIVES IN THEIR AIR FORCE SERVICE TO THEIR COUNTRY
….…THEY WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN!

“PER ARDUA AD ASTRA”
(THROUGH ADVERSITY TO THE STARS)