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WWII ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE IN VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (SILENT FOOTAGE) 30874

by: PeriscopeFilm

Topics: WWII, World War II, Vancouver, Columbia, RCAF, Stock Footage

Made during WWII, this silent footage shows homefront activities in Canada. It was apparently shot in and around Vancouver, British Columbia. The start of the film shows recruits marching past (:16) a local newspaper office and downtown (1:05). At 1:22 another recruit joins the group. At 1:40 oxen carrying wheat move slowly through a city street. At 2:42 the recruits walk past clothing set on a line to dry. At 3:42 "Duke Street" in Vancouver is shown (footage flopped). At 5:14, Royal Canadian Air Force Avro Lancasters are shown in flight as well as Spitfires (6:00). The Lancaster buzzes a field at 7:25. At 8:20 aerial footage from aboard a Spitfire. At 8:56, a large ceremony is shown with RCAF members receiving awards (9:20). This is possibly a final induction ceremony prior to deployment. At 11:56 RCAF drum corps moves past a parked aircraft. At 13:00 totem poles are shown symbolizing the native peoples of Canada's Pacific NW. At 13:47 the recruits troop through Stanley Park. During the Second World War, the RCAF was a major contributor to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and was involved in operations in Great Britain, Europe, the north Atlantic, North Africa, southern Asia, and with home defence. By the end of the war, the RCAF had become the fourth largest allied air force. During WWII the Royal Canadian Air Force was headquartered in 20-23 Lincolns Inn Fields, London. A commemorative plaque can be found on the outside of the building. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: "01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference." This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com

Addeddate: 2020-04-04 01:35:54

Identifier: 30874rcafhomemoviesmos

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Reviewer: 5 OTU - - March 20, 2022
Subject: Historical facts, Not RCAF and not just Vancouver

All the airmen in this footage are in fact Air Cadets. Note the high collar tunics and Air Cadet collar badges. "On November 11, 1940, an Order-in-Council was passed to establish the Air Cadet League of Canada to work in partnership with the RCAF. The first squadrons were organized in 1941 and by 1942 there were 135 squadrons and 10,000 cadets, mostly recruited from the Army Cadets. By 1943, there were 315 squadrons with a membership of 23,000. In 1944, the program reached its peak membership with 29,000 cadets in 374 squadrons." There is very little of this that is B.C. The opening scene is clearly somewhere in the Maritimes, other clips are in the Parries. Not until the 13:02 mark do we see Stanley Park. The flying scenes are RAF Spitfires over the fields on England (05:07) and Halifax bombers (05:13) that were used by the RCAF but only in Europe. at 07:17 we see a Lancaster taking off but the call sign "EQ - B" was used by the RCAF 408 Squadron and the RAF's 57 Squadron, both in the skies over Europe only. I'd suggest this was raw footage to be a promotional film short promoting the Air Cadets across Canada with cut-away footage to aircraft (fighters and bombers) that the Air cadets would one day aspire to crew. Also, there is a Duke street in just about every major Canadian city. Great footage for anyone interested in the early history of the Air Cadet Movement.

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