- No. 1 Air Division RCAF (Europe)
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No. 1 Air Division, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was an organization of Canadian operational fighter aircraft squadrons in Europe in the 1950s and early 1960s during the Cold War. Headquarters were located at Metz, France.
No. 1 Air Division was established to meet Canada's NATO air defence commitments in Europe. It consisted of twelve fighter squadrons located at four bases. Two bases were located in France (No. 1 Wing and No. 2 Wing) and two were located in West Germany (No. 3 Wing and No. 4 Wing). These wings were part of a group of bases which also included U.S. and French installations, all of which came under the jurisdiction of the US-commanded Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force (4 ATAF) which, in turn, was commanded by NATO's Allied Air Forces Central Europe (AAFCE). Components located in Metz included Air Division Headquarters, an air traffic control centre, a telecommunications centre, a combat operations centre, and a support unit.
Canadian squadrons were originally equipped with Canadair Sabre day fighters. One squadron of each wing, however, would be replaced by the all-weather CF-100 in 1956. The Sabre squadrons were replaced by (nuclear) strike/reconnaissance CF-104 Starfighters in 1962.
After the RCAF left France in 1967 and after the RCAF was reorganized and consolidated with Canada's other two services, No. 1 Air Division was replaced by No. 1 Canadian Air Group (1 CAG) with headquarters in Lahr, West Germany.[1]
References
- ^ 1 Air Division - Badenremembered.com Retrieved 2010-01-20
Categories:- Royal Canadian Air Force stations
- Canadian air divisions
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