Pioneers of the North

During the interwar years, the RCAF became part of a survey program that would open Northern Canada and revolutionize map making. Between the 1920s and 1930s, bush pilots photographed a quarter of a million miles of Canada’s uncharted regions in Vickers Vedette flying boats and Fairchild and Bellanca seaplanes. Rugged terrain could be photographed from the air in a fraction of the time it would have taken to cover by boat, dog team, or on horseback. The flights were dangerous; there were no airfields, weather forecasts, navigational aids, or accessible repair services. A new breed of pilot had to master the subarctic temperatures, rough landings in unknown terrain, and rickety planes that weren’t suited to Canada’s harsh climate.

In 1921, the Air Board conducted its first survey. A flying boat covered 1,502 km2 (580 mi2) of Northern Ontario using vertical photography. The technique, in which one camera took a fan of three exposures covering 180° in front of the aircraft, was slow and inaccurate. This method, called vertical photography, was soon replaced by the tri-camera method, which involved three cameras taking pictures from a single mount at the back of a plane. It is still in use today.

Based on the successful 1921 Air Board survey, in 1924 the RCAF became responsible for aerial photography in Canada’s photographic survey program. The development of equipment was given to the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and map making to the Department of the Interior. Through the years, the close relationship between the RCAF and the NRC was critical to the success of Canada’s survey program, still considered one of the best in the world. Aerial surveys were an important part of RCAF operations and provided training that formed the foundation of the British Commonwealth Air Training Program. With the outbreak of war in 1939, aerial photography for mapping purposes was put on hold but the partnership between the NRC and the RCAF would continue to grow into a critical component, helping the RCAF establish air power during the Second World War.

In 1945, the RCAF revitalized the program with a focus on Canada’s Arctic North. Three B-25 Mitchell bombers were retrofitted with special cameras developed by the NRC. These planes were based at No. 22 Photo Wing, Rockcliffe, Ontario, the former Air Board base that housed one of the world’s leading air photo laboratories. Rockville was home to 413 and 414 Squadrons, along with numerous aircraft for photographic and supply operations.

The Second World War gave the RCAF innovative new equipment, radar, and veteran pilots eager to participate in one of the greatest aerial surveys undertaken by a country. Mitchell, Canso, Norseman, Anson, Dakota, and Lancaster aircraft were equipped with cameras. Some were outfitted with instruments developed by the NRC for SHORAN-controlled photography (see inset on page 16). By 1947, the RCAF had surveyed 337,000 km2 (130,000 mi2) of Arctic territory. In 1948, all of Baffin Island was photographed, along with large areas of Labrador, Ungava, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon. RCAF operations expanded with the addition of 408 Squadron at Rockcliffe. By 1953, only 14,600 km (5,648 mi2) on North Ellesmere Island remained to be surveyed.

At the close of the 1950s, most of the Canadian North had been surveyed. In just a decade, the RCAF had completed one of the most ambitious aerial mapping programs ever undertaken. Canada’s North was opened up to the rest of the country while securing it sovereignty in the Arctic. Today, commercial companies conduct the aerial surveys that the RCAF used to, with the Air Force playing their part by providing protection, transport, search and rescue, and survival training when required.