lordroel
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Post by lordroel on May 6, 2019 14:08:22 GMT
Going back to topic, i wonder if all those armored divisions are fully armored as it cost a lot of time to produce new armored vehicles.
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pyeknu
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Post by pyeknu on May 6, 2019 18:22:59 GMT
Going back to topic, i wonder if all those armored divisions are fully armored as it cost a lot of time to produce new armored vehicles. Effectively, the only true armoured regiments are the ones in 1st Canadian Division (Lord Strathcona's Horse, the Royal Canadian Dragoons and 12e Régiment Blindé du Canada). All other armoured regiments are technically armoured car regiments using the LAV II Cougar 6x6 AVGP, which packs a 76 millimetre L23A1 gun (the British-built version of the American 76 millimetre M1 tank gun) and has improved MEXAS armour and NBCD defensive capabilities. Production of new Leopard 2s and Challenger 2s (from the stock at BATUS at CFB Suffield) will be very slow going as there's no place in Canada where tracked vehicles are built at this time. |
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pyeknu
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Post by pyeknu on May 7, 2019 11:52:36 GMT
I'm going to take a small break from doing Army ORBATs and look at the home establishment of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
After the Shift occurred and the Canadian Forces were ordered to go to war against Nazi Germany, the RCAF restructured itself to allow enough squadrons to be deployed overseas while maintaining a combined strong defensive force and reinforcement force in Canada in case new threats such as Imperial Japan or the Soviet Union decided to probe into the Dominion's airspace and see what was really going on there. To that end, all the 400-series squadrons that had been reduced to nil strength were brought back on active duty, as well as all the old Royal Canadian Navy Fleet Air Arm squadrons as well. The two air division format of the home establishment (one division for operational forces and one for training forces) would be maintained, but 1 Canadian Air Division would be broken down into functional air groups in reflection of how 3 Canadian Air Division was structured so that units in theatre could be reinforced or replaced as required.
Along the way, as many old aircraft that were seen as airworthy were recommissioned back into the Air Force for a time being to await new construction from Bombardier, Magellan, Boeing, Viking Air and Lockheed Martin.
Several new types of squadrons were stood up as well, mostly enhanced versions of air flights in the Air Force Reserve or small units such as Canadian Forces Station Alert at the northern tip of Ellesmere Island in Nunavut.
The following doesn't contain the units of the Canadian Forces Health Services Group, the Canadian Forces Military Police Group, the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command or the various Assistant Defence Minister groups who would be tasked to support the RCAF. That will come in a future note.
You all know the drill. Let's begin...
Headquarters Forces
Headquarters Royal Canadian Air Force (HQ RCAF) (Quartier-Général de l'Aviation Royale Canadienne [QG ARC]) - Ottawa
7 Operations Support Squadron (7 OSS) (7e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [7e ESO]) - Ottawa
This is the group centred around the commander of the RCAF and the Chief of the Air Staff, General Al Meinzinger, who would be based at National Defence Headquarters...which is now shifting away from downtown Ottawa to the new Carling Campus near the Connaught Ranges at the west end of the urban part of Canada's capital city. 7 OSS would be the upgraded Air Reserve Flight based in Ottawa. Its task would be to augment the HQ RCAF staff with administrative and operational support personnel to ensure that the headquarters is running quite smoothly.
1 CANADIAN AIR DIVISION
Headquarters Forces
Headquarters 1 Canadian Air Division (HQ 1 CDN AIR DIV) (Quartier-Général de la 1re Division Aérienne du Canada [QG 1re DAC]) - Winnipeg
1 Operations Support Squadron (1 OSS) (1re Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [1re ESO]) - Winnipeg
As noted above, 1 Canadian Air Division is tasked to command and coordinate all Air Force operations in Canada itself; it would also have the tasking of managing all reinforcement of 3 Canadian Air Division in Europe. 1 OSS would be the air reserve component of the division headquarters, taking up the same type of tasking its sister squadron in Ottawa would have.
2e Escadre Expéditionnaire Aérienne
Quartier-Général de la 2e Escadre Expéditionnaire Aérienne (QG 2e EEA) (Headquarters 2 Air Expeditionary Wing [HQ 2 AEW]) - Bagotville
2e Escadron de Soutien de Mission (2e ESM) (2 Mission Support Squadron [2 MSS]) - Bagotville
2e Escadron d'Entraînement Expéditionnaire Aérien (2e EEEA) (2 Air Expeditionary Training Squadron [2 AETS]) - Bagotville
2e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations (2e ESO) (2 Operations Support Squadron [2 OSS]) - Bagotville
4 Construction Engineer Squadron (4 CES) (4e Escadron de Génie Construction [4e EGC]) - Cold Lake
88 Air Command and Control Squadron (88 ACCS) (88e Escadron de Transmission et de Contrôle [Air] [88e ETCA]) - Trenton
2 Air Expeditionary Wing, which would be made to answer directly to the commander 1 Air Division, would be responsible for the initial setup of RCAF bases and operational units in the United Kingdom until Headquarters 3 Canadian Air Division and its subordinate groups and wings were established. 2e ESM would be the first squadron sent to Europe to establish the initial Air Task Force that would blossom into 3 Air Division. 2e EEEA would oversee all readiness training for personnel heading overseas, customizing the final training syllabuses to produce both the skill-sets and mindsets needed to conduct combat-capable aerospace operations in Europe. 2e ESO would liaise and coordinate all in-theatre operations and aerospace forces between the RCAF, the RAF and other Allied air forces, generating the situational awareness necessary for the successful execution of operations by 3 Air Division. 4 CES would evaluate and prepares airfield in the United Kingdom and France for operational aircraft usage, handing all construction engineering duties until 35 Construction Engineer Regiment is stood up and ready to head overseas. And 88 ACCS would be formed as the rear-element part of 8 ACCS that is normally assigned to 2 AEW but would join 8 Canadian Air Group as a part of I Canadian Corps; it would provide the initial command and control apparatus for 3 Air Division to use, establishing and enhancing airfields in the United Kingdom to receive aircraft and other equipment for the division to prosecute its missions for Operation VIMY.
2 CANADIAN AIR GROUP
2 Canadian Air Group Headquarters (2 CAG HQ) (Quartier-Général de la 2e Groupe Aérienne du Canada [QG 2e GAC]) - North Bay
2 Operations Support Squadron (2 OSS) (2e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [2e ESO]) - North Bay
2 Canadian Air Group would be the home counterpart of 1 Canadian Air Group in Europe, managing all fighter aircraft in the RCAF as well as the support mechanisms to maintain and operate said aircraft; in effect, 2 CAG would be the reborn Fighter Group of the old Air Command. While 2 CAG's primary task is to support 1 CAG's squadrons in Europe (the squadrons assigned to 1 CAG would actually be home-based with 2 CAG), the air group is also responsible for home air defence and preparing new squadrons to head overseas to rotate with 1 CAG squadrons whenever deemed necessary.
3e Escadre/3 Wing
Quartier-Général de la 3e Escadre (QG 3e ESCADRE) (Headquarters 3 Wing [HQ 3 WING]) - Bagotville
3 Forward Operating Squadron (3 FOS) (3e Escadron d'Avancé d'Opérations [3e EAO]) - Iqaluit
3e Escadron de Maintenance (Air) (3 EMA) - Bagotville
3e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations (3e ESO) - Bagotville
12e Escadron de Radar (12e ER) - Bagotville
303e Escadron de Soutien au Combat (303e ESC) - Bagotville
421 "City of Miramichi" (Red Indian) Tactical Fighter Squadron (421 TFS) - Summerside
423 "County of Lambton" (Eagle) Tactical Fighter Squadron (423 TFS) - Summerside
425e "Ville de Saguenay" (Alouette) Escadron d'Appui Tactique (425e EAT) - Bagotville
432 "City of Markham" (Black Cougar) Tactical Fighter Squadron (432 TFS) - Summerside
433e "Ville de Timmins" (Porcupine) Escadron d'Appui Tactique (433e EAT) - Bagotville
439e "Ville de Trois-Rivières" (Sabre-Tooth Tiger) Escadron d'Appui Tactique (439e EAT) - Bagotville
The East Coast's primary fighter wing, 3e Escadre would also be the RCAF's main French-speaking combat formation. When mobilized, 425e Escadron and 433e Escadron would be joined by 439e Escadron flying recommissioned CF-116 Freedom Fighters; the combat support/base utility and search and rescue rôle would be taken over by a newly-constituted 303e Escadron. 12e Escadron de Radar would handle all operational radar training and act as personnel reinforcement for 522e Escadron de Radar in Europe. To eventually reinforce and replace the squadrons of 33e Escadre in Europe, two squadrons would be restored to active duty and one would be converted from the maritime helicopter rôle, all three based at the old RCAF airfield at Summerside in Prince Edward Island, manning newly-constructed CF-116 Freedom Fighters and CF-102 Alpha Jets as they come off the assembly lines. 421 Squadron was the last RCAF fighter squadron formed in Europe during World War Two IOTL, serving from 1942-45; it was reformed in 1949 and served as part of the original 1 Air Division in Europe until 1991. 423 Squadron was a general reconnaissance squadron IOTL, later switching to flying boats for the rest of World War Two; it would be reformed as a fighter squadron for duties in Europe from 1953-62, then reformed as a maritime helicopter squadron from 50 Squadron in 1974 (more on 50 Squadron below). And 432 Squadron was a heavy bomber squadron IOTL, reformed in 1954 as a home defence fighter squadron serving at Bagotville until 1961.
4 Wing
Headquarters 4 Wing (HQ 4 WING) - Cold Lake
1 Air Maintenance Squadron (1 AMS) - Cold Lake
4 Operations Support Squadron (4 OSS) - Cold Lake
10 Field Technical Training Squadron (10 FTTS) - Cold Lake
41 Forward Operating Squadron (41 FOS) - Inuvik
42 Forward Operating Squadron (42 FOS) - Yellowknife
42 Radar Squadron (42 RS) - Cold Lake
304 Combat Support Squadron (304 CSS) - Cold Lake
401 "City of Westmount" (Ram) Tactical Fighter Squadron (401 TFS) - Cold Lake
409 "City of Nanaimo" (Nighthawk) Tactical Fighter Squadron (409 TFS) - Cold Lake
410 "Region de la Montérégie" (Cougar) Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron (410 TFOTS) - Cold Lake
417 "City of Windsor" (Desert Palm) Tactical Fighter Squadron (417 TFS) - Cold Lake
419 "City of Yarmouth" (Moose) Tactical Fighter Training Squadron (419 TFTS) - Cold Lake
441 "Region of Cape Breton" (Silver Fox) Tactical Fighter Squadron (441 TFS) - Comox
443 "City of New Westminster" (Hornet) Tactical Fighter Squadron (443 TFS) - Comox
445 "City of Temiskaming Shores" (Wolverine) Tactical Fighter Squadron (445 TFS) - Comox
The West Coast's primary fighter wing and home to fighter pilot training, 4 Wing would be the main support formation to 34 Wing in Europe as well as performing its home defence rôle for 1 Air Division. 10 FTTS is the finishing school for the RCAF's air technical trades, training highly effective technicians ready to meet any maintenance challenge in the fields of avionics and aviations systems. 42 Radar Squadron would handle radar operational training and support 524 Radar Squadron in Europe with personnel manning. 304 Squadron would take over 417 Squadron's combat support rôle at Cold Lake while the latter squadron would convert to CF-116 Freedom Fighters for deployment overseas with 401 and 409 Squadrons. 419 Squadron handles Phase IV NATO flight training with the CT-155 Hawk jet trainer while 410 Squadron (as depicted in the Discovery Channel series Jetstream) does all final preparation training for fighter pilots before being deployed to operational squadrons. As with 3e Escadre, 4 Wing would gain three new squadrons and base them at Comox to aide in West Coast defence against possible Japanese and Soviet incursions over the Pacific Ocean. 441 Squadron was a fighter squadron ITOL, serving from 1942-45; it was reformed in 1951 and again served as a fighter squadron in Europe and Canada until 2006, when it combined with 416 Squadron to reform 409 Squadron. 443 Squadron was the Pacific Coast maritime helicopter squadron until the Shift; it would turn over its duties to a reformed 21 Squadron (one of the former RCN FAA squadrons) and convert to the CF-102 Alpha Jet. And 445 Squadron was a very short-lived fighter squadron operating in Canada and Europe from 1953-62. Of course, 4 Wing would take charge of two newly-constituted forward operating squadrons at Inuvik and Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories to guard against Soviet incursions over the Arctic when they come.
5 Wing
Headquarters 5 Wing (HQ 5 WING) - Goose Bay
5 Air Maintenance Squadron (5 AMS) - Goose Bay
5 Operations Support Squadron (5 OSS) - Goose Bay
24 Radar Squadron (24 RS) - Goose Bay
305 Combat Support Squadron (305 CSS) - Goose Bay
406 "City of Saskatoon" (Lynx) Tactical Fighter Squadron (406 TFS) - Gander
416 "City of Oshawa" (Lynx) Tactical Fighter Squadron (416 TFS) - Goose Bay
434 "City of Halifax" (Bluenose) Tactical Fighter Squadron (434 TFS) - Goose Bay
444 "Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay" (Cobra) Tactical Fighter Squadron (444 TFS) - Goose Bay
446 "City of Sault Sainte Marie" (Griffin) Tactical Fighter Squadron (446 TFS) - Gander
447 "Town of Mont-Laurier" (Golden Dagger) Tactical Fighter Squadron (447 TFS) - Gander
Brought up from a simple fighter support and training wing, 5 Wing would backstop 35 Wing in Europe with all new squadrons as well as reinforce 3e Escadre with homeland defence on the East Coast; before the Shift, the air base at Goose Bay served as a low-level training station for NATO using almost all of Labrador's airspace as a place to play without worrying too much about causing issues on the ground. 444 Squadron would shift to a tactical fighter rôle, flying recommissioned CF-116 Freedom Fighters. 416 Squadron would be one of the two new CF-102 Alpha Jet squadrons heading to Europe once it was reconstituted; it had served as a fighter squadron in Europe IOTL during World War Two, then as part of 1 Air Division in Europe from 1952-88 before returning to Cold Lake and serving there until 2006 and union with 441 Squadron to restore 409 Squadron back to duty. 434 Squadron has the most varied history of all the RCAF squadrons; it was a bomber squadron during World War Two IOTL, flew Canadair Sabres as part of 1 Air Division in Germany from 1953-62, then was one of the first CF-116 squadrons from 1968-92, then converted to a composite squadron at Shearwater from 1992-2000 and was in the process of being reformed as the RCAF's operational test and evaluation squadron at Trenton when the Shift occurred and it was decided to use 448 Squadron in that role; the Bluenose Squadron would get the chance to fly the CF-102 in Europe instead. 447 Squadron was one of Canada's two CIM-10B Bomarc nuclear-tipped SAM squadrons during the Cold War from 1962-72, then converted to the tactical transport helicopter rôle with CH-147 Chinhooks, flying out of Edmonton from 1979-91; it would also get new CF-102s as they are commissioned. And 406 Squadron was a night fighter unit IOTL during World War Two, then served as Canada's only tactical bomber squadron with B-25 Mitchells from 1947-58, then switched to a transport rôle from 1958-64, then was stood up as the maritime helicopter training squadron at Shearwater in 1974, replacing the old RCN squadrons that handled helicopter training; on conversion to fighters, the Lynx Squadron would get CF-102 Alpha Jets. The three squadrons not deployed to Europe as part of 35 Wing would be based at Gander and help with homeland defence.
22 Wing/22e Escadre
Headquarters 22 Wing (HQ 22 WING) (Quartier-Général de la 22e Escadre [QG 22e ESCADRE]) - North Bay
21 Aerospace Control and Warning Squadron (21 AC&WS) - North Bay
22 Air Maintenance Squadron (22 AMS) - North Bay
22 Operations Support Squadron (22 OSS) - North Bay
51 Aerospace Control and Warning Operational Training Squadron (51 AC&WOTS) - North Bay
411 "Region of York" (Black Bear) Electronic Warfare Support Squadron (411 EWSS) - North Bay
414e "Ville de Sarnia" (Black Knight) Escadron de Soutien de Guerre Électronique (414e ESGÉ) - Gatineau
428 "City of North Bay" (Ghost) Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron (428 AEW&CS) - North Bay
Once simply the command and control formation for Canada's contribution to NORAD, 22 Wing would become a flying wing again, tasked with providing ground-based and airborne early warning and electronic warfare support forces for 52 and 53 Wings in Europe. 21 AC&WS controls the North Warning System stations that cover Canada's frontier coastlines from intrusion; 51 Squadron is the operational training unit that supports its sister squadron. 414e Escadron would switch from 3e Escadre to 22 Wing, changing aircraft to recommissioned and newly-built CE-144 Challenger EW aircraft for use overseas. 411 Squadron would be reformed as the second electronic warfare support squadron; it was a fighter squadron IOTL during World War Two, becoming an air reserve squadron at CFB Toronto from 1950-96 flying both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters in the tactical support rôles. And 428 Squadron would receive the CE-165 Sentinel airborne early warning aircraft from Raytheon and Bombardier; the squadron was a bomber unit IOTL, then served as an all-weather fighter squadron from 1954-61 flying the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck before being disbanded, never getting the chance to serve again (they would have been one of the first CF-105 Arrow squadrons had that project gone through).
5 CANADIAN AIR GROUP
Headquarters 5 Canadian Air Group (HQ 5 CAG) (Quartier-Général de la 5e Groupe Aérien du Canada [QG 5e GAC]) - Trenton
6 Operations Support Squadron (6 OSS) (6e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [6e ESO]) - Trenton
5 Canadian Air Group would be the reformed Air Transport Group of the old Air Command combined with the maritime patrol wings that once supported the Royal Canadian Navy as part of Maritime Air Group. 5 CAG would be responsible for reinforcing 6 Canadian Air Group in Europe as well as supporting 1 Canadian Air Division in the transport, search-and-rescue and coastline patrol rôles.
8 Wing/8e Escadre
Headquarters 8 Wing (HQ 8 WING) (Quartier-Général de la 8e Escadre [QG 8e ESCADRE]) - Trenton
1 Aerospace and Telecommunications Engineering Support Squadron (1 ATESS) - Trenton
2 Air Movements Squadron (2 AMVS) - Trenton
8 Air Maintenance Squadron (8 AMS) - Trenton
8 Operations Support Squadron (8 OSS) - Trenton
17 Air Movements Squadron (17 AMS) - Winnipeg
81 Signal Intelligence Squadron (81 SIS) - Alert
308 Multi-Engine Utility Squadron (308 MEUS) - Trenton
412 "City of Saint Catharines" (Falcon) Transport Squadron (412 TS) - Ottawa
418 "City of Edmonton" (Inuit) Transport Squadron (418 TS) - Edmonton
424 "City of Hamilton" (Tiger) Transport and Rescue Squadron (424 TRS) - Trenton
426e "Ville de Montréal-Ouest" (Thunderbird) Escadron d'Entraînement de Transport (426e ETT) - Trenton
429e "Ville de Longueuil" (Red Bison) Escadron de Transport (429e ET) - Trenton
436 "City of Dorval" (Elephant) Transport Squadron (436 TS) - Trenton
437 "City of Quinte West" (Husky) Transport Squadron (437 TS) - Trenton
440 "City of Ottawa" (Vampire) Transport Squadron (440 TS) - Yellowknife
The hub of the RCAF's transport forces, 8 Wing would be the largest flying wing of the Air Force. It would control all homeland air movements through 2 and 17 Air Movements Squadrons, using CFB Trenton and CFB Winnipeg as the central transport hubs for personnel and cargo heading to Europe or to various locations in Canada. 1 ATESS provides specialized aerospace and telecommunications engineering, training and production services in support of worldwide air force operations. Canadian Forces Station Alert at the northern end of the country would be turned into 81 Signal Intelligence Squadron, the RCAF's main contribution to Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, keeping eyes and ears locked on the other side of the Arctic Ocean for any movements by the Soviets towards Canada. 308 Squadron was just CFB Trenton's utility flight using the Beechcraft King Air C90A twin-engine cargo craft; said aircraft would be commissioned formally into the RCAF as the CC-190 and serve as short-range cargo transport and utility duties. 412 Squadron in Ottawa is the VIP squadron flying the CC-144 Challenger business jet. 424 Squadron is the local transport and rescue squadron for central Canada and would deploy overseas to work with 3 Canadian Air Division. 426e Escadron would convert into a French language unit and continue as the main transport training squadron with the CC-130 Hercules. 429e Escadron flies the CC-177 Globemaster III heavy tactical transport. 436 Squadron flies the CC-130 Hercules tactical transport. 437 Squadron flies the Airbus CC-150 Polaris jet transport/air tanker; all the aircraft in the Husky Squadron would convert to the air tanker rôle after the Shift. 440 Squadron flies the De Havilland Canada CC-138 Twin Otter in a support rôle for Joint Task Force North at Yellowknife; it would get freshly-built aircraft from Viking Air in British Columbia to bring the squadron to full strength. And 418 Squadron would be recommissioned as the second Twin Otter squadron to support 440 Squadron; it was a night fighter/attack squadron in World War Two IOTL, then served as an Air Reserve light bomber squadron with B-25 Mitchells from 1946-58 before switching to a transport and rescue rôle until disbandment in 1994.
9 Wing
Headquarters 9 Wing (HQ 9 WING) - Gander
9 Operations Support Squadron (9 OSS) - Gander
9 Transient Servicing Squadron (9 TSS) - Saint John's NL
91 Construction Engineering Squadron (91 CES) - Gander
103 "Town of Gander" (Saint Bernard) Transport and Rescue Squadron (103 TRS) - Gander
In effect a small adjunct to 8 Wing and 14 Wing, 9 Wing would serve as the second base for 5 Wing's fighter squadrons as well as the home base of the RCAF's transport and rescue efforts for the East Coast given that 413 Squadron in Greenwood would soon deploy to Europe; 103 Squadron would get fixed wing assets in the form of CC-130 Hercules and CC-115 Buffalo transport aircraft to augment its complement of CH-148 Cormorant helicopters. 9 Transient Servicing Squadron is an air reserve unit based in Newfoundland's capital city tasked to provide service and support to all Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft as well as NATO aircraft when requested that pass through the area; after the Shift, it was enhanced from flight to squadron status, then would serve as a secondary ground support squadron to 9 OSS at Gander. And 91 CES is a former Air Reserve flight brought up to squadron status, tasked to help with construction engineering tasks and training wherever required.
14 Wing
Headquarters 14 Wing (HQ 14 WING) - Greenwood
14 Air Maintenance Squadron (14 AMS) - Greenwood
14 Construction Engineering Squadron (14 CES) - Bridgewater
14 Operations Support Squadron (14 OSS) - Greenwood
143 Construction Engineering Squadron (143 CES) - Lunenburg
144 Construction Engineering Squadron (144 CES) - Pictou
404 "County of Annapolis" (Black Bison) Long Range Patrol and Training Squadron (404 LRP&TS) - Greenwood
405 "County of Kings" (Black Eagle) Long Range Patrol Squadron (405 LRPS) - Greenwood
413 "City of Charlottetown" (Tusker) Transport and Rescue Squadron (413 TRS) - Greenwood
415 "City of Summerside" (Swordfish) Long Range Patrol Squadron (415 LRPS) - Greenwood
420 "City of London" (Snowy Owl) Long Range Patrol Force Development Squadron (420 LRPFDS) - Greenwood
14 Wing is Canada's east coast long range patrol group, flying the Lockheed Martin CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft. However, because there were only fourteen Auroras available for use, it was decided after the Shift that twelve of those aircraft would be split apart between the three squadrons to be deployed to 49 Wing in Europe (405 and 415 Squadrons being two of them), while the other two aircraft would be used by 404 Squadron in the training rôle. As a stop-gap measure, Lockheed Martin Canada would join forces with Viking Air to construct the CP-142 maritime patrol variation of the De Havilland Canada Dash 8 turboprop transport aircraft; the RCAF uses the CT-142 navigational/airborne electronic sensor training variant with 402 Squadron in Winnipeg supporting the RCAF Barker Aerospace College. To allow 415 Squadron to fly as an active squadron again, 420 Squadron was stood up again to fall into the force development rôle; it was a bomber squadron during World War Two IOTL, then was a reserve fighter squadron from 1948-56 before being reformed as a maritime reconnaissance squadron (paired with 880 Squadron) flying out of Summerside from 1974-95 and the retirement of the CP-121 Tracker ASW aircraft. The three construction engineering squadrons were all one squadron (14 Squadron) until they were mobilized, with the detached flights at Lunenburg and Pictou being brought up to squadron status.
19 Wing
Headquarters 19 Wing (HQ 19 WING) - Comox
19 Air Maintenance Squadron (19 AMS) - Comox
19 Operations Support Squadron (19 OSS) - Comox
192 Construction Engineering Squadron (192 CES) - Abbotsford
407 "City of Comox" (Demon) Long Range Patrol Squadron (407 LRPS) - Comox
422 "City of Belleville" (Tomahawk) Long Range Patrol Squadron (422 LRPS) - Comox
435 "Sturgeon County" (Chinthe) Transport and Rescue Squadron (435 TRS) - Winnipeg
442 "City of Vancouver" (Lightning Snake) Transport and Rescue Squadron (442 TRS) - Comox
449 "Region of Queens" (Unicorn) Long Range Patrol Squadron (449 LRPS) - Comox
Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue (CFSSAR) (École de Recherche et Sauvetage des Forces Canadiennes [ÉRESFC]) - Comox
The home of Canada's search and rescue technicians as well as the West Coast long range patrol base, 19 Wing would be enhanced with reformed squadrons to better patrol the Pacific for potential imperial Japanese and Soviet intrusions on Canadian airspace from that direction. Again, the paucity of CP-140s would require the commissioning of CP-142s as a stop-gap measure; the Dash 8s wouldn't have the internal bomb bay of the Auroras at first, though such is being worked into newer hulls coming out of the Viking Air works at North Saanich on Vancouver Island. 422 Squadron was a general reconnaissance squadron in World War Two IOTL, flying the PBY-5 Catalina (Canso) and Sunderland flying boats on maritime patrol and attack duties; after the war, the squadron served from 1953 to 1970 as a tactical fighter squadron in Europe, then from 1977-80 as a tactical helicopter squadron at Gagetown. 449 Squadron was the original maritime patrol training squadron, first being formed at Greenwood in 1968 as the training unit for the CP-107 Argus, flying from there until 1975 and being reduced to nil strength, with 404 Squadron taking over the training duties. Of course, the two transport and rescue squadrons attached to 19 Wing (along with 424 Squadron in 8 Wing, 413 Squadron in 14 Wing and 103 Squadron in 9 Wing) would fly a mixture of CC-115 Buffalo STOL transports (including new builds from Viking Air), CC-130 Hercules tactical transports and CH-148 Cormorant search and rescue helicopters. CFSSAR is, of course, the main training facility for the RCAF's search and rescue technicians.
To Be Continued...!
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lordroel
Administrator
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Likes: 49,431
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Post by lordroel on May 7, 2019 15:36:14 GMT
I'm going to take a small break from doing Army ORBATs and look at the home establishment of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
After the Shift occurred and the Canadian Forces were ordered to go to war against Nazi Germany, the RCAF restructured itself to allow enough squadrons to be deployed overseas while maintaining a combined strong defensive force and reinforcement force in Canada in case new threats such as Imperial Japan or the Soviet Union decided to probe into the Dominion's airspace and see what was really going on there. To that end, all the 400-series squadrons that had been reduced to nil strength were brought back on active duty, as well as all the old Royal Canadian Navy Fleet Air Arm squadrons as well. The two air division format of the home establishment (one division for operational forces and one for training forces) would be maintained, but 1 Canadian Air Division would be broken down into functional air groups in reflection of how 3 Canadian Air Division was structured so that units in theatre could be reinforced or replaced as required.
Along the way, as many old aircraft that were seen as airworthy were recommissioned back into the Air Force for a time being to await new construction from Bombardier, Magellan, Boeing, Viking Air and Lockheed Martin.
Several new types of squadrons were stood up as well, mostly enhanced versions of air flights in the Air Force Reserve or small units such as Canadian Forces Station Alert at the northern tip of Ellesmere Island in Nunavut.
The following doesn't contain the units of the Canadian Forces Health Services Group, the Canadian Forces Military Police Group, the Canadian Forces Intelligence Command or the various Assistant Defence Minister groups who would be tasked to support the RCAF. That will come in a future note.
You all know the drill. Let's begin...
Headquarters Forces
Headquarters Royal Canadian Air Force (HQ RCAF) (Quartier-Général de l'Aviation Royale Canadienne [QG ARC]) - Ottawa
7 Operations Support Squadron (7 OSS) (7e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [7e ESO]) - Ottawa
This is the group centred around the commander of the RCAF and the Chief of the Air Staff, General Al Meinzinger, who would be based at National Defence Headquarters...which is now shifting away from downtown Ottawa to the new Carling Campus near the Connaught Ranges at the west end of the urban part of Canada's capital city. 7 OSS would be the upgraded Air Reserve Flight based in Ottawa. Its task would be to augment the HQ RCAF staff with administrative and operational support personnel to ensure that the headquarters is running quite smoothly.
1 CANADIAN AIR DIVISION
Headquarters Forces
Headquarters 1 Canadian Air Division (HQ 1 CDN AIR DIV) (Quartier-Général de la 1re Division Aérienne du Canada [QG 1re DAC]) - Winnipeg
1 Operations Support Squadron (1 OSS) (1re Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [1re ESO]) - Winnipeg
As noted above, 1 Canadian Air Division is tasked to command and coordinate all Air Force operations in Canada itself; it would also have the tasking of managing all reinforcement of 3 Canadian Air Division in Europe. 1 OSS would be the air reserve component of the division headquarters, taking up the same type of tasking its sister squadron in Ottawa would have.
2e Escadre Expéditionnaire Aérienne
Quartier-Général de la 2e Escadre Expéditionnaire Aérienne (QG 2e EEA) (Headquarters 2 Air Expeditionary Wing [HQ 2 AEW]) - Bagotville
2e Escadron de Soutien de Mission (2e ESM) (2 Mission Support Squadron [2 MSS]) - Bagotville
2e Escadron d'Entraînement Expéditionnaire Aérien (2e EEEA) (2 Air Expeditionary Training Squadron [2 AETS]) - Bagotville
2e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations (2e ESO) (2 Operations Support Squadron [2 OSS]) - Bagotville
4 Construction Engineer Squadron (4 CES) (4e Escadron de Génie Construction [4e EGC]) - Cold Lake
8 Air Command and Control Squadron (8 ACCS) (8e Escadron de Transmission et de Contrôle [Air] [8e ETCA]) - Trenton
2 Air Expeditionary Wing, which would be made to answer directly to the commander 1 Air Division, would be responsible for the initial setup of RCAF bases and operational units in the United Kingdom until Headquarters 3 Canadian Air Division and its subordinate groups and wings were established. 2e ESM would be the first squadron sent to Europe to establish the initial Air Task Force that would blossom into 3 Air Division. 2e EEEA would oversee all readiness training for personnel heading overseas, customizing the final training syllabuses to produce both the skill-sets and mindsets needed to conduct combat-capable aerospace operations in Europe. 2e ESO would liaise and coordinate all in-theatre operations and aerospace forces between the RCAF, the RAF and other Allied air forces, generating the situational awareness necessary for the successful execution of operations by 3 Air Division. 4 CES would evaluate and prepares airfield in the United Kingdom and France for operational aircraft usage, handing all construction engineering duties until 35 Construction Engineer Regiment is stood up and ready to head overseas. And 8 ACCS would provide the initial command and control apparatus for 3 Air Division to use, establishing and enhancing airfields in the United Kingdom to receive aircraft and other equipment for the division to prosecute its missions for Operation VIMY.
2 CANADIAN AIR GROUP
2 Canadian Air Group Headquarters (2 CAG HQ) (Quartier-Général de la 2e Groupe Aérienne du Canada [QG 2e GAC]) - North Bay
2 Operations Support Squadron (2 OSS) (2e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [2e ESO]) - North Bay
2 Canadian Air Group would be the home counterpart of 1 Canadian Air Group in Europe, managing all fighter aircraft in the RCAF as well as the support mechanisms to maintain and operate said aircraft; in effect, 2 CAG would be the reborn Fighter Group of the old Air Command. While 2 CAG's primary task is to support 1 CAG's squadrons in Europe (the squadrons assigned to 1 CAG would actually be home-based with 2 CAG), the air group is also responsible for home air defence and preparing new squadrons to head overseas to rotate with 1 CAG squadrons whenever deemed necessary.
3e Escadre/3 Wing
Quartier-Général de la 3e Escadre (QG 3e ESCADRE) (Headquarters 3 Wing [HQ 3 WING]) - Bagotville
3 Forward Operating Squadron (3 FOS) (3e Escadron d'Avancé d'Opérations [3e EAO]) - Iqaluit
3e Escadron de Maintenance (Air) (3 EMA) - Bagotville
3e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations (3e ESO) - Bagotville
12e Escadron de Radar (12e ER) - Bagotville
303e Escadron de Soutien au Combat (303e ESC) - Bagotville
421 "City of Miramichi" (Red Indian) Tactical Fighter Squadron (421 TFS) - Summerside
423 "County of Lambton" (Eagle) Tactical Fighter Squadron (423 TFS) - Summerside
425e "Ville de Saguenay" (Alouette) Escadron d'Appui Tactique (425e EAT) - Bagotville
432 "City of Markham" (Black Cougar) Tactical Fighter Squadron (432 TFS) - Summerside
433e "Ville de Timmins" (Porcupine) Escadron d'Appui Tactique (433e EAT) - Bagotville
439e "Ville de Trois-Rivières" (Sabre-Tooth Tiger) Escadron d'Appui Tactique (439e EAT) - Bagotville
The East Coast's primary fighter wing, 3e Escadre would also be the RCAF's main French-speaking combat formation. When mobilized, 425e Escadron and 433e Escadron would be joined by 439e Escadron flying recommissioned CF-116 Freedom Fighters; the combat support/base utility and search and rescue rôle would be taken over by a newly-constituted 303e Escadron. 12e Escadron de Radar would handle all operational radar training and act as personnel reinforcement for 522e Escadron de Radar in Europe. To eventually reinforce and replace the squadrons of 33e Escadre in Europe, two squadrons would be restored to active duty and one would be converted from the maritime helicopter rôle, all three based at the old RCAF airfield at Summerside in Prince Edward Island, manning newly-constructed CF-116 Freedom Fighters and CF-102 Alpha Jets as they come off the assembly lines. 421 Squadron was the last RCAF fighter squadron formed in Europe during World War Two IOTL, serving from 1942-45; it was reformed in 1949 and served as part of the original 1 Air Division in Europe until 1991. 423 Squadron was a general reconnaissance squadron IOTL, later switching to flying boats for the rest of World War Two; it would be reformed as a fighter squadron for duties in Europe from 1953-62, then reformed as a maritime helicopter squadron from 50 Squadron in 1974 (more on 50 Squadron below). And 432 Squadron was a heavy bomber squadron IOTL, reformed in 1954 as a home defence fighter squadron serving at Bagotville until 1961.
4 Wing
Headquarters 4 Wing (HQ 4 WING) - Cold Lake
1 Air Maintenance Squadron (1 AMS) - Cold Lake
4 Operations Support Squadron (4 OSS) - Cold Lake
10 Field Technical Training Squadron (10 FTTS) - Cold Lake
41 Forward Operating Squadron (41 FOS) - Inuvik
42 Forward Operating Squadron (42 FOS) - Yellowknife
42 Radar Squadron (42 RS) - Cold Lake
304 Combat Support Squadron (304 CSS) - Cold Lake
401 "City of Westmount" (Ram) Tactical Fighter Squadron (401 TFS) - Cold Lake
409 "City of Nanaimo" (Nighthawk) Tactical Fighter Squadron (409 TFS) - Cold Lake
410 "Region de la Montérégie" (Cougar) Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron (410 TFOTS) - Cold Lake
417 "City of Windsor" (Desert Palm) Tactical Fighter Squadron (417 TFS) - Cold Lake
419 "City of Yarmouth" (Moose) Tactical Fighter Training Squadron (419 TFTS) - Cold Lake
441 "Region of Cape Breton" (Silver Fox) Tactical Fighter Squadron (441 TFS) - Comox
443 "City of New Westminster" (Hornet) Tactical Fighter Squadron (443 TFS) - Comox
445 "City of Temiskaming Shores" (Wolverine) Tactical Fighter Squadron (445 TFS) - Comox
The West Coast's primary fighter wing and home to fighter pilot training, 4 Wing would be the main support formation to 34 Wing in Europe as well as performing its home defence rôle for 1 Air Division. 10 FTTS is the finishing school for the RCAF's air technical trades, training highly effective technicians ready to meet any maintenance challenge in the fields of avionics and aviations systems. 42 Radar Squadron would handle radar operational training and support 524 Radar Squadron in Europe with personnel manning. 304 Squadron would take over 417 Squadron's combat support rôle at Cold Lake while the latter squadron would convert to CF-116 Freedom Fighters for deployment overseas with 401 and 409 Squadrons. 419 Squadron handles Phase IV NATO flight training with the CT-155 Hawk jet trainer while 410 Squadron (as depicted in the Discovery Channel series Jetstream) does all final preparation training for fighter pilots before being deployed to operational squadrons. As with 3e Escadre, 4 Wing would gain three new squadrons and base them at Comox to aide in West Coast defence against possible Japanese and Soviet incursions over the Pacific Ocean. 441 Squadron was a fighter squadron ITOL, serving from 1942-45; it was reformed in 1951 and again served as a fighter squadron in Europe and Canada until 2006, when it combined with 416 Squadron to reform 409 Squadron. 443 Squadron was the Pacific Coast maritime helicopter squadron until the Shift; it would turn over its duties to a reformed 21 Squadron (one of the former RCN FAA squadrons) and convert to the CF-102 Alpha Jet. And 445 Squadron was a very short-lived fighter squadron operating in Canada and Europe from 1953-62. Of course, 4 Wing would take charge of two newly-constituted forward operating squadrons at Inuvik and Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories to guard against Soviet incursions over the Arctic when they come.
5 Wing
Headquarters 5 Wing (HQ 5 WING) - Goose Bay
5 Air Maintenance Squadron (5 AMS) - Goose Bay
5 Operations Support Squadron (5 OSS) - Goose Bay
24 Radar Squadron (24 RS) - Goose Bay
305 Combat Support Squadron (305 CSS) - Goose Bay
406 "City of Saskatoon" (Lynx) Tactical Fighter Squadron (406 TFS) - Gander
416 "City of Oshawa" (Lynx) Tactical Fighter Squadron (416 TFS) - Goose Bay
434 "City of Halifax" (Bluenose) Tactical Fighter Squadron (434 TFS) - Goose Bay
444 "Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay" (Cobra) Tactical Fighter Squadron (444 TFS) - Goose Bay
446 "City of Sault Sainte Marie" (Griffin) Tactical Fighter Squadron (446 TFS) - Gander
447 "Town of Mont-Laurier" (Golden Dagger) Tactical Fighter Squadron (447 TFS) - Gander
Brought up from a simple fighter support and training wing, 5 Wing would backstop 35 Wing in Europe with all new squadrons as well as reinforce 3e Escadre with homeland defence on the East Coast; before the Shift, the air base at Goose Bay served as a low-level training station for NATO using almost all of Labrador's airspace as a place to play without worrying too much about causing issues on the ground. 444 Squadron would shift to a tactical fighter rôle, flying recommissioned CF-116 Freedom Fighters. 416 Squadron would be one of the two new CF-102 Alpha Jet squadrons heading to Europe once it was reconstituted; it had served as a fighter squadron in Europe IOTL during World War Two, then as part of 1 Air Division in Europe from 1952-88 before returning to Cold Lake and serving there until 2006 and union with 441 Squadron to restore 409 Squadron back to duty. 434 Squadron has the most varied history of all the RCAF squadrons; it was a bomber squadron during World War Two IOTL, flew Canadair Sabres as part of 1 Air Division in Germany from 1953-62, then was one of the first CF-116 squadrons from 1968-92, then converted to a composite squadron at Shearwater from 1992-2000 and was in the process of being reformed as the RCAF's operational test and evaluation squadron at Trenton when the Shift occurred and it was decided to use 448 Squadron in that role; the Bluenose Squadron would get the chance to fly the CF-102 in Europe instead. 447 Squadron was one of Canada's two CIM-10B Bomarc nuclear-tipped SAM squadrons during the Cold War from 1962-72, then converted to the tactical transport helicopter rôle with CH-147 Chinhooks, flying out of Edmonton from 1979-91; it would also get new CF-102s as they are commissioned. And 406 Squadron was a night fighter unit IOTL during World War Two, then served as Canada's only tactical bomber squadron with B-25 Mitchells from 1947-58, then switched to a transport rôle from 1958-64, then was stood up as the maritime helicopter training squadron at Shearwater in 1974, replacing the old RCN squadrons that handled helicopter training; on conversion to fighters, the Lynx Squadron would get CF-102 Alpha Jets. The three squadrons not deployed to Europe as part of 35 Wing would be based at Gander and help with homeland defence.
22 Wing/22e Escadre
Headquarters 22 Wing (HQ 22 WING) (Quartier-Général de la 22e Escadre [QG 22e ESCADRE]) - North Bay
21 Aerospace Control and Warning Squadron (21 AC&WS) - North Bay
22 Air Maintenance Squadron (22 AMS) - North Bay
22 Operations Support Squadron (22 OSS) - North Bay
51 Aerospace Control and Warning Operational Training Squadron (51 AC&WOTS) - North Bay
411 "Region of York" (Black Bear) Electronic Warfare Support Squadron (411 EWSS) - North Bay
414e "Ville de Sarnia" (Black Knight) Escadron de Soutien de Guerre Électronique (414e ESGÉ) - Gatineau
428 "City of North Bay" (Ghost) Airborne Early Warning and Control Squadron (428 AEW&CS) - North Bay
Once simply the command and control formation for Canada's contribution to NORAD, 22 Wing would become a flying wing again, tasked with providing ground-based and airborne early warning and electronic warfare support forces for 52 and 53 Wings in Europe. 21 AC&WS controls the Distant Early Warning stations that cover Canada's frontier coastlines from intrusion; 51 Squadron is the operational training unit that supports its sister squadron. 414e Escadron would switch from 3e Escadre to 22 Wing, changing aircraft to recommissioned and newly-built CE-144 Challenger EW aircraft for use overseas. 411 Squadron would be reformed as the second electronic warfare support squadron; it was a fighter squadron IOTL during World War Two, becoming an air reserve squadron at CFB Toronto from 1950-96 flying both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters in the tactical support rôles. And 428 Squadron would receive the CE-165 Sentinel airborne early warning aircraft from Raytheon and Bombardier; the squadron was a bomber unit IOTL, then served as an all-weather fighter squadron from 1954-61 flying the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck before being disbanded, never getting the chance to serve again (they would have been one of the first CF-105 Arrow squadrons had that project gone through).
7 CANADIAN AIR GROUP
Headquarters 7 Canadian Air Group (HQ 7 CAG) (Quartier-Général de la 7e Groupe Aérien du Canada [QG 7e GAC]) - Trenton
6 Operations Support Squadron (6 OSS) (6e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [6e ESO]) - Trenton
7 Canadian Air Group would be the reformed Air Transport Group of the old Air Command combined with the maritime patrol wings that once supported the Royal Canadian Navy as part of Maritime Air Group. 7 CAG would be responsible for reinforcing 6 Canadian Air Group in Europe as well as supporting 1 Canadian Air Division in the transport, search-and-rescue and coastline patrol rôles.
8 Wing/8e Escadre
Headquarters 8 Wing (HQ 8 WING) (Quartier-Général de la 8e Escadre [QG 8e ESCADRE]) - Trenton
1 Aerospace and Telecommunications Engineering Support Squadron (1 ATESS) - Trenton
2 Air Movements Squadron (2 AMVS) - Trenton
8 Air Maintenance Squadron (8 AMS) - Trenton
8 Operations Support Squadron (8 OSS) - Trenton
17 Air Movements Squadron (17 AMS) - Winnipeg
81 Signal Intelligence Squadron (81 SIS) - Alert
308 Multi-Engine Utility Squadron (308 MEUS) - Trenton
412 "City of Saint Catharines" (Falcon) Transport Squadron (412 TS) - Ottawa
418 "City of Edmonton" (Inuit) Transport Squadron (418 TS) - Edmonton
424 "City of Hamilton" (Tiger) Transport and Rescue Squadron (424 TRS) - Trenton
426e "Ville de Montréal-Ouest" (Thunderbird) Escadron d'Entraînement de Transport (426e ETT) - Trenton
429e "Ville de Longueuil" (Red Bison) Escadron de Transport (429e ET) - Trenton
436 "City of Dorval" (Elephant) Transport Squadron (436 TS) - Trenton
437 "City of Quinte West" (Husky) Transport Squadron (437 TS) - Trenton
440 "City of Ottawa" (Vampire) Transport Squadron (440 TS) - Yellowknife
The hub of the RCAF's transport forces, 8 Wing would be the largest flying wing of the Air Force. It would control all homeland air movements through 2 and 17 Air Movements Squadrons, using CFB Trenton and CFB Winnipeg as the central transport hubs for personnel and cargo heading to Europe or to various locations in Canada. 1 ATESS provides specialized aerospace and telecommunications engineering, training and production services in support of worldwide air force operations. Canadian Forces Station Alert at the northern end of the country would be turned into 81 Signal Intelligence Squadron, the RCAF's main contribution to Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, keeping eyes and ears locked on the other side of the Arctic Ocean for any movements by the Soviets towards Canada. 308 Squadron was just CFB Trenton's utility flight using the Beechcraft King Air C90A twin-engine cargo craft; said aircraft would be commissioned formally into the RCAF as the CC-190 and serve as short-range cargo transport and utility duties. 412 Squadron in Ottawa is the VIP squadron flying the CC-144 Challenger business jet. 424 Squadron is the local transport and rescue squadron for central Canada and would deploy overseas to work with 3 Canadian Air Division. 426e Escadron would convert into a French language unit and continue as the main transport training squadron with the CC-130 Hercules. 429e Escadron flies the CC-177 Globemaster III heavy tactical transport. 436 Squadron flies the CC-130 Hercules tactical transport. 437 Squadron flies the Airbus CC-150 Polaris jet transport/air tanker; all the aircraft in the Husky Squadron would convert to the air tanker rôle after the Shift. 440 Squadron flies the De Havilland Canada CC-138 Twin Otter in a support rôle for Joint Task Force North at Yellowknife; it would get freshly-built aircraft from Viking Air in British Columbia to bring the squadron to full strength. And 418 Squadron would be recommissioned as the second Twin Otter squadron to support 440 Squadron; it was a night fighter/attack squadron in World War Two IOTL, then served as an Air Reserve light bomber squadron with B-25 Mitchells from 1946-58 before switching to a transport and rescue rôle until disbandment in 1994.
9 Wing
Headquarters 9 Wing (HQ 9 WING) - Gander
9 Operations Support Squadron (9 OSS) - Gander
9 Transient Servicing Squadron (9 TSS) - Saint John's NL
91 Construction Engineering Squadron (91 CES) - Gander
103 "Town of Gander" (Saint Bernard) Transport and Rescue Squadron (103 TRS) - Gander
In effect a small adjunct to 8 Wing and 14 Wing, 9 Wing would serve as the second base for 5 Wing's fighter squadrons as well as the home base of the RCAF's transport and rescue efforts for the East Coast given that 413 Squadron in Greenwood would soon deploy to Europe; 103 Squadron would get fixed wing assets in the form of CC-130 Hercules and CC-115 Buffalo transport aircraft to augment its complement of CH-148 Cormorant helicopters. 9 Transient Servicing Squadron is an air reserve unit based in Newfoundland's capital city tasked to provide service and support to all Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft as well as NATO aircraft when requested that pass through the area; after the Shift, it was enhanced from flight to squadron status, then would serve as a secondary ground support squadron to 9 OSS at Gander. And 91 CES is a former Air Reserve flight brought up to squadron status, tasked to help with construction engineering tasks and training wherever required.
14 Wing
Headquarters 14 Wing (HQ 14 WING) - Greenwood
14 Air Maintenance Squadron (14 AMS) - Greenwood
14 Construction Engineering Squadron (14 CES) - Bridgewater
14 Operations Support Squadron (14 OSS) - Greenwood
143 Construction Engineering Squadron (143 CES) - Lunenburg
144 Construction Engineering Squadron (144 CES) - Pictou
404 "County of Annapolis" (Black Bison) Long Range Patrol and Training Squadron (404 LRP&TS) - Greenwood
405 "County of Kings" (Black Eagle) Long Range Patrol Squadron (405 LRPS) - Greenwood
413 "City of Charlottetown" (Tusker) Transport and Rescue Squadron (413 TRS) - Greenwood
415 "City of Summerside" (Swordfish) Long Range Patrol Squadron (415 LRPS) - Greenwood
420 "City of London" (Snowy Owl) Long Range Patrol Force Development Squadron (420 LRPFDS) - Greenwood
14 Wing is Canada's east coast long range patrol group, flying the Lockheed Martin CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft. However, because there were only fourteen Auroras available for use, it was decided after the Shift that twelve of those aircraft would be split apart between the three squadrons to be deployed to 49 Wing in Europe (405 and 415 Squadrons being two of them), while the other two aircraft would be used by 404 Squadron in the training rôle. As a stop-gap measure, Lockheed Martin Canada would join forces with Viking Air to construct the CP-142 maritime patrol variation of the De Havilland Canada Dash 8 turboprop transport aircraft; the RCAF uses the CT-142 navigational/airborne electronic sensor training variant with 402 Squadron in Winnipeg supporting the RCAF Barker Aerospace College. To allow 415 Squadron to fly as an active squadron again, 420 Squadron was stood up again to fall into the force development rôle; it was a bomber squadron during World War Two IOTL, then was a reserve fighter squadron from 1948-56 before being reformed as a maritime reconnaissance squadron (paired with 880 Squadron) flying out of Summerside from 1974-95 and the retirement of the CP-121 Tracker ASW aircraft. The three construction engineering squadrons were all one squadron (14 Squadron) until they were mobilized, with the detached flights at Lunenburg and Pictou being brought up to squadron status.
19 Wing
Headquarters 19 Wing (HQ 19 WING) - Comox
19 Air Maintenance Squadron (19 AMS) - Comox
19 Operations Support Squadron (19 OSS) - Comox
192 Construction Engineering Squadron (192 CES) - Abbotsford
407 "City of Comox" (Demon) Long Range Patrol Squadron (407 LRPS) - Comox
422 "City of Belleville" (Tomahawk) Long Range Patrol Squadron (422 LRPS) - Comox
435 "Sturgeon County" (Chinthe) Transport and Rescue Squadron (435 TRS) - Winnipeg
442 "City of Vancouver" (Lightning Snake) Transport and Rescue Squadron (442 TRS) - Comox
449 "Region of Queens" (Unicorn) Long Range Patrol Squadron (449 LRPS) - Comox
Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue (CFSSAR) (École de Recherche et Sauvetage des Forces Canadiennes [ÉRESFC]) - Comox
The home of Canada's search and rescue technicians as well as the West Coast long range patrol base, 19 Wing would be enhanced with reformed squadrons to better patrol the Pacific for potential imperial Japanese and Soviet intrusions on Canadian airspace from that direction. Again, the paucity of CP-140s would require the commissioning of CP-142s as a stop-gap measure; the Dash 8s wouldn't have the internal bomb bay of the Auroras at first, though such is being worked into newer hulls coming out of the Viking Air works at North Saanich on Vancouver Island. 422 Squadron was a general reconnaissance squadron in World War Two IOTL, flying the PBY-5 Catalina (Canso) and Sunderland flying boats on maritime patrol and attack duties; after the war, the squadron served from 1953 to 1970 as a tactical fighter squadron in Europe, then from 1977-80 as a tactical helicopter squadron at Gagetown. 449 Squadron was the original maritime patrol training squadron, first being formed at Greenwood in 1968 as the training unit for the CP-107 Argus, flying from there until 1975 and being reduced to nil strength, with 404 Squadron taking over the training duties. Of course, the two transport and rescue squadrons attached to 19 Wing (along with 424 Squadron in 8 Wing, 413 Squadron in 14 Wing and 103 Squadron in 9 Wing) would fly a mixture of CC-115 Buffalo STOL transports (including new builds from Viking Air), CC-130 Hercules tactical transports and CH-148 Cormorant search and rescue helicopters. CFSSAR is, of course, the main training facility for the RCAF's search and rescue technicians.
To Be Continued...! Still looking good with this updates pyeknu, they give us a lot of extra to redrobin65 great TL. |
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pyeknu
Chief petty officer
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Post by pyeknu on May 8, 2019 17:32:09 GMT
And here is the second part of the ORBAT for the Royal Canadian Air Force's home establishment...
While 1 Canadian Air Division would maintain overall command and control of all operational aviation assets within Canada itself, two of the pre-Shift wings would effectively be broken off and become their own air groups answering operationally to the headquarters of the Canadian Army and the headquarters of the Royal Canadian Navy. Given that both the land and sea elements of the Canadian Forces had very unique requirements when it came to dealing with their aviation requirements, it was decided that both the rear elements of 1 Wing and 12 Wing would be expanded to air group size, thus allowing the former to help train all the 100 and 200 series squadrons being stood up to support First Canadian Army and its constituent corps and divisions in the field and the latter to prepare to expand as the Navy would begin to expand, especially given the multiplying of Naval Reserve divisions across the nation as well as all the new construction being launched from Vancouver to Halifax.
In effect, 10 Tactical Air Group and the Maritime Air Group from the old Air Command would make their comeback, though the former would be renumbered 11 Canadian Air Group since 10 Group was II Canadian Corps' tactical air formation and the latter would be named 12 Canadian Air Group in reflection of its founding wing.
First, the Army's tactical aviation home establishment...
11 CANADIAN AIR GROUP
Headquarters 11 Canadian Air Group (HQ 11 CAG) (Quartier-Général de la 11e Groupe Aérien du Canada [QG 11e GAC]) - Kingston
11 Operations Support Squadron (11 OSS) (11e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [11e ESO]) - Kingston
Primarily tasked to help with forming and training the new squadrons being established to fight as part of First Canadian Army, 11 Canadian Air Group would take over the old 1 Wing Headquarters complex at CFB Kingston; the founding staff would be raised from the rear staff of 1 Wing left behind when the operational elements of the formation deployed with First Canadian Division overseas. 11 Operations Support Squadron would be raised from 1 Wing's internal Air Reserve flight to help with administrative and logistic duties, plus also establish branch squadrons for the two new wings being formed to allow better command and control over the home squadrons.
101 Wing/101e Escadre
Headquarters 101 Wing (HQ 101 WING) (Quartier-Général de la 101e Escadre [QG 101e ESCADRE]) - Gagetown
101 Air Maintenance Squadron (101 AMS) (101e Escadron de Maintenance [Air] [101e EMA]) - Gagetown
101 Operations Support Squadron (101 OSS) (101e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [101e ESO]) - Gagetown
403 "City of Calgary" (Red Wolf) Helicopter Operational Training Squadron (403 HOTS) - Gagetown
430e "Ville de Sudbury" (Silver Falcon) Escadron Tactique d'Hélicoptères (430e ETH) - Valcartier
438e "Ville de Montréal" (Wildcat) Escadron Tactique d'Hélicoptères (438e ETH) - Saint-Hubert
666 "City of Fredericton" (Screech Owl) Reconnaissance Squadron (666 RNS) - Gagetown
The eastern branch of 11 CAG, 101 Wing would be formed from the staff of 403 (Red Wolf) Squadron at Gagetown, who would command all tactical air assets from the Ottawa River to the Atlantic Ocean; the wing would also take temporary charge of all the new tactical aviation squadrons raised in Québec and the Atlantic provinces before they would deploy overseas with their division air wings or corps air groups. 403 Squadron would continue to be the main operational training element for the CH-146 Griffon, the basic training unit for all the new tactical helicopter squadrons raised in the Atlantic provinces, plus it would serve as home tactical aviation support to the rear troops of Fifth Canadian Division. 430e (Silver Falcon) Escadron and 438e (Wildcat) Escadron would serve as training facility for the new squadrons being raised in Québec as well as provide tactical aviation support to the rear troops of Deuxième Division du Canada. And 666 (Screech Owl) Squadron, one of the three reformed Army cooperation squadrons from the latter part of the Second World War IOTL, would be the main training unit in Eastern Canada for the CU-157 Guardian remote piloted reconnaissance vehicle; in IOTL, it served as part of 70 Group in RAF Fighter Command in the last year of World War Two supporting the Canadian Army. As an aside, Captain James Doohan RCA was a pilot in the original 666 Squadron; this would earn 666 Squadron the nickname "Scotty's Own" as a result. 
102 Wing
Headquarters 102 Wing (HQ 102 WING) - Edmonton
102 Air Mainenance Squadron (101 AMS) - Edmonton
102 Operations Support Squadron (102 OSS) - Edmonton
400 "City of Toronto" (Red Eagle) Tactical Helicopter and Training Squadron (400 THTS) - Borden
408 "City of Red Deer" (Goose) Tactical Helicopter Squadron (408 THS) - Edmonton
427 "Town of Petawawa" (Lion) Special Operations Aviation Squadron (427 SOAS) - Petawawa
450 "City of Pembroke" (Viking) Tactical Transport Helicopter Squadron (450 TTHS) - Petawawa
664 "Town of Wainwright" (Horned Owl) Reconnaissance Squadron (664 RNS) - Wainwright
The western branch of 11 CAG, 102 Wing would be formed from the staff of 408 (Goose) Squadron at Edmonton, who would command all tactical air assets from Ontario to the Pacific Ocean. 102 Operations Support Squadron and 102 Air Maintenance Squadron would be formed from 408 Squadron's integral Air Reserve flight, while detached flights would be formed at Borden and Petawawa from the tactical aviation squadrons based there. 400 (Red Eagle) Squadron would be the wing's equivalent to 403 Squadron, handling basic training for all the new tactical helicopter units formed in Ontario; it would also create an attack helicopter training flight to develop doctrine for the CH-172 Lakota being built in Fort Erie at Airbus Helicopters Canada. Atop that, the City of Toronto Squadron would be the tactical aviation support unit for the rear staff of Fourth Canadian Division. 450 (Viking) Squadron would be the basic training unit for the CH-147 Chinhook transport helicopter, plus also support the Canadian Army in Canada itself with medium tactical transport duties. 408 Squadron would be the main tactical training unit for the new squadrons raised in Western Canada as well as the tactical aviation support unit for the rear staff of Third Canadian Division. Of course, 427 (Lion) Squadron would be operationally and administratively part of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, deploying to Europe whenever tactical aviation assets would be needed; the squadron would also inherit a flight of CH-172 Lakotas as aviation tactical attack support. And 664 (Horned Owl) Squadron would be western Canada's remote piloted vehicle training unit; it was another army cooperation squadron in World War Two IOTL, serving from late 1944 to the end of the war as part of 70 Group RAF supporting First Canadian Army.
And now, the reborn version of the Maritime Air Group from the Cold War...
12 CANADIAN AIR GROUP
(CANADIAN FLEET AIR ARM)
Headquarters 12 Canadian Air Group (Canadian Fleet Air Arm) (HQ 12 CAG [CFAA]) (Quartier-Général de la 12e Groupe Aérien du Canada [Aéronautique Canadienne] [QG 12e GAC (ANC)]) - Shearwater
12 Operations Support Squadron (12 OSS) (12e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [12e ESO]) - Shearwater
The expanded pre-Shift 12 Wing would expand to become 12 Canadian Air Group (Canadian Fleet Air Arm) in preparation to bring forth new squadrons. As a nod to the history of the original Royal Canadian Naval Air Service, it was decided to reactivate all the old RCNAS squadrons, even going so far as to give them their winged naval crest badges back; there would also be the standard RCAF maple leaf wreath squadron crests designed by the Canadian Heraldic Authority to ensure that the squadrons would also feel at home with the RCAF despite their operating as part of the RCN. Even more so, while the ranks of all members of 12 CAG would be the standard RCAF Army-style ranks (which is descent from the original Canadian Air Force of the Great War), the position titles would be navalized. For example, the brigadier general in charge of 12 CAG would still wear the blue Air Force distinctive environmental uniform, but he would be introduced as the Commodore (Air) Commanding Canadian Fleet Air Arm (CMDRE/A CANCOMFLTAIR in Navy short-hand). Deputy commanding officers would now be titled "Executive Officers" (as with Navy ships), the squadron warrant officers would be "squadron coxswains" and so on. This would make things much more comfortable when the CFAA squadrons and personnel would interact with their Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm counterparts; talk was already accelerating concerning having the pre-Unification RCAF rank structure restored so as to prevent the confusion that General Al Meinzinger often gets being addressed as "Air Chief Marshal" all the time.
The wings of the new 12 CAG would be divided to better allow them to coordinate with the three wings of the Royal Canadian Navy: The Canadian Atlantic Fleet/Maritime Forces Atlantic in Halifax, the Canadian Pacific Fleet/Maritime Forces Pacific in Esquimalt and the Naval Reserve in Ville de Québec.
121 Wing/121e Escadre
Headquarters 121 Wing (HQ 121 WING) (Quartier-Général de la 121e Escadre [QG 121e ESCADRE]) - Shearwater
32e "Ville de Québec" (Links) Escadron d'Hélicoptères Polyvalent Maritimes (32 EUPM) (32 "City of Québec" [Links] Maritime Helicopter Utility Squadron [32 MHUS]) - Shearwater
40e "Ville de Lévis" (Shooting Star) Escadron d'Entraînement d'Hélicoptères Maritimes (40e EEHM) (40 "City of Lévis" [Shooting Star] Maritime Helicopter Training Squadron [40 MHTS]) - Shearwater
50 "City of Boucherville" (Mosquito) Maritime Helicopter Squadron (50 MHS) - Shearwater
121 Air Maintenance Squadron (121 AMS) (121e Escadron de Maintenance [Air] [121e EMA]) - Shearwater
121 Operations Support Squadron (121 OSS) (121e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [121e ESO]) - Shearwater
871e "Ville de Sept-Îles" (Centaur) Escadron Maritimes d'Attaques (871e EMA) (871 "City of Sept-Îles" [Centaur] Maritime Attack Squadron [871 MAS]) - Greenwood
880e "Ville de Percé" (Black Griffon) Escadron de Reconnaissance Maritime (880e ERM) (880 "Town of Percé" [Black Griffon] Maritime Reconnaissance Squadron [880 MRS]) - Greenwood
Taking the place of 12 Wing's Atlantic-based squadrons (406 and 423 Squadrons) would be 121 Wing, which would be dedicated to supporting the Atlantic Fleet by itself. Of course, as with the other flying wings of the RCAF, 12 Wing's own Air Reserve flight would be brought up to squadron status and become 121 Operations Support Squadron; the old 12 Air Maintenance Squadron would expand to two squadrons, with 121 Air Maintenance Squadron being attached to 121 Wing at Shearwater. Providing CH-148 Cyclone helicopter support for the RCN's Atlantic-based frigates would be 50 (Mosquito) Squadron; said squadron was formed in 1955 as the helicopter support squadron to Canada's aircraft carrier HMCS Magnificent (and later HMCS Bonaventure), lasting until 1974, when it was broken up into 423 and 443 Squadrons. This squadron would be responsible for the HELAIRDETs (Helicopter Air Detachments) assigned to HMCS Halifax and her sisters. Taking up 406 Squadron's training rôle would be 40e (Shooting Star) Escadron, which was formed in 1954 and merged with 32 Squadron in 1959; the squadron would be responsible for training personnel on the CH-148 and CH-147 platforms for work with the navy. 32e (Links) Escadron is the oldest of the RCN air squadrons; it was founded in 1946 as 743 Fleet Reconnaissance Unit, brought up to squadron status and renumbered in 1952 and would serve as the East Coast's primary maritime utility unit until 1992 when it was amalgamated with 434 Squadron. 32e Escadron would fly both the Boeing CH-147M Chinhook maritime medium transport helicopters and Leonardo/Fleet CH-149M Cormorant maritime light transport helicopters (built at Fleet Canada's Fort Erie plant) off the MV Asterix (later officially commissioned as HMCS Resolve AOR-515); the squadron would also provide air support to HMC Ships Protector and Preserver once they were constructed at Seaspan in Vancouver. 871e (Centaur) Escadron would fly the CF-102 Alpha Jet on maritime interdiction missions that required quick responses; the squadron was formed as 883 Squadron in 1946 to fly off HMCS Warrior and later HMCS Magnificent, then was renumbered as 871 Squadron in 1957 before merging with 870 Squadron (see below) in 1959. And 880e (Black Griffon) Escadron would fly the CP-142 Dash 8 maritime reconnaissance aircraft in support of both the Navy and 14 Wing; the squadron was formed originally as 825 Squadron in 1946 to fly off Warrior and later Magnificent, renumbered as 880 Squadron in 1951, then converted to the Canadair CP-121 Tracker to fly off HMCS Bonaventure until the last of Canada's carriers was decommissioned in 1970, which saw the squadron shifted to Summerside until it was reduced to nil strength in 1990. Since CFB Halifax Detachment Shearwater is now just a heliport, both 871e Escadron and 880e Escadron would fly from Greenwood; both 121 OSS and 121 AMS would have detached flights to support those squadrons there.
122 Wing
Headquarters 122 Wing (HQ 122 WING) - Victoria
21 "District of Esquimalt" (Pegasus) Maritime Helicopter Squadron (21 MHS) - Victoria
33 "City of Victoria" (Anchor) Maritime Utility Helicopter Squadron (33 MUHS) - Victoria
122 Air Maintenance Squadron (122 AMS) - Victoria
122 Operations Support Squadron (122 OSS) - Victoria
870 "City of Cornwall" (Sea Lion) Maritime Attack Squadron (870 MAS) - Victoria
881 "District of Saanich" (Angel) Maritime Reconnaissance Squadron (881 MRS) - Victoria
Taking the place of 443 Squadron at Victoria International Airport (which was once RCAF Station Patricia Bay) in the District of Saanich is 122 Wing, the integral maritime support wing to the Canadian Pacific Fleet. The squadrons based here would be a reflection of 121 Wing's units, though all English-speaking squadrons. Of course, the reserve elements of 443 Squadron would expand and morph into 122 Air Maintenance Squadron and 122 Operations Support Squadron to support the wing with administration, logistics, air maintenance and ground maintenance personnel. 21 (Pegasus) Squadron would be the direct replacement of 443 Squadron in the maritime helicopter role producing HELAIRDETs to the Pacific Fleet; it was the RCN's first helicopter unit when formed in 1951, renumbered the next year and served as one of the fleet utility units at Shearwater until it was merged with 406 Squadron in 1972. 33 (Anchor) Squadron was formed in 1954 and would fly as the Pacific Fleet's main utility support squadron until being reduced to nil strength in 1992. 870 (Sea Lion) Squadron would be the Pacific Fleet's maritime attack support squadron; it was formed in 1946 as 803 Squadron to serve as Warrior's and later Magnificent's integral fighter unit, was renumbered as 870 Squadron in 1951, then served off Magnificent and later Bonaventure until being disbanded in 1962. And 881 (Angel) Squadron was formed originally as 826 Squadron in 1946, renumbered as 881 Squadron in 1951 and merged with 880 Squadron in 1959. Unlike 121 Wing, 122 Wing would be concentrated at Victoria International Airport; thanks to the general shutdown of civilian air traffic, the airport would be effectively become CFB Esquimalt Detachment Patricia Bay for the duration of the current emergency.
123e Escadre
Quartier-Général de la 123e Escadre (QG 123e ESCADRE) (Headquarters 123 Wing [HQ 123 WING]) - Ville de Québec
123e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations (12e ESO) (123 Operations Support Squadron [12e OSS]) - Ville de Québec
920 "City of Mississauga" (Petrel) Maritime Composite Squadron (920 MCS) - Toronto
921 "City of Kingston" (Skua) Maritime Composite Squadron (921 MCS) - Kingston
922 "Capital Region" (Thunderbird) Maritime Composite Squadron (922 MCS) - Victoria
923e "Ville de l'Ancienne-Lorette" (Cormorant) Escadron Composite Maritime (923e ECM) - Ville de Québec
924 "City of Airdrie" (Albatross) Maritime Composite Squadron (924 MCS) - Calgary
Serving as the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve's aviation support force, 123e Escadre would be headquartered alongside the commander of the Naval Reserve at the Complexe Naval de Pointe-à-Carcy on the Ville de Québec waterfront (the headquarters staff now being expanded and formally commissioned as NCSM Frontenac, the "flagship" of the Naval Reserve). Both Air Force reservists and Naval reservists would come together to create 123e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations to serve as the administration and logistics support unit for the wing; due to the dispersed nature of the wing's squadrons, there would be no wing maintenance squadron as the flying squadrons themselves would have integral maintenance flights. All five squadrons of 123e Escadre would be mixed composite units, flying CH-147Ms, CH-148s and CH-149Ms in support of the Naval Reserve units in their immediate area as the new Anticosti-class mine countermeasures vessels are constructed and brought into service at the Fleet Maintenance Facilities at Niagara (Port Weller), Thunder Bay and Saint John in New Brunswick in the first step in expanding the Naval Reserve's seagoing functions beyond personnel reinforcement. All five squadrons had existed in the early years of the Canadian Fleet Air Arm. 920 (Petrel) Squadron, a tender unit to HMCS York in Toronto, was formed in 1953 and disbanded in 1964 after serving as a training squadron with the Grumman TBF Avenger, North American T-6 Harvard and the Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor. 921 (Skua) Squadron also flew those aircraft from 1953 and 1959; it was a tender unit to HMCS Cataraqui in Kingston. 922 (Thunderbird) Squadron, a tender to HMCS Malahat in Victoria, flew the Supermarine Seafire and Hawker Sea Fury from 1953 to 1964. 923e (Cormorant) Escadron, which was a tender to NCSM Montcalm in Ville de Québec, flew the Harvard from 1954 to 1959. And 924 (Albatross) Squadron also flew the Harvard while serving as a tender to HMCS Tecumseh in Calgary from 1954 to 1959.
And now, the Royal Canadian Air Force's main training formation...
2 CANADIAN AIR DIVISION
Headquarters Forces
Headquarters 2 Canadian Air Division (HQ 2 CDN AIR DIV) (Quartier-Général de la 2e Division Aérienne du Canada [QG 2e DAC]) - Winnipeg
20 Operations Support Squadron (20 OSS) (20e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [20e ESO]) - Winnipeg
Canadian Forces Aircrew Selection Centre (CFASC) (Centre de Sélection du Personnel Navigant des Forces Canadiennes [CSPNFC]) - Trenton
2 Canadian Air Division's main role is training. The smallest of the RCAF's three divisions in this timeline, it would have to expand quickly and depend hard on the Air Reserve elements based across the nation to get up to speed, especially with the need to expand 1 Wing into well over two-thirds of the fighting strength in 3 Canadian Air Division overseas: 7 Canadian Air Group, 8 Canadian Air Group, 9 Canadian Air Group and 10 Canadian Air Group, plus their component wings and squadrons. In the end, 2 Air Division would end up directing the home wings and squadrons of 1 Canadian Air Division when it came to the new squadrons. Of course, to help manage such a situation, the Air Reserves in Winnipeg would establish 20 Operations Support Squadron, whose personnel would become the unsung heroes of this incarnation of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan's Canadian operations. Down in Trenton, the Canadian Forces Aircrew Selection Centre would perform its mandate of selecting pilot, aerospace controller and air combat system officer candidates for aircrew training in the Canadian Forces before seeing them dispatched to the various schools to get their wings; in this, the centre would coordinate with various units of the Canadian Forces Health Services Group to ensure standards were met before training began.
15 Wing
Headquarters 15 Wing (HQ 15 WING) (Quartier-Général de la 15e Escadre [QG 15e ESCADRE]) - Moose Jaw
2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School (2 CFFTS) (2e École de Pilotage des Forces Canadiennes [2e ÉPFC]) - Moose Jaw
3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School (3 CFFTS) (3e École de Pilotage des Forces Canadiennes [3e ÉPFC]) - Portage la Prairie
15 Air Maintenance Squadron (15 AMS) (15e Escadron de Maintenance [Air] [15e EMA]) - Moose Jaw
15 Air Traffic Control Squadron (15 ATCS) (15e Escadron de Contrôle de la Circulation Aérienne [15e ECCA]) - Moose Jaw
15 Operations Support Squadron (15 OSS) (15e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [15e ESO]) - Moose Jaw
431 "City of Moose Jaw" (Iroquois) "Snowbirds" Air Demonstration Squadron (431 ADS) - Moose Jaw
Home of the first three phases of pilot training no matter what platform the prospective pilots would eventually fly, 15 Wing would be concentrated at CFB Moose Jaw in south-central Saskatchewan, with one school in south-central Manitoba at the former CFB Portage la Prairie west of Winnipeg. 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School at Portage la Prairie would handle Phase I basic pilot's training as well as Phase III helicopter and multi-engine training; the former base would be recommissioned as CFB Moose Jaw Detachment Southport. Flying for 3 CFFTS would be the Grob 120-A single-engine trainer (commissioned as the CT-120), the Raytheon King Air C-90B twin-engine trainer (commissioned as the CT-190) and the Bell 206A Jet Ranger (which had served the Canadian Forces as the CH-139; it would be recommissioned as the CH-139T). Over in Moose Jaw, 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School would handle Phase II advanced pilot training with the CT-156 Harvard II turboprop trainer (it is after Phase II that pilots get their wings) as well as Phase III jet training with the CT-155 Hawk. To help the wing manage operations, the Air Reserve elements would form 15 Operations Support Squadron and 15 Air Maintenance Squadron, both units having detached flights at the Southport Airport to help with 3 CFFTS. Managing the airspace over southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba would be 15 Air Traffic Control Squadron, which would help train air traffic control officers and non-commissioned members in battlefield airspace management before they would deploy to Europe. Finally, there is the Snowbirds, 431 (Iroquois) Squadron. Since maintaining civilian support and morale is necessary during wartime, the Snowbirds would continue their rôle as the RCAF's flying ambassadors; however, due to the age of their Canadair CT-114 Tutor training jets, the squadron would switch to the CT-155 Hawk (new hulls being license-built by Magellan in Winnipeg with support from Boeing Canada).
16 Wing
Headquarters 16 Wing (HQ 16 WING) (Quartier-Général de la 16e Escadre [QG 16e ESCADRE]) - Borden
16 Operations Support Squadron (16 OSS) (16e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [16e ESO]) - Borden
Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control Operations (CFSACO) (École des Opérations de Contrôle Aérospatial des Forces Canadiennes [ÉOCAFC]) - Cornwall
Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering (CFSATE) (École de Technologie et du Génie Aérospatial des Forces Canadiennes [ÉTGAFC]) - Borden
Royal Canadian Air Force Academy (RCAFA) (École de l'Aviation Royale Canadienne [ÉARC]) - Borden
The literally birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force, 16 Wing would be the only non-flying wing of the service after 22 Wing was upgraded to flight status with the transfer of 414e Escadron from 3e Escadre and the reactivation of 411 and 428 Squadrons. However, the wing's rôle as the main training formation for the Air Force's non-commissioned members and some of the officer trades would never be more important than now. To handle the great influx of recruits, 16 Operations Support Squadron would be stood up from the wing's Air Reserve component. The Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control Operations, which is based at NAV Canada's training establishment in Cornwall on the Saint Lawrence River near the border with Québec, would handle the training for aerospace control officers and aerospace control operators, who would later move on to 15 Air Traffic Control Squadron at Moose Jaw to get final training before deployment. The Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering is the main trade school for the Air Force's technical trades and would be the coordination unit for all training elsewhere in those fields. And the Royal Canadian Air Force Academy would maintain its role in handling basic air force indoctrination training as well as all levels of leadership training; it would even supplement the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit Schools at Saint-Jean and Cornwallis to handle basic training for those wanting to join the RCAF.
17 Wing
Headquarters 17 Wing (HQ 17 WING) (Quartier-Général de la 17e Escadre [QG 17e ESCADRE]) - Winnipeg
17 Operations Support Squadron (17 OSS) (17e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [17e ESO]) - Winnipeg
402 "City of Winnipeg" (Grizzly Bear) Air Combat Systems Training Squadron (402 ACSTS) - Winnipeg
Canadian Forces School of Survival and Aeromedical Training (CFSSAT) (École de Survie et de Médecine de l'Air des Forces Canadiennes [ÉSMAFC]) - Winnipeg
Royal Canadian Air Force Band (RCAF BAND) (Musique de l'Aviation Royale Canadienne [MUS ARC]) - Winnipeg
Royal Canadian Air Force W/C William G. Barker VC Aerospace College (RCAF W/C BARKER AC) (Collège de l'Aérospatiale LCol/A William G. Barker VC de l'Aviation Royale Canadienne [CA LCOL/A BARKER ARC]) - Winnipeg
The host wing for the headquarters staffs of 1 Canadian Air Division and 2 Canadian Air Division, 17 Wing handles ab initio aircrew training, specialized education and aircrew environmental skills training. Again, the Air Reserve element of the wing would form 17 Operations Support Squadron to handle all administrative and logistical needs for the wing's schools. 402 (Grizzly Bear) Squadron would handle the training for all air combat systems officers and airborne electronic sensor operators who would eventually move on to flying the CP-140 Aurora, CP-142 Dash 8, CH-148 Cyclone and other platforms requiring those services; to handle the massive influx of trainees, the City of Winnipeg Squadron would get a full squadron's worth of CT-142 "Gonzo" Dash 8 trainers newly built from Viking Air. The Canadian Forces School of Survival and Aeromedical Training would handle all initial and continuation training for all Canadian Forces aircrew on such diverse topics as life support equipment and human factors, search and evasion as well as disorientation and night vision. The Royal Canadian Air Force W/C William G. Barker VC Aerospace College, named after one of Canada's most famous Great War aces, handles all professional development for the Royal Canadian Air Force through a variety of advanced education and training courses; it also would serve as the basic training hub for all operators of the CU-157 Guardian before they would move on to 664 and 666 Squadrons for advanced training and eventual deployment overseas. And the Royal Canadian Air Force Band would still remain the main musical ambassadors of the service, often teaming with 431 Squadron to do victory drive shows in Canada as well as the United States and Europe on request.
Royal Canadian Air Force Aerospace Warfare Centre/48 Wing
Headquarters 48 Wing (HQ 48 WING) (Quartier-Général de la 48e Escadre [QG 48e ESCADRE]) - Trenton
Royal Canadian Air Force Aerospace Warfare Centre (RAWC) (Centre de Guerre Aérospatiale d'Aviation Royale Canadienne [CGARC]) - Trenton
48 (Raven) Aerospace Test and Evaluation Squadron (48 ATES) (48e [Corbeau] Escadron d'Essai et d'Évaluation de l'Espace Aérien [48e EEÉEA]) - Trenton
48 Air Maintenance Squadron (48 AMS) (48e Escadron de Maintenance [Air] [48e EMA])
48 Operations Support Squadron (48 OSS) (48e Escadron de Soutien aux Opérations [48e ESO]) - Trenton
10e "Ville de Mirabel" (Rogue "X") Escadron d'Essai et Évaluation Opérationnels Maritimes (10e EEÉOM) (10 "City of Mirabel" [Red "X"] Maritime Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron [10 MOTES]) - Shearwater
100e "Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu" (Colibri) Escadron d'Essai et d'Évaluation de l'Aviation Terrestre (100e EEÉAT) (100 "City of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu" [Hummingbird] Land Aviation Test and Evaluation Squadron [100 LATES]) - Saint-Hubert
314 "District of Shelburne" (Gannet) Long Range Patrol Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron (314 LRPOTES) (314e "District de Shelburne" [Fou] Escadron d'Essai et d'Évaluation Opérationnels de Patrouille à Longue Portée [314e EEÉOPLP]) - Greenwood
319 "Town of Hinton" (Kingfisher) Search and Rescue Test and Evaluation Squadron (319 SARTES) (319e "Ville d'Hinton" [Martin-pêcheur] Escadron d'Essai et d'Évaluation des Capacités de Recherche et de Sauvetage [319e EEÉCRS]) - Comox
348 "County of Hastings" (Polar Bear) Transport Operations Test and Evaluation Squadron (348 TOTES) (348e "Comte d'Hastings" [Ours Polaire] Escadron d'Essai et d'Évaluation Opérationnels du Transport [348e EEÉOT]) - Trenton
448 "City of Cold Lake" (Elk) Fighter Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron (448 FOT&ES) (448e "Ville de Cold Lake" [Elk] Escadron d'Essai et d'Évaluation Opérationnels des Chasseurs [448e EEÉOC]) - Cold Lake
665e "Ville de Shannon" (Épervière Boréale) Escadron d'Essai et Évaluation Opérationnels de Reconnaissance (665e EEÉORE) (665 "City of Shannon" [Hawk Owl] Reconnaissance Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron [665 ROT&ES]) - Valcartier
By far the most important wing of the Royal Canadian Air Force beyond 8 Wing, 48 Wing would be the expanded and mobilized version of the service's centre for transformation and evolution, the Royal Canadian Air Force Aerospace Warfare Centre. Located at Trenton, the RAWC's primary tasks include developing air force doctrine for operations and planning, publishing the Royal Canadian Air Force Journal (plus maintaining the Journal's website) which serves as the main forum for all Air Force operational discussions, maintaining the Air Power Studies Library (and e-Library) for access by interested parties (including personnel from the RAF, Armée de l'Air and even the United States Army Air Corps) and developing future air power operations concepts (especially given how much the Shift has changed things). The wing is also responsible for managing all the operational test and evaluation units for all aircraft types now employed by the RCAF; after the Shift, all the OT&E flights - which would have been merged into a reformed 434 Squadron - were expanded to squadron size. Three of 48 Wing's squadrons had existed before the Shift. 10 (Red X) Squadron was the Royal Canadian Navy's helicopter trials and evaluations unit, first founded at Shearwater in 1952, it flew all the Navy's helicopters until 1970 when it was transformed into the Helicopter Operational Test and Evaluation Facility. 448 (Elk) Squadron was founded in 1967 at Cold Lake as the Air Force's main test and evaluation unit, serving just until 1970 when it was merged into the Aerospace Engineering and Test Establishment (a unit answering to the Assistant Deputy Minister [Materiel] Group). And 665 (Hawk Owl) Squadron was one of the three Army cooperation squadrons formed by the RCAF and the Royal Canadian Artillery for service in the last year of World War Two IOTL. The wing's new squadrons would make sure that all the aircraft, both already commissioned and newly commissioned, in the Air Force would work properly before they would be released for operational duty or sent back to the manufacturers for upgrades to make them safe for use.
And finally, a final note...
In World War Two IOTL, the Air Force engaged in the practice of allowing its flying squadrons to be effectively "adopted" by a particular municipality or organization as a way of fostering support from the folks back home for the service personnel putting their lives on the line for the Dominion. In this "second round" of the Fifth Great European Free-for-All, such a practice was revised for ALL flying squadrons; the newly-commissioned 100, 200 and 300 series units would be soon adopted as time moves on. Such adoptions are marked by the municipal name before the actual squadron nickname (based on their official badge) in the squadron title.
Next: The home establishment of the Royal Canadian Navy!
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on May 8, 2019 18:22:34 GMT
Next: The home establishment of the Royal Canadian Navy! First, another nice orbat. Second, i always for some reason like navies more than air forces ore armies, maybe it is the ships and everything related to them. |
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pyeknu
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Post by pyeknu on May 8, 2019 18:43:35 GMT
First, another nice orbat. Second, i always for some reason like navies more than air forces ore armies, maybe it is the ships and everything related to them. I had the pleasure to serve on DDH-206 HMCS Saguenay from 1987-88 when I was in the Canadian Forces. Got seasick until I discovered scopamaline patches, then I was okay. Honestly, I should have stayed in the Navy rather than head to an army staff college after my tour...! Ah, well... |
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Zyobot
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Post by Zyobot on May 9, 2019 14:37:56 GMT
First, another nice orbat. Second, i always for some reason like navies more than air forces ore armies, maybe it is the ships and everything related to them. I had the pleasure to serve on DDH-206 HMCS Saguenay from 1987-88 when I was in the Canadian Forces. Got seasick until I discovered scopamaline patches, then I was okay. Honestly, I should have stayed in the Navy rather than head to an army staff college after my tour...! Ah, well... Well that'd no doubt provide helpful expertise in constructing an AH ORBAT. Part of me wonders if the USSR will get militarily involved ITTL's WW2, and what sort of forces they'd bring to the table if that were the case. |
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stevep
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Post by stevep on May 9, 2019 14:51:51 GMT
I had the pleasure to serve on DDH-206 HMCS Saguenay from 1987-88 when I was in the Canadian Forces. Got seasick until I discovered scopamaline patches, then I was okay. Honestly, I should have stayed in the Navy rather than head to an army staff college after my tour...! Ah, well... Well that'd no doubt provide helpful expertise in constructing an AH ORBAT. Part of me wonders if the USSR will get militarily involved ITTL's WW2, and what sort of forces they'd bring to the table if that were the case.
I suspect the more important question is whether, possibly later rather than sooner, the USSR will be at war with the allies. I doubt their going to come in now in support of their Nazi allies but I'm not sure their going to stay neutral as there will be the question of Poland and also the knowledge the allies have about Stalin's regime.
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pyeknu
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Post by pyeknu on May 9, 2019 16:29:42 GMT
With the home establishment of the Royal Canadian Air Force established, it's time to take a good look at the "senior service", the Royal Canadian Navy!
Unlike the land and air services, the sea services started "round two" of the Fifth Great European Free-for-All at a considerable disadvantage. While the technological gap between the RCN and the various Allied navies was considerable, the sheer paucity of ships would severely crimp the Navy's reach for the time being until new hulls were constructed. And unlike aircraft and tanks, building warships is not only a time consuming affair, but the sheer LACK of shipyards would make ordering new vessels a very long process. While there was the option to obtain used hulls from the Royal Navy or the United States Navy (in a replay of the "destroyers for bases" deal struck IOTL in 1941), the sheer technological gap and the advances in metallurgy soon saw that scuppered.
Fortunately, the Navy had been in the process of preparing some new hulls when the Shift occurred. Chief among them were the new Protecteur-class auxiliary oil replenishment vessels, based on the German Type 702 Berlin-class replenishment vessel, which would be constructed at Seaspan ULC in North Vancouver. With an original plan of two ships (HMC Ships Protecteur and Preserver), the plan was eventually advanced to four vessels to allow two AORs to serve on each coast; the name of Canada's first AOR, HMCS Provider, would be revised and a new HMCS Presentor would be commissioned as well. With wartime emergency building and the commissioning of the Naval Reserve's Fleet Maintenance Facility Fraser (a tender unit of HMCS Discovery in Vancouver) with facilities all along the Fraser River estuary and the Vancouver waterfront, projections would have Protecteur and Preserver launched in 1941, to be commissioned a year later. Due to this, construction on the projected large Coast Guard icebreaker CCGS John G. Diefenbaker would be pushed back for the time being.
To act as a stop-gap measure for the Navy until the Protecteur-class were in the water and commissioned, the Asterix-class auxiliary oil replenishment vessels were formally commissioned into the Navy. Modified from two civilian container ships (Motor Vessels Asterix and Obelix) at Davie Shipbuilding in Lévis on the Saint Lawrence under the guidance of Federal Fleet Services, the two ships didn't have the high level of combat environmental suitability as the new Protecteur-class would possess, but they would definitely serve as the Navy's main replenishment vessels and auxiliary mobile casualty care centres for the time being. After the Shift, both vessels would be formally commissioned into the Navy as HMC Ships Resolve (ex-Asterix) and Fortitude (ex-Obelix) in late 1940. Both ships would be manned by naval reservists via the Naval Reserve Augmentation Division concept (see next post) from drafts of personnel drawn from HMC Ships Pointe-Lévy (the new reserve unit in Lévis across from Ville de Québec) and Discovery.
One casualty of the Shift and the need to build the Navy up was the Harry DeWolf-class Arctic and offshore patrol vessels. Originally planned to be a class of six, the lack of decent capabilities for these ships - their slow speed, lack of decent ice-breaking capability and the inability to augment the armament of the ships - saw the order for them cancelled after HMC Ships Harry DeWolf and Margaret Brooke were effectively on their way to being completed; the third ship of the class, HMCS Max Bernays, was broken up in the Halifax Shipyards construction site to make room for new construction. To prepare crews for the two ships that would be commissioned, HMC Ships Scotian (the naval reserve unit in Halifax) and Batoche (the new naval reserve unit at Prince Albert in north-central Saskatchewan) were ordered to train NRADs to form part of the commissioning crews for both vessels. As to their use in the future, that was up in the air.
To augment the combat strength of the Navy, it was elected to scrap plans for the single-type Canadian Surface Combatant and create a third flight of Halifax-class frigates based on the Frigate Life Extension design that the original twelve ships of the class had undergone just before the Shift. To placate Halifax Shipyards, the company was contracted to build the six new frigates, with three to be constructed at the reactivated Saint John Shipbuilding yards in the home city of HMCS Brunswicker (New Brunswick's original Naval Reserve unit); to aid in the construction, Fleet Maintenance Facility Saint John was commissioned as a tender to Brunswicker to expedite the construction. Further, to aid Halifax Shipyards in building their own ships, Fleet Maintenance Facility K'jipuktuk (a tender to HMCS Scotian in Halifax) was commissioned to provide additional naval construction staff, thus allowing Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Scott at CFB Halifax to concentrate more on repairing and maintaining the active fleet. Names proposed for the class followed the "city names" used on the original twelve ships: HMC Ships Hamilton, Abbotsford, Bathurst, Trois-Rivières (ex-Gatineau), Laval and Burlington. Steel was first cut for Hamilton and Abbotsford at Halifax Shipyards and Saint John Shipbuilding respectively in August 1940, with launching of the two ships projected for September 1941 and commissioning sometime in 1942; the remaining four ships would follow as soon as possible. Ordered to prepare the commissioning crews would be HMC Ships Star (the naval reserve unit in Hamilton), Coquihalla (the new naval reserve unit in Abbotsford for the Fraser Valley Region in British Columbia), Listuguj (the new naval reserve unit in Bathurst for northeast New Brunswick), Radisson (the naval reserve unit for Trois-Rivières), Mille Îles (the new naval reserve unit for Laval near Montréal) and Thayendanegea (the new naval reserve unit for Halton Region in Ontario near Hamilton) respectively.
Note that the planned name for HMCS Trois-Rivières was HMCS Gatineau (after the city). However, the two former HMC Ships Gatineau - the first being a British E-class minelaying destroyer named HMS Express (pendant H61) that was transferred to the RCN in World War Two IOTL, the second was a Cold War Restigouche-class destroyer escort (pendant DD-236) - were named after the river, which is a tributary of the Ottawa River. Since there is talk now for the Navy to have a River-class of offshore patrol vessels, the name of Québec's ninth largest city was chosen instead for FFH-345.
Projected to follow after the new Halifax-class would be the Iroquois-class (or "Tribal-class") destroyers. Envisioned now as a stretched version of the Halifax-class with more guns to better fit the combat environment of the Second World War, design work for the new ships was handed over to Davie Shipbuilding and the newly-commissioned Fleet Maintenance Facility Lauzon (a tender to HMCS Pointe-Lévy). While a final design wouldn't be presented for review by the commander of the Navy and his staff in Ottawa until mid-1941 at the earliest, the projected names for the ten-ship class were immediately decided: HMC Ships Iroquois, Huron, Athabaskan, Algonquin, Micmac, Nootka, Cayuga, Sioux, Onondaga and Ojibwa. Immediately, naval reserve units were called up to begin training the commissioning crews; respectively, the units so assigned to this duty would be HMC Ships Star for Iroquois, Onondaga and Cayuga; Montcalm (the naval reserve unit in Ville de Québec) for Huron; Nechako (the new naval reserve unit for the regions of Fraser-Fort George, Bulkley-Nechako and part of Cariboo in the British Columbia interior) for Athabaskan; Draveur (the new naval reserve unit for the city of Gatineau and the Outaouais Region of Québec) for Algonquin; Unama'kik (the new naval reserve unit for Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia) for Micmac; Bastion (the new naval reserve unit for northern and central Vancouver Island) for Nootka; Queen (the naval reserve unit for Regina in Saskatchewan) for Sioux; and Sainte-Marie (the new naval reserve unit for Simcoe County in Ontario) for Ojibwa. Projected further names in case the class would have to be extended beyond ten ships would be HMC Ships Inuktitut (in honour of the Inuit in Canada's north), Niitsitapi (in honour of the Blackfoot of Alberta), Innu (in honour of the Montagnais of eastern Québec and Labrador), Okanagan (in honour of the Okanagan peoples of south-central British Columbia, not the lake of the same name), Oneida (in honour of one of the tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy), Seneca (another of the Iroquois Confederacy tribes), Tuscarora (the last nation to join the Iroquois Confederacy) and Haida (in honour of the Haida peoples of Haida Gwaii off the northwest British Columbia coast); sadly, there was an HMS Mohawk (one of the 1937 Tribal-class destroyers) in commission with the Royal Navy at this time.
Of more immediate need would be a replacement to the Kingston-class mine warfare/coastal defence ships given that the "small City-class" of vessels were, despite their incredible range, in need of reinforcement both in the littoral warfare realm as well as the standard mine warfare realm. While several foreign designs were brought to the attention of the Royal Canadian Navy by naval attaché staffs from other nations who had been dragged back in time via the Shift, it was decided to dust off a late Cold War idea and put it back into service. The Anticosti-class (or "Island-class") mine countermeasures vessels were modelled after the original auxiliary minesweepers HMC Ships Anticosti and Moresby, both of whom had been civilian offshore drill-rig supply vessels that had been requisitioned by the old Maritime Command in 1988 to serve as training ships for the Kingston-class; both would be put out of service and returned to civilian use in 2000. The new vessels would be lengthened versions of the original Anticosti (which had transitioned through the Shift, but was approaching fifty years of age in 2018) with a built-in flight deck and telescopic hangar for temporary storage of a CH-148 Cyclone, the defensive weapons that would have been placed on the Harry DeWolf-class, plus modular suites for both mine sweeping and mine hunting duties. Given the small size of these ships, they could be built at the only Great Lakes shipyard that was ready to go after the Shift: Port Weller Shipbuilding in Saint Catharines at the northern end of the Welland Canal, which was commissioned as Fleet Maintenance Facility Niagara, tender to the newly-commissioned naval reserve unit for the Niagara Region of Ontario, HMCS Queenston. A total of sixteen ships would be built by FMF Niagara as well as FMF Thunder Bay (a tender to HMCS Griffon in northwest Ontario's largest city on the shores of Lake Superior); it had been intended in the beginning to also use FMF Saint John in New Brunswick to build members of the Anticosti-class, but the more urgent need to construct the third flight Halifax-class and the new Iroquois-class ships took precedent.
To be built would be HMC Ships Anticosti, Moresby, Graham, Baffin, Manitoulin, Akimiski, Kitlineq, Ellesmere, Tatlurutit, Shugliaq, Îles de la Madeleine, Bylot (ex-Île Saint-Jean), Île Royale, Avalon, Banks and Quadra. Providing commissioning crews for these ships would be HMC Ships Jolliet (the naval reserve unit for Sept-Îles and the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in Québec) for Anticosti; Chatham (the new naval reserve unit for the Central Coast, Skeena-Queen Charlotte and Kitimat-Stikine regions of British Columbia) for Moresby and Graham; Qikiqtaaluk (the new naval reserve unit for the Kitikmeot and Qikiqtaaluk regions of Nunavut) for Baffin; Wanapitei (the new naval reserve unit for Sudbury and Manitoulin districts and the city of Greater Sudbury in Ontario) for Manitoulin; Troyes (the new naval reserve unit for Cochrane, Kenora and Rainy River districts in northern Ontario) for Akimiski; Sombak'è (the new naval reserve unit for the Northwest Territories and the Wood Buffalo Regional Municipality in Alberta) for Kitlineq and Banks; Otonabee (the new naval reserve unit for Peterborough, Haliburton and Northumberland counties in Ontario) for Ellesmere and Tatlurutit; Burntwood (the new naval reserve unit for the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut and the areas of Census Division #s 22 and 23 in northern Manitoba and part of Census Division #18 in northeast Saskatchewan) for Shugliaq; Cap d'Espoir (the new naval reserve unit for the eastern Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of Québec) for Îles de la Madeleine; Queen Charlotte (the naval reserve division for Prince Edward Island) for Bylot; Unama'kik for Île Royale; Cabot (the naval reserve unit for eastern Newfoundland) for Avalon; and Bastion for Quadra.
Some of the names for the Anticosti-class ships were chosen while keeping in mind active ships and units of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Navy and local preference, as follows:
HMCS Kitlineq is named in honour of Victoria Island in Canada's north, divided between the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. However, there is already an HMCS Victoria (SSK-876), the lead of the Victoria-class hunter-killer submarines, in commission with the RCN, so the Inuit name for the island was chosen;
HMCS Tatlurutit is named in honour of Devon Island in the Nunavut part of Canada's Arctic islands. However, there is already an HMS Devonshire (pendant 39) in the Royal Navy, one of the County-class heavy cruisers, so the Inuit name for the island was chosen;
HMCS Shugliaq is named in honour of Southampton Island at the north end of Hudson Bay in Nunavut. However, there is already an HMS Southampton (pendant 83) in the Royal Navy, one of the first flight of Town-class light cruisers, so the Inuit name for the island was chosen;
HMCS Bylot is named after an island off Baffin Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut. The original name, HMCS Île Saint-Jean, was taken from the French name for Prince Edward Island, but plans for a different type of ship with that name are circulating in RCN headquarters, so the name of the northern island was chosen instead;
HMCS Île Royale is named after Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. Since there is the Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Breton at CFB Esquimalt, it was decided to use the old French name for the island;
HMCS Avalon is named after the island of Newfoundland. Since the Royal Navy were now having HMS Newfoundland (pendant 59) built as one of the Crown Colony-class light cruisers at the Swan Hunter shipyards on the River Tyne in England, it was decided to revive the name of the IOTL Royal Canadian Navy shore base at Saint John's (and modern-day Royal Canadian Sea Cadet training camp) for MCMV-725; and
HMCS Quadra is named after Vancouver Island. Since there is already an HMCS Vancouver (second of the Halifax-class frigates) in commission, the name of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet training camp at CFB Comox was commissioned for MCMV-727.
To get around the Rush-Bagot Treaty of 1818 and the Treaty of Washington of 1871 which demanded that the Great Lakes would not be the scene of an arms race, a special agreement was struck between Prime Minister Trudeau and President Roosevelt that would allow both RCN and USN warships to use the lakes as a safe training area for the "length of the current emergency", the end of which would be decided by Ottawa and Washington. To sweeten the deal for the Americans, personnel from both the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard would get the chance to spend time on the Anticosti-class ships as they were trialled on the Great Lakes before they were commissioned and deployed to Halifax or Esquimalt to commence their duties.
With the loss of HMCS Glace Bay with most of her crew on 20 March 1941, a seventeenth member of the Anticosti-class was ordered from FMF Niagara, which would become the third HMCS Glace Bay (MCMV-728). As with her older sister HMCS Île Royale, manning augmentation would come from HMCS Unama'kik.
To be continued...
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on May 9, 2019 20:14:02 GMT
With the home establishment of the Royal Canadian Air Force established, it's time to take a good look at the "senior service", the Royal Canadian Navy!
Unlike the land and air services, the sea services started "round two" of the Fifth Great European Free-for-All at a considerable disadvantage. While the technological gap between the RCN and the various Allied navies was considerable, the sheer paucity of ships would severely crimp the Navy's reach for the time being until new hulls were constructed. And unlike aircraft and tanks, building warships is not only a time consuming affair, but the sheer LACK of shipyards would make ordering new vessels a very long process. While there was the option to obtain used hulls from the Royal Navy or the United States Navy (in a replay of the "destroyers for bases" deal struck IOTL in 1941), the sheer technological gap and the advances in metallurgy soon saw that scuppered.
Fortunately, the Navy had been in the process of preparing some new hulls when the Shift occurred. Chief among them were the new Protecteur-class auxiliary oil replenishment vessels, based on the German Type 702 Berlin-class replenishment vessel, which would be constructed at Seaspan ULC in North Vancouver. With an original plan of two ships (HMC Ships Protecteur and Preserver), the plan was eventually advanced to four vessels to allow two AORs to serve on each coast; the name of Canada's first AOR, HMCS Provider, would be revised and a new HMCS Presentor would be commissioned as well. With wartime emergency building and the commissioning of the Naval Reserve's Fleet Maintenance Facility Fraser (a tender unit of HMCS Discovery in Vancouver) with facilities all along the Fraser River estuary and the Vancouver waterfront, projections would have Protecteur and Preserver launched in 1941, to be commissioned a year later. Due to this, construction on the projected large Coast Guard icebreaker CCGS John G. Diefenbaker would be pushed back for the time being.
To act as a stop-gap measure for the Navy until the Protecteur-class were in the water and commissioned, the Asterix-class auxiliary oil replenishment vessels were formally commissioned into the Navy. Modified from two civilian container ships (Motor Vessels Asterix and Obelix) at Davie Shipbuilding in Lévis on the Saint Lawrence under the guidance of Federal Fleet Services, the two ships didn't have the high level of combat environmental suitability as the new Protecteur-class would possess, but they would definitely serve as the Navy's main replenishment vessels and auxiliary mobile casualty care centres for the time being. After the Shift, both vessels would be formally commissioned into the Navy as HMC Ships Resolve (ex-Asterix) and Fortitude (ex-Obelix) in late 1940. Both ships would be manned by naval reservists via the Naval Reserve Augmentation Division concept (see next post) from drafts of personnel drawn from HMC Ships Pointe-Lévy (the new reserve unit in Lévis across from Ville de Québec) and Discovery.
One casualty of the Shift and the need to build the Navy up was the Harry DeWolf-class Arctic and offshore patrol vessels. Originally planned to be a class of six, the lack of decent capabilities for these ships - their slow speed, lack of decent ice-breaking capability and the inability to augment the armament of the ships - saw the order for them cancelled after HMC Ships Harry DeWolf and Margaret Brooke were effectively on their way to being completed; the third ship of the class, HMCS Max Bernays, was broken up in the Halifax Shipyards construction site to make room for new construction. To prepare crews for the two ships that would be commissioned, HMC Ships Scotian (the naval reserve unit in Halifax) and Batoche (the new naval reserve unit at Prince Albert in north-central Saskatchewan) were ordered to train NRADs to form part of the commissioning crews for both vessels. As to their use in the future, that was up in the air.
To augment the combat strength of the Navy, it was elected to scrap plans for the single-type Canadian Surface Combatant and create a third flight of Halifax-class frigates based on the Frigate Life Extension design that the original twelve ships of the class had undergone just before the Shift. To placate Halifax Shipyards, the company was contracted to build the six new frigates, with three to be constructed at the reactivated Saint John Shipbuilding yards in the home city of HMCS Brunswicker (New Brunswick's original Naval Reserve unit); to aid in the construction, Fleet Maintenance Facility Saint John was commissioned as a tender to Brunswicker to expedite the construction. Further, to aid Halifax Shipyards in building their own ships, Fleet Maintenance Facility K'jipuktuk (a tender to HMCS Scotian in Halifax) was commissioned to provide additional naval construction staff, thus allowing Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Scott at CFB Halifax to concentrate more on repairing and maintaining the active fleet. Names proposed for the class followed the "city names" used on the original twelve ships: HMC Ships Hamilton, Abbotsford, Bathurst, Trois-Rivières (ex-Gatineau), Laval and Burlington. Steel was first cut for Hamilton and Abbotsford at Halifax Shipyards and Saint John Shipbuilding respectively in August 1940, with launching of the two ships projected for September 1941 and commissioning sometime in 1942; the remaining four ships would follow as soon as possible. Ordered to prepare the commissioning crews would be HMC Ships Star (the naval reserve unit in Hamilton), Coquihalla (the new naval reserve unit in Abbotsford for the Fraser Valley Region in British Columbia), Listuguj (the new naval reserve unit in Bathurst for northeast New Brunswick), Radisson (the naval reserve unit for Trois-Rivières), Mille Îles (the new naval reserve unit for Laval near Montréal) and Thayendanegea (the new naval reserve unit for Halton Region in Ontario near Hamilton) respectively.
Note that the planned name for HMCS Trois-Rivières was HMCS Gatineau (after the city). However, the two former HMC Ships Gatineau - the first being a British E-class minelaying destroyer named HMS Express (pendant H61) that was transferred to the RCN in World War Two IOTL, the second was a Cold War Restigouche-class destroyer escort (pendant DD-236) - were named after the river, which is a tributary of the Ottawa River. Since there is talk now for the Navy to have a River-class of offshore patrol vessels, the name of Québec's ninth largest city was chosen instead for FFH-345.
Projected to follow after the new Halifax-class would be the Iroquois-class (or "Tribal-class") destroyers. Envisioned now as a stretched version of the Halifax-class with more guns to better fit the combat environment of the Second World War, design work for the new ships was handed over to Davie Shipbuilding and the newly-commissioned Fleet Maintenance Facility Lauzon (a tender to HMCS Pointe-Lévy). While a final design wouldn't be presented for review by the commander of the Navy and his staff in Ottawa until mid-1941 at the earliest, the projected names for the ten-ship class were immediately decided: HMC Ships Iroquois, Huron, Athabaskan, Algonquin, Micmac, Nootka, Cayuga, Sioux, Onondaga and Ojibwa. Immediately, naval reserve units were called up to begin training the commissioning crews; respectively, the units so assigned to this duty would be HMC Ships Star for Iroquois, Onondaga and Cayuga; Montcalm (the naval reserve unit in Ville de Québec) for Huron; Nekacho (the new naval reserve unit for the regions of Fraser-Fort George, Bulkley-Nechako and part of Cariboo in the British Columbia interior) for Athabaskan; Draveur (the new naval reserve unit for the city of Gatineau and the Outaouais Region of Québec) for Algonquin; Unama'kik (the new naval reserve unit for Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia) for Micmac; Bastion (the new naval reserve unit for northern and central Vancouver Island) for Nootka; Queen (the naval reserve unit for Regina in Saskatchewan) for Sioux; and Sainte-Marie (the new naval reserve unit for Simcoe County in Ontario) for Ojibwa. Projected further names in case the class would have to be extended beyond ten ships would be HMC Ships Inuktitut (in honour of the Inuit in Canada's north), Niitsitapi (in honour of the Blackfoot of Alberta), Innu (in honour of the Montagnais of eastern Québec and Labrador), Okanagan (in honour of the Okanagan peoples of south-central British Columbia, not the lake of the same name), Oneida (in honour of one of the tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy), Seneca (another of the Iroquois Confederacy tribes), Tuscarora (the last nation to join the Iroquois Confederacy) and Haida (in honour of the Haida peoples of Haida Gwaii off the northwest British Columbia coast); sadly, there was an HMS Mohawk (one of the 1937 Tribal-class destroyers) in commission with the Royal Navy at this time.
Of more immediate need would be a replacement to the Kingston-class mine warfare/coastal defence ships given that the "small City-class" of vessels were, despite their incredible range, in need of reinforcement both in the littoral warfare realm as well as the standard mine warfare realm. While several foreign designs were brought to the attention of the Royal Canadian Navy by naval attaché staffs from other nations who had been dragged back in time via the Shift, it was decided to dust off a late Cold War idea and put it back into service. The Anticosti-class (or "Island-class") mine countermeasures vessels were modelled after the original auxiliary minesweepers HMC Ships Anticosti and Moresby, both of whom had been civilian offshore drill-rig supply vessels that had been requisitioned by the old Maritime Command in 1988 to serve as training ships for the Kingston-class; both would be put out of service and returned to civilian use in 2000. The new vessels would be lengthened versions of the original Anticosti (which had transitioned through the Shift, but was approaching fifty years of age in 2018) with a built-in flight deck and telescopic hangar for temporary storage of a CH-148 Cyclone, the defensive weapons that would have been placed on the Harry DeWolf-class, plus modular suites for both mine sweeping and mine hunting duties. Given the small size of these ships, they could be built at the only Great Lakes shipyard that was ready to go after the Shift: Port Weller Shipbuilding in Saint Catharines at the northern end of the Welland Canal, which was commissioned as Fleet Maintenance Facility Niagara, tender to the newly-commissioned naval reserve unit for the Niagara Region of Ontario, HMCS Queenston. A total of sixteen ships would be built by FMF Niagara as well as FMF Thunder Bay (a tender to HMCS Griffon in northwest Ontario's largest city on the shores of Lake Superior); it had been intended in the beginning to also use FMF Saint John in New Brunswick to build members of the Anticosti-class, but the more urgent need to construct the third flight Halifax-class and the new Iroquois-class ships took precedent.
To be built would be HMC Ships Anticosti, Moresby, Graham, Baffin, Manitoulin, Akimiski, Kitlineq, Ellesmere, Tatlurutit, Shugliaq, Îles de la Madeleine, Bylot (ex-Île Saint-Jean), Île Royale, Avalon, Banks and Quadra. Providing commissioning crews for these ships would be HMC Ships Jolliet (the naval reserve unit for Sept-Îles and the north shore of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in Québec) for Anticosti; Chatham (the new naval reserve unit for the Central Coast, Skeena-Queen Charlotte and Kitimat-Stikine regions of British Columbia) for Moresby and Graham; Qikiqtaaluk (the new naval reserve unit for the Kitikmeot and Qikiqtaaluk regions of Nunavut) for Baffin; Wanapitei (the new naval reserve unit for Sudbury and Manitoulin districts and the city of Greater Sudbury in Ontario) for Manitoulin; Troyes (the new naval reserve unit for Cochrane, Kenora and Rainy River districts in northern Ontario) for Akimiski; Sombak'è (the new naval reserve unit for the Northwest Territories and the Wood Buffalo Regional Municipality in Alberta) for Kitlineq; Otonabee (the new naval reserve unit for Peterborough, Haliburton and Northumberland counties in Ontario) for Ellesmere and Tatlurutit; Burntwood (the new naval reserve unit for the Kivalliq Region of Nunavut and the areas of Census Division #s 22 and 23 in northern Manitoba and part of Census Division #18 in northeast Saskatchewan) for Shugliaq and Banks; Cap d'Espoir (the new naval reserve unit for the eastern Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of Québec) for Îles de la Madeleine; Queen Charlotte (the naval reserve division for Prince Edward Island) for Bylot; Unama'kik for Île Royale; Cabot (the naval reserve unit for eastern Newfoundland) for Avalon; and Bastion for Quadra.
Some of the names for the Anticosti-class ships were chosen while keeping in mind active ships and units of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Navy and local preference, as follows:
HMCS Kitlineq is named in honour of Victoria Island in Canada's north, divided between the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. However, there is already an HMCS Victoria (SSK-876), the lead of the Victoria-class hunter-killer submarines, in commission with the RCN, so the Inuit name for the island was chosen;
HMCS Tatlurutit is named in honour of Devon Island in the Nunavut part of Canada's Arctic islands. However, there is already an HMS Devonshire (pendant 39) in the Royal Navy, one of the County-class heavy cruisers, so the Inuit name for the island was chosen;
HMCS Shugliaq is named in honour of Southampton Island at the north end of Hudson Bay in Nunavut. However, there is already an HMS Southampton (pendant 83) in the Royal Navy, one of the first flight of Town-class light cruisers, so the Inuit name for the island was chosen;
HMCS Bylot is named after an island off Baffin Island in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut. The original name, HMCS Île Saint-Jean, was taken from the French name for Prince Edward Island, but plans for a different type of ship with that name are circulating in RCN headquarters, so the name of the northern island was chosen instead;
HMCS Île Royale is named after Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. Since there is the Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Breton at CFB Esquimalt, it was decided to use the old French name for the island;
HMCS Avalon is named after the island of Newfoundland. Since the Royal Navy were now having HMS Newfoundland (pendant 59) built as one of the Crown Colony-class light cruisers at the Swan Hunter shipyards on the River Tyne in England, it was decided to revive the name of the IOTL Royal Canadian Navy shore base at Saint John's (and modern-day Royal Canadian Sea Cadet training camp) for MCMV-725; and
HMCS Quadra is named after Vancouver Island. Since there is already an HMCS Vancouver (second of the Halifax-class frigates) in commission, the name of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet training camp at CFB Comox was commissioned for MCMV-727.
To get around the Rush-Bagot Treaty of 1818 and the Treaty of Washington of 1871 which demanded that the Great Lakes would not be the scene of an arms race, a special agreement was struck between Prime Minister Trudeau and President Roosevelt that would allow both RCN and USN warships to use the lakes as a safe training area for the "length of the current emergency", the end of which would be decided by Ottawa and Washington. To sweeten the deal for the Americans, personnel from both the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard would get the chance to spend time on the Anticosti-class ships as they were trialled on the Great Lakes before they were commissioned and deployed to Halifax or Esquimalt to commence their duties.
With the loss of HMCS Glace Bay with most of her crew on 20 March 1941, a seventeenth member of the Anticosti-class was ordered from FMF Niagara, which would become the third HMCS Glace Bay (MCMV-728). As with her older sister HMCS Île Royale, manning augmentation would come from HMCS Unama'kik.
To be continued... A great update pyeknu and nice to see the senior service orbat. |
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pyeknu
Chief petty officer
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Post by pyeknu on May 9, 2019 21:33:50 GMT
A great update pyeknu and nice to see the senior service orbat. That's just the beginning. I need to get some info concerning the Victoria-class SSK replacements from r edrobin65, then I can finish the introduction before starting the actual ORBATs. |
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on May 11, 2019 12:47:02 GMT
A great update pyeknu and nice to see the senior service orbat. That's just the beginning. I need to get some info concerning the Victoria-class SSK replacements from r edrobin65, then I can finish the introduction before starting the actual ORBATs. What about having a Oberon-class submarine type of submarine, there is one, namely HMCS Onondaga being preserved as museum at Rimouski, Quebec, Canada that can be used as a study example. |
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pyeknu
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Seeking a fresh start here
Posts: 191
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Post by pyeknu on May 11, 2019 21:43:30 GMT
That's just the beginning. I need to get some info concerning the Victoria-class SSK replacements from r edrobin65, then I can finish the introduction before starting the actual ORBATs. What about having a Oberon-class submarine type of submarine, there is one, namely HMCS Onondaga being preserved as museum at Rimouski, Quebec, Canada that can be used as a study example. Actually, redrobin65 is aiming to have the Shortfin conventionally-powered version of the Barracuda-class submarine built in the story. |
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on May 12, 2019 11:34:14 GMT
What about having a Oberon-class submarine type of submarine, there is one, namely HMCS Onondaga being preserved as museum at Rimouski, Quebec, Canada that can be used as a study example. Actually, redrobin65 is aiming to have the Shortfin conventionally-powered version of the Barracuda-class submarine built in the story. That is quite a design and it will take a long time to build them, by then the war could be over. |
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