The duties undertaken by the headquarters staff of the Corps were, in many respects, much more onerous than those which fall to the lot of a similar establishment in Great Britain, and comprised not only the routine work of the brigade, but also very many functions which under home conditions would have been assumed by either the War Office or the Air Ministry.

Looking back at the past two years, it appears that although the headquarters burden was thus increased, the arrangement proved distinctly to the advantage of the Corps, resulting as it did in the centralization of authority and a constant unity of purpose and procedure which otherwise would have been difficult of achievement.

To make the matter perfectly clear, the Royal Air Force, Canada, must be considered as a unit operating outside the boundaries of the usual activities of the Air Ministry, and endowed with special authority and freedom of action, but handicapped, nevertheless, by certain limitations, which, although greatly alleviated by the helpful attitude of the Canadian authorities, made it imperative that extreme care should be used both in policy and action.

It is obvious from the chapter which deals with the matter of recruiting, that particular judgment had to be used in the means adopted to bring the Corps up to the necessary strength, and it was doubly important that every precaution be taken to avoid enlisting men who were subject to the provisions of the Canadian Military Service Act.

Only in very special cases where the applicant’s qualifications made the enlistment desirable, was any recruit signed on who came under the provision of this Act.

The organization and formation of units was, of course, constantly subject to fluctuations in recruiting, and that these units were so soon brought up to workable strength, speaks well for the care given in this respect.

The arrangements made between Brigade Headquarters and the Department of Militia and Defence in Ottawa were all important; and negotiations for medical service, rations, etc., etc., having been completed with satisfaction to the Canadian government, it fell to headquarters staff to maintain a constant and careful liaison with the various departments involved. In addition there were also many important conferences at Washington, these resulting in a complete understanding between the U.S. Signal Service and the brigade, which understanding took admirable shape in the reciprocal training agreement so successfully carried out by the Corps in Canada and Texas.

Responsibility for training in Canada lay with the officer of headquarters staff on this duty, and constant touch was maintained with Great Britain in order that the methods of the Canadian unit might always reflect every recent advance in the system adopted.

Reference has been made elsewhere to the excellent service given by the Curtiss engine and Canadian JN4 aeroplane. This machine became out of date a little later, but such were its qualifications of strength and manoeuvring capacity, that, during the more recent period of the work of the brigade all pilots were sent overseas with flying instruction practically complete, needing only an introduction to machines, which although faster and more modern, were able to perform few manoeuvres which had not already been done on the JN4.

Owing to the fact that one-half of the personnel of the brigade was in a constant state of flux, and moving forward from unit to unit, additional work was thrown upon both the Records and Quartermaster’s department, and the prompt manner in which these organizations adapted themselves to the changing needs is worthy of mention. The move to Texas created an involved situation which was made workable only by a very special effort and complete coÖperation with the Imperial Munitions Board, and, in spite of the strain thus occasioned, the success of this move must always be recalled with particular satisfaction by those responsible for its arrangement.

The Quartermaster branch discharged, as well, the duty of a Quartermaster-General’s department, this being but one instance out of many in which the obligations of individual sections of the brigade were enlarged till they paralleled the work elsewhere performed by the Air Board or the War Office.

The composition of the Canadian units decided upon by the War Office, varied considerably from that of units already established in England, and, in consequence, the mobilization and equipment tables heretofore in use proved in most respects inapplicable to Canadian requirements. Thus there was thrown upon the Aircraft Equipment branch the almost unprecedented duty of compiling all the data determining every item of equipment to be supplied for carrying on the work of the Corps.

It was provided from the first that responsibility for price and point of purchase would be borne by the Aviation Department, and the burden of the A.E. branch ceased when requisitions were handed to the former. This, however it eased the situation, still left upon the A.E. branch the constant onus of working out in detail the entire list of engines and aeroplanes, with their multitudinous spares, and the complicated list of stores, technical and otherwise, requisite for the training of a continuous stream of pilots.

The records of the branch show that while the supply of machines from the Canadian Aeroplanes factory was invariably dependable, considerable difficulty was experienced in securing deliveries of engines, and, on occasions, machines were sent to the wings without engines, the latter to be installed when received.

Motor transport being carefully considered, the original orders proved practically sufficient for all needs, and there was purchased only about one half of the equipment officially authorized. Had not the units at Beamsville and Hamilton been organized, the provision made early in 1917 would have proved sufficient. In the supply of aeroplane spares, the excellent service rendered by the repair sections of the various flying units in making broken parts serviceable, steadily reduced the monthly proportional outlay.

It is not possible in the scope of a page to go into the innumerable details, the solution of which rested with the A.E. branch. Sufficient funds were of course available, and an admirable coÖperation with the Aviation Department of the I.M.B. always saved the situation—even sometimes at the last moment—but the difficulties overcome were very serious, and there were times when the imperative demands of the flying wings seemed almost impossible to satisfy. Added to this, there was increased difficulty in securing supplies after the United States entered the war and placed embargoes on many classes of goods. In spite of all, however, flying was never practically affected by any lack of material.

Since it is desired only to give an outline of headquarters duties, it is asked that the diagram on page 71 be referred to. The various subdivisions were found to be satisfactory and workable, and to reflect with accuracy those administrative needs on the fulfillment of which depended both the progress of the unit with its co-related branches, and the quality of the pilots it was privileged to turn out.