In December 1939, Britain had undertaken to form distinct Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons overseas, manned as far as possible by Canadian graduates of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. By July 1940, with France defeated, Italy an enemy, Japan threatening and Britain itself threatened with invasion, the Royal Air Force was in desperate straits. Suddenly, Imperial strategy and operational needs trumped national sensitivities. Thousands of Canadians were posted to RAF squadrons around the world. This was the origin of the RCAF’s Lost Legion, separated from Canadian units. It was also the genesis of disputes between Canadian authorities and their senior British counterparts, even when individual RCAF personnel fitted in well with RAF formations. In the Far East, there were t...