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...

Sackville's Remarkable Battles Against The Wolf Pack   The first phase of the battle for convoy ON 115 was won by the Royal Canadian Navy. For days the convoy brushed its way past U-boats, and from July 29 to Aug. 1, 1942, it was shadowed by six enemy subs. Escort group C3 did its job. No ships were lost, and best of all, U-588 was sunk in a skilful hunt. In the early hours of Aug. 1, the U-boats that had not been driven off lost contact. Now only 500 miles from Newfoundland, ON 115 should have been in the clear. It was not. With plenty of “sea room” to the west, Admiral Karl Dönitz—in the early hours of Aug. 1—formed a patrol line, called Pirat, directly across ON 115’s path. The next day, contact was re-established and the battle for ON 115 began again. By then t...