Canadian Aviation Corps

Canadian Aviation Corps (CAC) was an early attempt to create an air force for Canada at the beginning of the First World War. The unit was created in 1914 and was attached to the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The CAC had a maximum strength of three personnel and one aircraft which was delivered but never used. By May 1915, the unit had ceased to exist.



History
The idea of a Canadian Aviation Corps was conceived by Colonel Sam Hughes, Canada's Minister of Militia and Defence. Hughs had asked British authorities how Canada could help the war effort in the field of military aviation. Britain suggested that Canada could help by supplying military aviators. Hughs appointed Ernest Lloyd Janney as provisional commander and authorized him to spend up to $5000 on an aircraft. A Burgess-Dunne floatplane was purchased in the United States, shipped to Vermont and then flown to Valcartier, Quebec where it was taken apart, crated, and shipped to England. Janney and two other CAC members, Lieutenant W. F. Sharpe, a pilot, and Staff Sergeant H. A. Farr, a mechanic, accompanied the aircraft. The aircraft was left abandoned and damaged on the Salisbury Plain, having never flown any combat operations. By May 1915, the CAC had dissolved.

A second attempt in creating an air force began with the creation of the Canadian Air Force in 1918.

Aircraft

 * 1 Burgess-Dunne two-seater tailless swept-wing pusher floatplane built by Blair-Atholl Syndicate Limited of England

Personnel
Personnel were mainly army officers transferred to an air unit with minimal flight training.


 * Captain Ernest Lloyd Janney (June 16, 1893 - Galt, Ontario - April 22, 1941 - Winnipeg, MB) - provisional commander and later Sub-Lieutenant
 * Lieutenant W. F. N. Sharpe (1892? - Prescott, Ontario - 1915 - Brighton, England) - observer/pilot
 * Staff Sergeant Harry A. Farr DSC, DFC- mechanic left the CAC in 1915 and later joined the Royal Naval Air Service.

Related units
This unit was allied with the following:
 * Royal Flying Corps
 * Canadian Expeditionary Force