| Added by |
 Alain Martineau
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| General Description | It has been referred to over the years as “the cradle of military aviation in Canada,” nicknamed “Birthplace of the Royal Canadian Air Force” and, later on, labelled “Schoolhouse of the Air Force.” The story of Canadian military aviation at Camp Borden begins in January 1917 when British officers came to Canada to set up a recruiting and training program for the Royal Flying Corps. Part of a vacant army training area called Camp Borden was offered, free of charge, by the Government of Canada. The location was within reasonable distance of Headquarters in Toronto; the land was flat; the price was right; time was of the essence: RFC Canada would fly over Camp Borden. Later on, the promulgation of Royal Canadian Air Force regulations on 1 April 1924 would mark the official birth date of the RCAF as a permanent, professional air force. The RCAF’s order, entitled Organization and Policy of the Royal Canadian Air Force, 1924, gives an appreciation of the relative importance of Camp Borden within the RCAF. On the day that is considered the “birth” of the RCAF, Camp Borden was by far the most important station in terms of assets, personnel and flying activities. With its 24 Officers and 125 Other Ranks, Camp Borden was home to more than half the personnel of the RCAF. In fact, Camp Borden was the only station involved in any military training activities, the other Ones being dedicated to fishery or forestry patrols, or to aerial photography for survey purposes. The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries during and after the Second World War. The Spitfire was built in many variants, using several wing configurations, and was produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft. It was also the only British fighter to be in continuous production throughout the war. The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works (which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong from 1928). In accordance with its role as an interceptor, Mitchell designed the Spitfire's distinctive elliptical wing to have the thinnest possible cross-section; this thin wing enabled the Spitfire to have a higher top speed than several contemporary fighters, including the Hawker Hurricane. Mitchell continued to refine the design until his death from cancer in 1937, whereupon his colleague Joseph Smith took over as chief designer, overseeing the development of the Spitfire through its multitude of variants. During the Battle of Britain (July–October 1940), the Spitfire was perceived by the public to be the RAF fighter, though the more numerous Hawker Hurricane shouldered a greater proportion of the burden against the Luftwaffe. However, because of its higher performance, Spitfire units had a lower attrition rate and a higher victory-to-loss ratio than those flying Hurricanes. After the Battle of Britain, the Spitfire superseded the Hurricane to become the backbone of RAF Fighter Command, and saw action in the European, Mediterranean, Pacific and the South-East Asian theatres. |
| Material | Metal |
| Attachment type | Clutch pin |
| Manufacturing technique | Soft Enamel |
| Diameter | 25.00 mm |
| Series | RCAF birthday |
| Catalog prices | No catalog prices set yet |
