Downgraded Airmen

During World War II the Royal Canadian Air Force auxiliary sparked Canada's 200,000-man air buildup; its pilots trained and led combat squadrons overseas. But today its 5,000 part-time airmen, flying on weekends and vacations, must make do with Harvard trainers, prop-driven Mustangs, and a few obsolescent Vampire jets. Without making any official announcement, Canada's defense chiefs have decided to count out the weekend warriors as an essential part of the nation's shield against atomic attack.

The defense chiefs' reasoning: for all their enthusiasm and World War II experience, the auxiliary pilots and mechanics would find the latest jets, e.g., the F-86 Sabre or the CF-100 all-weather interceptor, too hot to handle without extensive extra training.* Explained one R.C.A.F. officer: "Things are different now. The whole bloody war might be won or lost in the first half hour."

With the auxiliary discounted as a backstop, Canada's first-line air defenses are thin. The bulk of R.C.A.F. fighter strength (300 aircraft) is assigned to NATO in Europe; only nine understrength interceptor squadrons (140 jets) are stationed in Canada. As a stopgap measure, the R.C.A.F. plans to bring home squadrons up to full strength (216 aircraft) by year's end. Canadian and U.S. defenses are well coordinated, and in a crisis Canada's planners presumably would look for help from the south. Yet the hard fact is that if A-bombs start to fall, the U.S. Air Defense Command may be too hard-pressed at home to take on additional chores up north.

*The U.S. Air Force is following an exactly opposite policy. Last week it began switching its part-time element, the Air National Guard, from tactical support to jet interception missions with the Air Defense Command.

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