The cream of the crop: A study of selection, training, and policies governing lack of moral fibre in aircrew of the Royal Canadian Air Force

This thesis is a study of one aspect of Canada's "most durable" military problem: the efficient use of its human resources in war. The experiences of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) from 1939 to 1945 with aircrew selection, training, and policies governing aviators who were unsuited for operational duties, especially those labelled "lack of moral fibre," are examined in detail. While the focus of the thesis is on certain facets of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and those Canadians who served with the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command, the lessons Canadian aviators learned during World War I concerning the topics under consideration are also probed, and compared to the RCAF's successes and shortcomings in World War II.;In the wider context of the history of conflict, the influence of civilian "technocratic elites," primarily psychologists and medical doctors, on the Canadian and British air forces as they engaged in "total war" is investigated. The human dimension of air warfare, including the effects of certain policies on morale and leadership among the operational aircrew engaged in the strategic bombing offensive against Germany are also explored.;Based on the air force's actions in choosing, preparing, and employing its aviators, this thesis evaluates the effectiveness of RCAF policies in the context of this country's two conscription crises and of the Canadian human resource predicament during the Second World War. It also investigates the relationship between Canada's evolution as a sovereign state and the RCAF manpower situation.;This study concludes with comments on the role of professional experts and institutional memories in providing military leaders with the knowledge they require to direct modern armed forces.