First World War (1914-1918)

The airplane quickly became a tool of war, despite the scepticism of Sam Hughes, Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence. Canada did not have its own air force in the First World War but Canadian airmen served with the British Royal Flying Corps, later the Royal Air Force (RAF) and The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).

Of these men, 192 emerged as “aces,” having destroyed more than five enemy aircraft each. W.A. “Billy” Bishop and William Raymond Collishaw topped this list, becoming household names that remain familiar to us even a century later.