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Article XV squadrons were Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand air force squadrons formed from graduates of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (1939) during World War II. These units complemented another feature of the BCATP, under which personnel from the Royal Air Force (RAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) were placed in a common pool, and assigned to Article XV and RAF squadrons – in Europe, the Mediterranean Theatre, Africa and South-East Asia – according to operational needs. The RAAF, RCAF and RNZAF also formed non-Article XV squadrons, which performed home defence duties and saw active service in various parts of the Pacific Theatre. ==History== Negotiations regarding the BCATP, between the four governments concerned, took place in Ottawa, Canada during late 1939. The Air Training Agreement (sometimes known as the "Ottawa Agreement" or the "Riverdale Agreement", after the UK representative at the negotiations, Lord Riverdale) was officially signed on 17 December 1939. Under Article XV of the Agreement, graduates from Dominion air forces were to be assigned to squadrons either formed by their own air forces, or with a specific national designation, under the operational control of a local air force, in most cases the RAF.〔(Squadron information from Government of Canada ) Access date: 13 October 2007.〕 These became known as "Article XV squadrons." In addition, Articles XVI and XVII stipulated that the UK government would be responsible for the pay and entitlements of aircrews trained under the BCATP. Nevertheless, these personnel and any squadrons formed for service with the RAF, under Article XV, would belong to the three Dominion air forces. This was largely an initiative of the Canadian Prime Minister, Mackenzie King, during the negotiations with Riverdale.〔See, for example: Robert Broughton Bryce, ''Canada and the Cost of World War II: the International Operations of Canada's Department of Finance, 1939–1947'', Montreal/Ithaca, McGill-Queen's University Press (2005), pp47–51. Bryce quotes J. L. Granatstein, regarding British reactions to the Agreement: "The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Simon ) was gloomy, pointing out to the War Cabinet that he had sent no congratulatory telegrams after the signing of the (training ) agreement. He had not agreed that Canada could insist on unlimited units of the RCAF being provided at the expense of the United Kingdom taxpayer (p 50)."〕 During the war, 44 Canadian, 17 Australian and six New Zealand Article XV squadrons were formed. In practice – and technically in contravention of Article XV – most personnel from Dominion air forces, while they were under RAF operational control, were assigned to British units.〔 This was generally due to practical staffing considerations. Similarly, many of the Article XV squadrons contained few airmen from their nominal air force when they were first formed. However, by the end of the war this had generally been rectified. Canada made a greater insistence on its airmen going specifically to RCAF operational units overseas, ensuring that the identity of its national squadrons was preserved. In January 1943 Canada was also able to form their bomber squadrons into a separate wholly RCAF formation within Bomber Command (No. 6 Group), commanded by a Canadian air vice-marshal. This was something the Australians and New Zealanders did not achieve.〔 Several other RAAF and RCAF units, which were not covered by Article XV, were also under RAF operational control (see below). Initially, there was no cross-posting of personnel to or from these squadrons by the RAF and other Dominion air forces, although this requirement was relaxed later in the war. The remaining dominion, South Africa, was not a signatory to the BCATP and the South African Air Force (SAAF) did not form any Article XV squadrons. However, South Africa provided training facilities for some Article XV personnel, and many SAAF units took part in the East African, North African and Italian Campaigns. Furthermore, as the war progressed, personnel from other Dominion air forces were transferred to SAAF units and vice versa, in North Africa, the Mediterranean and Italy. Southern Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe) was not technically a Dominion and was therefore not a signatory to the BCATP, although aircrews from other dominions were trained there. In 1940, the small Southern Rhodesia Air Force was designated No. 237 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF. Two other RAF squadrons, No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF and No. 266 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF were also formed; both had significant numbers of Rhodesian personnel. No. 75 (New Zealand) Squadron RAF had a status similar to the Rhodesian squadrons, and was not officially an Article XV squadron, although it was staffed primarily by RNZAF aircrew during the war and was officially transferred to the RNZAF in late 1945. While RAF units were not covered by Article XV, three British squadrons had a similar status: they were stationed in Australia, under RAAF operational control, for part of the war. These units were: No. 54 Squadron RAF, No. 548 Squadron RAF, No. 549 Squadron RAF and No. 618 Squadron RAF. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Article XV squadrons」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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