William Keir Carr

William Keir Carr, CMM, DFC, CD***, BA, BSc, was born in Grand Bank, Newfoundland, of Scottish stock, on St. Patrick’s Day in 1923. After graduation from Mount Allison University in 1941, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Trained as a Spitfire pilot, and with No. 683 RAF (Photo Reconnaissance) Squadron, he flew 143 reconnaissance sorties, in enemy skies over Europe, Malta, North Africa and Sicily, gathering intelligence which proved invaluable to the Allied forces. All of these sorties were made with a single aircraft, unarmed and unescorted.

In 1941 Flight Lieutenant Carr was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The accompanying citation for the DFC read, in part, “His missions lacked nothing in determination and accuracy… F/L Carr is outstanding as a PR pilot and as a Squadron Detachment Commander.”

After the Second World War, Flight Lieutenant Carr decided to remain in the RCAF and upon his return to Canada was posted to  No. 413 (Photo) Squadron. Beginning in 1945, with Norseman aircraft, Carr participated in the first major post-war program to photograph large areas of northern Canada, which up to that time had remained unmapped.

The accurate positioning of the photographic runs was dependent upon ground surveys. The transportation of the surveyors from the Geodetic Survey of Canada was the responsibility of No. 2 Detachment of this squadron and involved a significant degree of risk and extremely accurate flying without the aid of charts or radio navigation aids. As recognition for the manner in which he carried out his duties, a 125 square mile lake was named for him – Carr Lake, located in the southern Nunavut area.

In 1956 Wing Commander Carr took command of No. 412 (VIP) Squadron in Ottawa, Ontario. In addition to his duties as Commander, he personally piloted many world dignitaries, including Queen Elizabeth and General Charles deGaulle during their visits to Canada. He flew then Prime Minister John Diefenbaker during his round-the-world tour in 1959. Carr was instrumental in establishing the first Trans-Atlantic scheduled twice-weekly passenger jet service in the world, using the de Havilland Comet aircraft.

Carr, now Group Captain, was chosen in 1960 to go to the then Belgian Congo where he was the first officer ever to be commissioned to form an Air Force under control of the United Nations Organization. He successfully integrated airmen and aircraft from fifteen nations into what proved to be an effective element of one of Canada’s early peacekeeping efforts.

Later in 1960, as Commanding Officer of RCAF Station Namao in Edmonton, Alberta, Carr and his staff played a key role when this base hosted a major United States Air Force Strategic Command deployment during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Carr was awarded a special commendation from the United States Air Force.

Carr was the first airman to be charged with both army and airforce training of the new Mobile Command in 1965. After a stint as Chief of Air Operations at National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ), Major General Carr was named to command Canadian Forces Training Command in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1968 and during that tour completely modernized aircrew training, which had seen little change since the end of the Second World War. As Chief of Air Operations, he had been successful in bringing the air industries more into rapport with the military, and in stimulating the synergism that resulted. Indeed, with the Minister’s direction, Carr negotiated the Dutch buy-in to the CF-5 program with a very large add-on of aircraft to be produced for them by Canadair.

After a tour in charge of American and Canadian operations in NORAD, he again returned to NDHQ, and in 1974 became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff. General Carr originated and developed what came to be known as the CAMRA (Canadian Advanced Multi-Role Aircraft) which eventually evolved into the German-British-Italian Tornado aircraft program. Canada withdrew finally, but he followed up by initiating the new fighter aircraft program, which eventually resulted in the acquisition of the CF-18. During this period, Carr was also able to secure government approval for the Aurora CP-140 Long Range Patrol Aircraft program.

1975 saw General Carr’s arguably most important achievement related to Canadian military aviation. While serving as Deputy Chief of Defence Staff, he was able to convince his Navy and Army colleagues that fragmented air forces then controlled separately by the land, sea and air elements constituted an inefficient and ineffective way to employ Canadian air power. After gaining the approval of the Minister of National Defence and the Cabinet, he was charged with planning what became the Canadian Forces Air Command, and in 1975 was appointed as its first Commander.

At the outset, General Carr established a highly effective and lean structure without provoking emotional reactions from political and military sources, which had been, at best, skeptical. Air Command was unique in that it included all military aviation. Previously, the sea and land elements had air branches they considered their own. Air Command, to this day, is the only airforce in NATO to be successfully structured this way. Carr is commonly referred to as the “Father of the Modern Air Force” for these efforts.

In 1976 General Carr was the first serving military officer to receive the C.D. Howe Award from the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute, citing his achievements in the fields of planning, policymaking and leadership in aeronautics and space. Later in the same year, he was made a Commander of the Order of Military Merit.

He was awarded the Gordon R. McGregor Trophy in 1977 for his contributions to aviation, especially in the field of transport aviation. In 1978 he was the recipient of the Paul Tissandier Diploma from the Federation Aeronautique Internationale for outstanding service to the course of general aviation.

After retiring from the military in 1978, Carr held several senior positions with Canadair Ltd. His initial employment coincided with the early production of the Challenger aircraft. His sale of seven Challengers to the German government at a crucial time in the program’s survival was followed quickly by sales to other governments and reportedly provided the spur the program then needed.

During this period, he established the worldwide network for Challenger marketing. His efforts are acknowledged to have strongly influenced the future success of the Challenger program, a noted element of Canadian aviation exports and commercial aircraft development, production and sales. He retired from Bombardier Inc. in 1988 and became an aircraft marketing consultant.

In August of 1993, Lieutenant General Carr was invested as Honorary Colonel of #412 (VIP) Squadron.

For many years, Bill Carr was involved with Scouts Canada and served as National Commissioner from 1972 to 1977. In the late 1960’s & early 1970’s he was chair of the Arctic & Northern Scouting Committee and organized and operated the 1st Arctic & Northern Jamboree at Prelude Lake NE of Yellowknife, N.W.T. in 1968 and the second Arctic & Northern Jamboree at Churchill, Manitoba in 1970. At the 1970 Jamboree he was responsible for having a royal visit by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip with their children Prince Charles and Princess Anne.

William Keir (Bill) Carr was inducted as a Member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame in 2001 at a ceremony held in Ottawa, Ontario.