No. 1 Air Division

From 1952 until 1993, the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 1 Air Division (later the Canadian Armed Forces’ 1 Canadian Air Group) was at the forefront of Canada’s aerial commitments supporting NATO in Europe during the Cold War. Initially comprising four fighter Wings and support units and crew, between 1953 and 1967 the Division was headquartered at Metz, France. Unification of the Canadian military led to a reorganization of forces deployed to Europe and the Air Division was reconstituted as a Group with new headquarters at Lahr, Germany. The Division’s and Group’s ground crew and pilots were always some of Canada’s best, and they flew the leading fighter aircraft of their day: F-86 Sabres, CF-100 Canucks, CF-104 Starfighters, and CF-18 Hornets on missions ranging from interception to all-weather and night fighting, to nuclear interdiction and low-level photographic reconnaissance. Collectively these pilots won numerous air fighting competitions and set such a high operational standard of military aviation that they earned the respect and admiration of many – excellence that was testament time and again to the quality of Canada’s post-1945 air force leadership and personnel.