32:, provided funding for the secret and unlawful commissioning agency. Its mission was to bring Americans to Canada in order to prepare and battle for the Allies while the US was still neutral. By Canada allowing the training to take place on their soil, it is considered the most important contribution it made to the Allied air war. This was before the
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against recruiting U.S. nationals." Because Smith was on the RCAF reserve list, he was violating the law which required the registration of agents working for foreign governments. The State
Department did not wish to prosecute or close down the committee. They only warned Knight and Smith to "slow down and pull in their horns."
98:, Smith was heir to an oil fortune. Bishop was able to attain support from him financially. Smith also was a source of connections to airline presidents, flying school owners, and Civil Aeronautics Authority officials. He was considered the committee's director. WWI flyer C.R. Fowler also played a role in the committee.
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briefed by Canada on the issue and requested that an oath to obey superior officers be substituted for the oath of allegiance. This matter was eventually abolished when the
Canadian government enacted an Order in Council that put in place a momentary agreement to adhere to RCAF rules for the length of their time.
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In 1941, after the US proclaimed war, a "Recruiting Train" traveled to Canada. Americans who wanted to transfer to the United States Armed
Services could do so through the deal Roosevelt had made with the CKC. In total, 2,000 of the 10,000+ Americans serving with the RCAF decided to take advantage of
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The CKC had to maintain a low profile to evade possible obstruction by German agents and the hovering F.B.I. They had to find a way to obtain help from the
President, even though his publicly stated goal was to prevent America from going to war. Because of the constant hiding, Clayton Knight had to
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The financial conduct of the committee and Homer Smith's status on the RCAF reserve list caused major problems. Travel loans were not repaid by potential candidates, which meant they were technically gifts. "Providing funds for an
American to join a foreign armed service was a violation of the law
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The CKC had to ensure that the
American pilots crossing the border into Canada had all the proper documents. They also had to fill in civilian instructor and staff pilot positions in the BCATP's Air Observer Schools and Elementary Flying Training Schools. Those who ended up in contact with the CKC
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Bishop spent a portion of 1940 in London, working with
Winston Churchill. This meant Clayton Knight was forced to search for new associates to establish their headquarters. The original headquarters was founded in New York at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Later it expanded to nine cities in America,
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in Ottawa that they acquired 36 pilot trainers for the whole BCATP, which had started recruitment in
Manhattan. One of their biggest obstacles was the possibility of loss of American citizenship for those who pledged loyalty to the British monarch when entering the RCAF. The State Department was
65:(BCATP). It also went by the 'Empire Air Training Scheme'." Each country had responsibility for varying aspects of the overall plan, such as aircraft engines (Britain), trainers (Britain), cost of elementary trainers (Canada), etc. It had plans to prepare and instruct 150,000 potential airmen.
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was founded in
January 1941 to create a buffer between the RCAF and the committee. The committee would now seek personnel for civilian positions. The committee's charge was expanded, after consultations with American leaders in Washington, to find personnel for aircrews in 1941.
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such as San
Francisco, Dallas, and Kansas City. There were offices in Canada as well, to assist those returning to the US after rejection or for those looking for accommodations. Committee expenses were funded through a rotating bank account, which was created in Smith's name.
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was enforcing the expansionist policy on Europe. Britain, along with her Commonwealth countries recognized that in order to halt him, they had to establish a dominant air force. Canada, Australia, Britain, and New Zealand created the
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The CKC's requirements for pilots were considered lenient by established RAF pilots. Some American pilots exaggerated their flying hours to gain acceptance by the CKC. However, the CKC rejected 86% of the pilots who applied.
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Many times during 1940, the American State Department and the F.B.I. blocked the committee's work. The committee was encouraged to keep as few records as possible and cease lending travel money to potential recruits. The
121:. These American military leaders felt that there were plenty of good candidates for pilots available. Arnold even offered to provide the committee with a list of failed candidates from American training efforts.
76:". This resulted in Bishop contacting his friend Clayton Knight. Knight had many connections in American aviation circles. The committee was responsible for 10,000+ American enlistments in the
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Heide, Rachel Lea. "Allies in Complicity: The United States, Canada, and the Clayton Knight Committee's Clandestine Recruiting of Americans for the Royal Canadian Air Force, 1940-1942."
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Heide, Rachel Lea (2004). "Allies in Complicity: The United States, Canada, and the Clayton Knight Committee's Clandestine Recruiting of Americans for the Royal Canadian Air Force".
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Behiels, Michael D., and Reginald C. Stuart. Transnationalism Canada-United States History into the Twenty-First Century. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2010,
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President Roosevelt helped Billy Bishop's work and he ensured that the committee's efforts did not fall afoul of public policy. It was his aim to thwart the Nazi
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The United States State Department alerted the Canada Department of External affairs to not shut the CKC down, as long as the committee obeyed American laws.
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spy network which had infiltrated America. The committee was thought to have prevented the success of the German spy rings in New York City.
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ace Billy Bishop. His plan was to gain access to the quickly advancing American aviation industry for BCATP. There was a major impasse: "
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were offered positions in the RCAF or RAF or civilian jobs as elementary training instructors, staff pilots, or RAF ferry pilots.
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The CKC was established in the spring of 1940. The committee used brochures and word of mouth advertising to attract candidates.
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cover up his covert occupation. He used his art and journalistic contacts to work as a "special correspondent for the
129:," which posed as a guise from his family. Knight maintained his aviation artwork contributions to publications like
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Yanks in the RAF: the Story of the Maverick Pilots and American Volunteers who Joined Britain's Fight in Britain
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Cross-Border Warriors Canadians in American Forces, Americans in Canadian Forces: from the Civil War to the Gulf
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Yanks in the RAF: the Story of the Maverick Pilots and American Volunteers who joined Britain's fight in Britain
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Yanks in the RAF: the Story of the Maverick Pilots and American Volunteers who joined Britain's fight in Britain
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Cross-Border Warriors Canadians in American Forces, Americans in Canadian Forces: from the Civil War to the Gulf
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40:. The committee was forced to defend itself from opposing forces such as, "pacifists and isolationists, the
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Finch, Boyd. "The Clayton Knight Committee and the Transfer Train: Two Air Forces Courted Logue Mitchell."
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Bishop also reached out to Canadian Homer Smith, an ex-pilot. A World War I veteran of the British
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in 1940. Homer Smith and several German émigrés, who wanted America to join the war against the
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The Creation of a National Air Force: The Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force
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The Creation of a National Air Force: The Official History of The Royal Canadian Air Force
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The Creation of a National Air Force: The Official History of The Royal Canadian Air Force
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Journal of the Canadian Historical Association/Revue de la Société historique du Canada
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The Arnold Scheme: British Flyboys, the American South and the Allies' Daring Plan
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The Arnold Scheme: British Flyboys, the American South and the Allies' Daring Plan
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The advancements of the BCATP would fall on the shoulders of well-known Canadian
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Aleman, Bruce. "The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan: 1939-1945." (2006).
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Transnationalism Canada-United States History into the Twenty-First Century
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294:. Vol. 2. Canada: University of Toronto Press. pp. 220–221.
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Youtube video: Jim Edwards Contacted by the Clayton Knight Committee
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In May 1940, the committee discussed their plans with Major General
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this. The rest remained in the RCAF for the remainder of the war.
337:. Vol. 2. Canada: University of Toronto Press. p. 231.
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Behiels, Michael D., and Reginald C. Stuart, pages 232-233.
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The Boys of Spring: An autobiography from World War II
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Behiels, Michael D., and Reginald C. Stuart, page 231.
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Behiels, Michael D., and Reginald C. Stuart, page 227.
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Behiels, Michael D., and Reginald C. Stuart, page 226.
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The Clayton Knight Committee (CKC) was founded when
593:. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2010.
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665:Official history of the Royal Canadian Air Force
218:Journal of the Canadian Historical Association
171:Transfer of Americans to the American military
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361:. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1995, page 47.
649:. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2007.
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82:Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor
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626:Journal of America's Military Past
101:Knight and Bishop revealed to the
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150:Dominion Aeronautical Association
635:. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1995.
403:. Prometheus Books. p. 92.
378:. Prometheus Books. p. 65.
442:Bomber Command Museum of Canada
78:Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
42:Federal Bureau of Investigation
765:Canada–United States relations
661:The Crucible of War, 1939-1945
438:"The Clayton Knight Committee"
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760:United States in World War II
333:Hillmer, Norman, ed. (1986).
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659:Greenhous Brereton ,
628:30, no. 3 (2004): 71.
46:Franklin D. Roosevelt
713:. Prometheus Books.
573:Gaffen, pages 49-50.
663:(1994) V. 3 of the
436:Clarence Simonsen.
314:Guinn, pages 36-40.
74:American Neutrality
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