Civil Air Patrol Yesterday and Today
After the events of September 11, 2001 our President called on the citizens of the United States to volunteer of their time and energy in some capacity for their country. Over 60 years ago, a group of citizens banded together to accomplish that same goal, and just prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Civil Air Patrol came into being.
In the late 1930's and early 1940's civilian pilots, aviation mechanics and enthusiasts were concerned about what the war in Europe would mean for aviation in the United States. Already in Europe aviation had been limited or completely stopped due to the increasingly hostile acts of the Germans and other Axis powers. Here in the U.S. they wanted to be ready when inevitably the United States became involved in the war in Europe, they wanted to serve their country as well as preserve the strength of civil aviation. Some joined the military, either with Canada or the U.S. others that were unable to do that, looked for ways to defend the home shores.
Mr. Gill Robb Wilson, an aviation writer, was the first to envision a national civil air patrol in 1938 after his return from a trip to Germany. That vision was soon backed by the Chief of the Army Air Corp, General Henry "Hap" Arnold and the Civil Aeronautics Authority, still, it didn't happen overnight. But on 1 December 1941 the Director of Civilian Defense (Mr. Fiorello H. LaGuardia) signed the formal order, thus creating the formal organization known as the Civil Air Patrol. History would give the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) their chance to prove themselves very quickly, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the next day the leaders of CAP went into heavy planning.
Even so, all civil aircraft, except scheduled commercial flights, were grounded for a few days, except for the west coast where the threat of enemy activity remained high during the war years.
Missions
One of the more spectacular missions of the CAP during World War II was flying submarine patrol along the east and southeastern coasts of our country. The Germans were having some success sinking Allied vessels (11 in January 1942), many of those were close enough to American shores to be in eyesight.
The War Department was reluctant to give this civilian group permission to aid them in patrolling the costal waters of the United States. But the Navy was spread thin and the Army Air Force hadn't had time to get their numbers up sufficiently to cope with the situation themselves, so the decision was made to allow the CAP a limited testing period.
The men and women of the new Civil Air Patrol used their own resources to create runways, headquarters and provisions and set out to patrol the shorelines of our country. They were compensated $8 per day for pilots and $5 per day for ground personnel, yet membership in CAP rose at astounding rates.
The members of CAP were successful at spotting submarines off our shores, however they were unarmed and had to wait until the military could get there to sink the enemy craft. One day, a German sub had managed to ground itself on a sandbar, not knowing the CAP planes were unarmed, they worked to dislodge their vessel while the CAP plane frantically called for bombers. As a result, CAP planes were authorized to carry demolition bombs and depth charges and by wars end were credited with two kills.
After the war a high German official with their navy said that the CAP planes were a main reason why they had pulled their U-Boats away from our shores.
The aviators in the CAP performed many other services to their country during WW II such as cargo and courier flying, border patrol and target towing. Seven Civil Air Patrol members gave their lives during the war years, five were seriously injured and 23 aircraft were lost.
While the war was still raging, the Civil Air Patrol was also conducting pilot training and began their cadet program for young people. Within six months of the beginning of the Cadet program over 20,000 youth had joined.
After World War II ended, the future of the CAP was in question, but within a few years, the Civil Air Patrol would find a permanent place in the future of the United States. On 26 May 1948 legislation became law that made the Civil Air Patrol the official auxiliary of the newly created United States Air Force.
Though the CAP has moved through the Air Force departments, it remains one of only two official auxiliaries connected with a military branch, the other is the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Today...
Today's Civil Air Patrol members meeting weight and grooming standards may wear the uniforms of the Air Force or alternate uniforms if they don't meet the requirements, wear service ribbons they have earned, wear rank and participate in all types of missions. The only compensation they receive is when they are on active authorized missions, and that compensation is for out of pocket expenses such as fuel for planes, etc. The CAP of today is a non-profit corporation with more than 61,000 members, over 530 corporate owned aircraft and more than 4,000 member-owned aircraft. More than 120,000 hours are flown by volunteers each year. There are more than 25,000 members in the Cadet Program from sixth grade through age 21 and opportunities for Senior members and Cadets alike to volunteer for their country while receiving invaluable experiences and knowledge for themselves. While today's Civil Air Patrol flies 95 percent of all federal inland search and rescue missions in the United States they also perform missions in Homeland Security, counterdrug, disaster relief and communications. Many of these missions are the same of their predecessors of nearly 60 years ago and some - updated to meet the changing needs of our country.
Whatever the mission, the men, women and young people of the Civil Air Patrol remain - Always Vigilant.