[RCN]

The Admiralty had determined that, in the post-war world, Canada would have her own aircraft carriers. Both HMS Puncher and HMS Nabob(both ex USN) came into service in 1944 & were commanded by an RCN Captain & crewed by RCN ratings to establish a knowledge base for the future carriers assigned to Canada.

During WWII Canada had no formal naval air training program. FAA recruits signed on in Canada as member of the RCNVR & after completing basic training here, were sent to FAA bases in UK to qualify as FAA ratings. Many of the Canadian FAA recruits had prior training in civilian life as Aero mechanics, Fitters, Riggers, Airframe technicians, Air Electrical technicians etc; trades that were required in the FAA. These civilian trained men were promoted to Petty Officer status after undergoing conversion training in UK.
My uncle was an example of one of these ratings, he had prior qualifications as both an Automobile engine & Aero engine mechanic & was a qualified pilot. These were the specialized air ratings that were assigned to crew the two wartime carriers.


Illustrated below are examples of Skilled Air Mechanic rate badges, the letters below the logo indicating which specialization the rating belonged to - ie:
No letter – unclassified, undergoing training
A - Airframes
E - Engines
F - Fitters
L - Electrical
O - Ordnance
R - Rigger

The star above indicated the rating was a Leading rate, the Crown a Petty Officer, Chief PO. They were in use from 1939 to approx 1949.