Although many air route surveys of the North Atlantic had been made in the 1930s, by the outbreak of World War II in Europe, civilian trans-Atlantic air service was just becoming a reality. It was soon suspended in favor of military activities. The increasing need for Britain and France to obtain military aircraft in the United States revived interest in intermediate airfields along the "stepping stone" of the North Atlantic. Although airports existed in Newfoundland, and Britain built an airfield in Reykjavik, Iceland (1940), the only practical way to get short-range aircraft to Europe was by cargo ship. With the
Fall of France in June 1940, and the loss of much war
materiel on the continent, the need for the British to purchase replacement materiel from the United States was urgent. Aircraft ordered by France and also by the Netherlands were impounded. The aircraft purchased in the United States by Britain were flown to airports in
Nova Scotia and
Newfoundland, partially dis-assembled and loaded on ships and transported to England where they were unloaded and re-assembled, a process that could take several weeks, not counting repairing any damage to the aircraft incurred in the shipment. In addition, German
U-boats operating in the
North Atlantic Ocean were a constant menace to shipping routes in the North Atlantic making it very hazardous for merchant shipping between Newfoundland and Great Britain. Larger aircraft could be flown to the UK and the
Atlantic Ferry Organization was set up to manage this using civilian pilots. On 2 September 1940, the
Destroyers for Bases Agreement was completed. In exchange for fifty obsolete destroyers, the U. S. got ninety-nine-year leases for air and naval bases in the
Dominion of Newfoundland,
Bermuda,
British Guiana,
Antigua,
Trinidad,
St. Lucia,
Jamaica and the
Bahamas. (Technically, not all bases were exchanged; some were "gifted.") Although Iceland was viewed as a part of Europe, Greenland was considered a part of North America and subject to the
Monroe Doctrine. President Roosevelt vetoed Canadian and British plans for the occupation of the island. In 1940, Greenland was subject to a U.S. protectorate enforced by the U.S. Coast Guard, and a survey for airfields was made. On 9 April 1941, the United States signed a treaty with the defected Danish Ambassador in Washington, allowing for unlimited U.S. military use of the island. The agreement, after explicitly recognizing Danish sovereignty over Greenland, granted to the United States the right to locate and construct aircraft landing fields and other facilities for the defense of Greenland and for the defense of the North American continent. President Roosevelt then authorized the War Department to build airfields and other facilities in Greenland. The United States had also taken over the defense of Iceland under an agreement with Britain in July 1941, relieving the British Empire troops then in Iceland. United States Army engineers began improving the airstrips previously begun by the British. Using these new airfields in Newfoundland, Greenland and Iceland, land based air routes were developed to transport United States aircraft, soldiers and war supplies between the
United States and the
United Kingdom.
North Atlantic Route Under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement, the first United States troops arrived in Newfoundland on 29 January 1941. The first USAAF presence in Newfoundland came in May 1941 when six
Douglas B-18 Bolos from the
First Air Force 21st Reconnaissance Squadron arrived at
RCAF Station Gander. Attached to the 21st Recon was Captain
Elliott Roosevelt, the son of the president. He made the 1941 surveys that resulted in construction of airports at
Goose Bay,
Fort Chimo,
Frobisher Bay, and
Padloping Island. Captain Roosevelt also surveyed Iceland and Greenland and reported to his superiors on the air route development during the
Atlantic Conference in August 1941. In September 1941 Canada began the development of
Goose Bay in Labrador. This air route was known as the
North Atlantic Route, and became one of the major transport and supply routes of World War II. The North Atlantic Route was initially operated by the
23d Army Air Forces Ferrying Wing,
Army Air Forces Ferrying Command, initially headquartered at
Presque Isle Army Air Field, Maine. Ferrying Command was re-designated
Air Transport Command on 1 July 1942. The 23d Ferrying Wing was replaced by the ATC North Atlantic Division,
Grenier Army Air Base, New Hampshire on 1 January 1944. The air routes established allowed long range multi-engined aircraft fitted with auxiliary fuel tanks to be ferried from Morrison Field, in South Florida through
Kindley Field, Bermuda to one of the two airfields in the Azores, then on to
RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall throughout the year. Single-engine aircraft, however, had to be ferried on the North Atlantic Route due to their shorter ranges. Also aircraft were ferried from Newfoundland via the Azores to Cornwall. This route was subsequently designated as the
Mid-Atlantic Route. In addition, ATC ferried aircraft to French Morocco to support forces in the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) from the Azores.
Crimson Route The Crimson Route was a planned Great Circle route to ferry aircraft from manufacturing plants in
Southern California and Seattle via
Montana over Canada to Greenland using Arctic air routes. This route had the advantage of avoiding the poor weather over the North Atlantic by flying over the high latitudes of northern Canada to Greenland, then across Greenland to Iceland and on to Great Britain. Aircraft manufactured in the Midwest and Eastern United States could be flown north over Ontario or Quebec to Greenland as well, avoiding the often stormy North Atlantic. Several airfields were developed in northern Canada, and the route was tested by some RAF aircraft, however the project was ended in 1943 by the development of the Mid-Atlantic Route from Florida to the Azores and never fully developed. ==Airfields==