How Substantial Is Civil Air Patrol?
Civil Air Patrol Operates The Biggest Fleet of Single-Engine Aircraft in The U.S. More than 150,000 citizens who have been concerned about the defense of America’s coastline petitioned The U.S. government to organize a volunteer coastal patrol. Just one week before the December 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Civil Air Patrol has been set.
Initially, CAP was placed under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Forces, also throughout WWII CAP pilots flew more than one-half million hours were credited with sinking two enemy submarines and rescued hundreds of crash survivors during wartime.
On July 1, 1946, President Harry Truman established CAP as a federally chartered ancestral civilian corporation, and Congress passed Public Law 557 on May 26, 1948, making CAP the auxiliary of the new U.S. Air Force. CAP was charged with three essential missions: aerospace education, cadet programs, and emergency providers.