No. 403 (Fighter) Squadron RCAF was formed at RAF Station Baginton (now Coventry Airport), Warwickshire, England, on 1 March 1941.
The first squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) formed overseas under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), it was identified by the letters KH.
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Sources: Wikipedia
Crash in which the 403 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Spitfire SM483 fallen to Etterbeek on 3/02/1945
No. 405 Squadron was formed at Driffield, Yorkshire, on 23rd April 1941, and flew the RCAF's first bombing operation ten weeks later, on 12/13th June. It flew Wellingtons until April 1942, and then converted to Halifaxes, becoming operational with the latter in time to take part in the historic 1,000-bomber raid on Cologne. Late in October 1942, the squadron was loaned to Coastal Command to strengthen our air defences in the Bay of Biscay at the time of the North African convoy movements. Returning to Bomber Command at the beginning of March 1943, No. 405 flew with No. 6 (RCAF) Group for a few weeks before being selected for No. 8 (Pathfinder) Group, with which it served until the end of the war. Through the last 20 months of the bomber offensive the squadron was equipped with Lancasters, and there is interest in noting that in late 1943 it became the first unit to operate a Canadian-built Lancaster X. This was KB700 (named The Ruhr Express), the first production Mk. X.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 405 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Halifax DT487-LQ-M fallen to Lesve on 3/09/1942
* Crash of Lancaster JA976-LQ-S fallen to Webbecom on 28/04/1944
* Crash of Halifax W7718-LQ-T fallen to Heppeneert on 1/08/1942
* Crash of of Halifax HR872-LQ-K fallen to Awenne on 10/08/1943
* Crash of Lancaster ND347-JQ-W fallen to Bon-Secours on 9/05/1944
* Crash of Lancaster ND587-LQ-D fallen to Gallaix on 9/05/1944
No. 407 Coastal Strike Squadron was formed at RAF Thorney Island, England on 8 May 1941, first training on the Bristol Blenheim. It was one of seven Article XV RCAF units to serve with RAF Coastal Command.
The squadron's wartime history can be divided into two periods. From September 1941 to January 1943, the squadron operated as a "strike" squadron attacking enemy shipping with the Lockheed Hudson. It was as a strike squadron that it won its reputation and its nickname "The Demon Squadron". On 29 January 1943 it was re-designated 407 General Reconnaissance Squadron, and for the remainder of the war it protected friendly shipping from the U-boat threat operating the Vickers Wellington.
The squadron was disbanded on 4 June 1945 following the end of the Second World War. On 1 July 1952 the squadron was reactivated at RCAF Station Comox as 407 Maritime Reconnaissance Squadron flying the Avro Lancaster. On 17 July 1956 it was renamed as a Maritime Patrol Squadron.
The squadron has served continuously in Comox since 1952 flying the Lancaster, P2V-7 Neptune, and CP-107 Argus. On 28 June 1975, the squadron was presented its Standard by the Honourable Walter Owen, Q.C. L.L.D. Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.
Today, 407 Squadron flies the updated CP-140 Aurora on coastal patrol, anti-submarine and long range patrol duties.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 407 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Hudson AM701 fallen off coast on 6/09/1942
No. 408 Squadron's history dates back to June 24, 1941, when RAF Bomber Command's directive called for the formation of 408 Squadron as part of No. 5 Group RAF. It was to be the second Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) bomber squadron formed overseas. Goose Squadron, as it was to become known, was initially based at RAF Lindholme in Yorkshire, England, and equipped with Handley Page Hampdens. During the war, the Goose Squadron converted aircraft several times. No. 408 would change from Hampden aircraft to the Halifax, and then to the Lancaster in August 1943 after moving to RAF Linton-on-Ouse and becoming part of No. 6 Group.
It flew 4,610 sorties and dropped 11,340 tons of bombs. A total of 170 aircraft were lost and 933 personnel were killed, listed as missing in action (MIA) or prisoners of war (POW). Squadron members won two hundred decorations, and 11 battle honours for its wartime operations.
On September 5, 1945, 408 Squadron was officially disbanded.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 408 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Hampden AE244-EQ-P fallen to Turnhout on 1/08/1942
* Crash of Lancaster DS704-EQ-W fallen to Tessenderlo on 20/12/1943
* Crash of Halifax DT752-EQ-W fallen to Nassogne on 17/04/1943
* Crash of Halifax RG472-EQ-T fallen to Bad Codesberg (D) on 2/03/1945
* Crash of Hampden AE197-EQ fallen to Boussu on 28/08/1942
* Crash of Hampden AE438-EQ-N fallen to Oostende (Westkerke) on 9/11/1941
* Crash of Lancaster DS758-EQ-H fallen to Baugnez on 20/12/1943
* Crash of Halifax JB913-EQ-F fallen to Tessenderlo on 4/07/1943
No. 409 Nighthawk Squadron was formed at RAF Digby[3] in June 1941 for night operations with Boulton-Paul Defiants, moving in July to RAF Coleby Grange,[3] where, in August, Beaufighter IIf aircraft arrived, allowing detachments to be maintained elsewhere. Two victories were claimed during the early days of the squadron's existence, but in June 1942 Beaufighter Mark VI aircraft were received, and a greater degree of success was achieved. In February 1943 a move was made to Acklington, with detachments maintained in at least four other locations.[4] In December a return to Coleby Grange was made, with the various detachments continuing their separate existences.
Little was seen during the year, but in March 1944 the squadron moved to Hunsdon, converting to the Mosquito Mk XII and joined No. 85 Group of the Second Tactical Air Force. Intruder and offensive patrols commenced, and much action was seen over the Normandy beachhead in June; 11 victories were claimed during this month.
After some action against V-1 Flying Bombs, operations over Europe recommenced, and late in August the unit moved to Carpiquet in France, the first night fighters to be based on the mainland. By mid-October, the squadron had settled in the Lille area, where it was to remain until April 1945. On 19 April, a move was made to the Rhine in Germany, and from here the unit was able to claim six victories in a single night. Shortly after this the war ended with the total victories at 61 1⁄2 claimed.
The squadron's code letters during this period were KP
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 409 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Mosquito HK382 fallen outside of borders on 16/03/1945
* Crash of Mosquito HK481 fallen outside of borders on 13/01/1945
* Crash of Mosquito HK512 fallen outside of borders on 12/12/1944
410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron (French: 410e Escadron d'entraînement opérationnel à l'appui tactique), nicknamed the "Cougars", is a Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft squadron currently located at Canada's primary training base for the CF-18 (Canadian Forces version of the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet), at Cold Lake, Alberta. The squadron was formed during the Second World War as an RCAF squadron under the Royal Air Force (RAF), at RAF Ayr, near Prestwick, in Scotland.
The first official sortie of No. 410 Squadron was from RAF Drem, East Lothian, Scotland, on the night of 4 June 1942, when twelve Beaufighter crews took off, and it went on to become the top-scoring night fighter squadron in the RAF Second Tactical Air Force during the period between D-Day and VE-Day.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 410 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Mosquito MM787 fallen outside the borders on 9/03/1945
No. 412 (Transport) Squadron was formed in 1949, but traces its history back to two separate squadrons: Number 12 Communications Flight at RCAF Station Ottawa and 412 (Fighter) Squadron, which was formed at RAF Digby, England on June 30, 1941.
John Gillespie Magee, the author of the famous aviation poem, High Flight, was serving with 412 Squadron when he was killed in a mid-air collision in his Spitfire in 1941.
No. 412 Squadron (squadron code 'VZ'[4]) was equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire Vb and served at a number of RAF Stations in the United Kingdom [4] In October 1943, the squadron joined RCAF 126 Wing, part of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force. It was re-equipped with the Supermarine Spitfire IXb in November and began operating over northern France in preparation for the Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings. It was during late 1943 that the ace George "Screwball" Beurling scored his last air victory while serving with the squadron.
The squadron was moved to France in June 1944, days after the Allied landings and operated on continental Europe for the remainder of the war. The squadron was based at Wunstorf, Germany when the war ended in May 1945.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 412 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Spitfire MJ331 fallen to Pervijze (Diksmuide) on 29/11/1943
* Crash of Spitfire MJ306 fallen to Helkijn-Helchin on 4/03/1944
On 13 August 1941, No 414 Army Co-operation Squadron was formed at RAF Croydon, England, flying Lysander and Curtis Tomahawk aircraft. On 28 June 1943 the squadron's name was changed to 414 Fighter Reconnaissance Squadron to reflect its role. Throughout the Second World War the squadron was based at numerous airfields in England and in continentental Europe flying Spitfire and Mustang aircraft. During this period, the squadron provided photo reconnaissance, intelligence and ground attacks for both the Dieppe Raid and the allied Invasion of Europe. It accounted for 29 enemy aircraft destroyed and 11 damaged, 76 locomotives and 12 naval vessels destroyed. After the war ended, the squadron disbanded at Lüneburg, Germany on 7 August 1945.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 414 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Spitfire MK731 fallen in Germany on 28/11/1944
* Crash of Spitfire MK416 fallen to Gent on 6/09/1944
* Crash of Spitfire MJ744 fallen outside the borders on 4/12/1944
No. 416 Squadron RCAF was formed at RAF Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1941 as a fighter squadron for service during the Second World War and was based at various RAF stations in Scotland, England and continental Europe. The squadron was disbanded in March 1946.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 416 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Spitfire SM277 fallen on 24/12/1944
* Crash of Spitfire RR256 fallen in Germany on 19/04/1945
* Crash of Spitfire SM279 fallen to Saint-Vith on 13/01/1944
* Crash of Spitfire MJ387 fallen out of borders on 21/11/1944
No. 419 Squadron was formed at Mildenhall, Suffolk, on 15th December 1941, as the third RCAF bomber squadron overseas. The first CO was Wing Commander John "Moose" Fulton, DSO, DFC, AFC, a native of Kam1oops, British Columbia, and it was from him that the unit gained its nickname. Originally in No. 3 Group of Bomber Command, the squadron joined No. 6 (RCAF) Group upon the latter's formation on 1st January 1943. From Mildenha1l it moved to Leeming, Topcliffe and Croft for short periods before settling down, in November 1942, at Middleton St George, where it remained based until the end of the European war. Beginning operations with Wellington medium bombers, No. 419 later converted to Halifax heavy bombers and then to Lancaster Xs. Over a span of roughly three-and-a-quarter years it logged 400 operational missions (342 bombing missions, 53 mining excursions, 3 leaflet raids and 1 "spoof") involving 4,325 sorties. One hundred and twenty nine aircraft were lost on these operations.
Among the scores of decorations won by the squadron were a Victoria Cross (awarded posthumously to Pilot Officer AC Mynarski), 4 DSOs, 150 DFCs, 3 bars to DFCs, 35 DFMs and 1 MC.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 419 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Halifax JD159-VR-Y fallen to Muysen on 4/07/1943
* Crash of Lancaster KB710-VR-W fallen to Waterloo on 13/05/1944
* Crash of Wellington X3711-VR-R fallen to Warnant on 3/09/1942
* Crash of Halifax JD463-VR-D fallen to Ham-sur-Heure on 4/10/1943
* Crash of Halifax JB805-VR-B fallen to Peronnes-lez-Binche on 30/05/1943
* Crash of Wellington DF665-VR-Q fallen to Doische on 28/08/1942
* Crash of Lancaster KB711-VR-C fallen to Gent on 2/05/1944
* Crash of Lancaster KR713-VR-X fallen to Lo-Reninge on 13/05/1944
* Crash of Wellington X3712-VR-D fallen to Porcheresse on 30/07/1942
* Crash of Halifax JB793 fallen to Eupen on 30/05/1943
* Crash of Lancaster KB787-VR-M fallen to Vielsam on 4/02/1945
* Crash of Halifax JB791-VR-X fallen in Germany on 13/05/1943
No. 420 Squadron was formed at Waddington, Lincolnshire, England on 19 December 1941 by Jordan Tyler and Dan Riggden. During the Second World War, the unit ultimately flew Manchester, Hampden, Wellington, Halifax, and Lancaster aircraft on strategic and tactical bombing operations. From June to October 1943 it flew tropicalized Wellington aircraft from North Africa in support of the invasions of Sicily and Italy. In April 1945 they converted to Lancasters, and when hostilities in Europe concluded, it was selected as part of Tiger Force slated for duty in the Pacific, and returned to Canada for reorganisation and training. The sudden end of the war in the Far East resulted in the Squadron being disbanded at Debert, Nova Scotia on 5 September 1945.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 420 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Halifax MZ502-PT-U fallen to Overpelt on 28/05/1944
* Crash of Wellington HE682-PT-T fallen to Wellin on 17/04/1943
No. 424 Squadron RCAF was formed at RAF Topcliffe, North Yorkshire in on 15 October 1942, as the sixth RCAF Overseas bomber squadron, first being allocated to No. 4 Group RAF, initially equipped with the medium bomber Vickers Wellington Mk IIIs (later Mk Xs). It began operations on 15 January 1943, having joined No. 6 Group RCAF seeing moves to RAF Leeming, and then RAF Dalton. By the end of April 1943, 424 had bombed Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Bochum, Hamburg, Cologne, Essen, and took part in a third trip to Duisburg
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 424 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Halifax LW391-KW-J fallen to Beverlo on 15/10/1944
* Crash of Halifax HX313-QB-B fallen to Oostham on 28/05/1944
* Crash of Halifax LV951-QB-A fallen in Germany on 13/08/1944
On 22nd June 1942, an organisation order was issued authorising the formation of a fifth RCAF bomber squadron overseas. The order carried unprecedented significance in that its heading included after the squadron number the words "French-Canadian". This made the unit unique in RCAF history. Designated No. 425, it actually came into existence three days later at Dishforth, Yorkshire, as a unit of No. 4 Group. Given its operational baptism on the night of 5th/6th October, the squadron carried the war to the enemy until 26th/27th April 1943, after which it became non-operational pending a move to North Africa. Since 1st January 1943, it had been part of No. 6 Group.
Beginning operations from Kairouan, Tunisia, on 26th/27th June, No. 425 Squadron flew for the next three months or so with No. 205 Group against targets in Sicily and Italy. In October/November it returned to the UK and Dishforth, rejoined No. 6 Group, and, after a few weeks, moved to Tholthorpe, its last station in England. Resuming operations on 19th/20th February 1944, the squadron maintained steady pressure on the enemy until its last attack, delivered on 25th April 1945. It flew Wellington IIIs, Wellington Xs, Halifax IIIs (after returning from North Africa), and finally Lancaster Xs (but not on operations).
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 425 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Halifax LW391-KW-J fallen to Beverlo on 15/10/1944
* Crash of Halifax MZ482-KW-G fallen to Ciney on 19/03/1945
* Crash of Halifax PN172-KW-G fallen to Liberchies on 15/03/1945
* Crash of Halifax LK798-KW-A fallen to Kortrijk on 9/05/1944
426 Squadron formed at Dishforth, Yorkshire, England on the 15th of October 1942 and was declared operational on the 11th of January 1943.
Three days later, commencing at 22:18 hours, nine Squadron Vickers Wellingtons each carrying a mixed load of high explosives and incendiaries, started taking off on their first raid.
Led by their Commanding Officer Wing Commander S. S. Blanchard from Edmonton, Alberta the Squadron joined 113 other Bomber Command aircraft in an attack on Lorient's U-Boat pens.
During the raid Squadron Leader C.S. Dowie of Leader, Saskatchewan and his crew were the first in the unit to drop their bombs over enemy territory. Pilot Officer G. Milne of Calgary, Alberta and his crew were lost on their way home from the raid.
In June 1943, the squadron converted to Avro Lancaster II aircraft.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 426 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Halifax LK883-OW-E fallen to Londerzeel on 13/05/1944
* Crash of Wellington HE590-OW-L fallen to Zemst on 26/05/1943
* Crash of Halifax NP800-OW-S fallen in Germany on 4/11/1944
* Crash of Wellington HE652-KW fallen to Virelles on 10/04/1943
* Crash of Halifax LW682-OW-M fallen to Schendelbeke on 13/05/1944
No. 427 Squadron was formed at Croft, County Durham, on 7th November 1942, and operated briefly with No. 4 Group before being assigned to No. 6 (RCAF) Group on 1st January 1943. Equipped originally with Wellington IIIs, the squadron had re-equipped with Wellington Xs by the end of March 1943, and continued to operate with the Mark X until 28/29th April. Early in May 1943, when the squadron moved to Leeming, its home for the next three years, it began to re-equip with Halifax Vs, which type it flew on operations for eight months before changing to Halifax IIIs. On 2nd/3rd March 1945; came No. 427's last sorties on Halifax IIIs and about a week later, on 11th March, its Lancaster Is and IIIs received their operational baptism. With the Lancaster the squadron wound up its operations against the enemy.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 427 squadron was involved:
* Crash site of Halifax LK629-Z fallen to Antwerpen on 31/08/1943
* Crash of Halifax LW365-ZL-W fallen to Leuven on 28/05/1944
* Crash of Halifax LK920-ZL-J fallen to Hauts-Fays on 4/10/1943
* Crash of Halifax LV923-ZL-N fallen to Rachecourt on 31/03/1944
No. 428 Squadron was formed at Dalton, Yorkshire, on 7th November 1942, as a bomber unit of No. 4 Group. On 1st January 1943, it transferred to No. 6 (RCAF) Group, with which it operated against enemy targets until 25th April 1945 - about a fortnight before VE Day. Early in June 1943, the squadron moved to Middleton St. George, its base for the remainder of its period in the UK. It first flew Wellington IIIs and Xs, then Halifaxes (Vs and IIs), and finally Lancaster Xs.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 428 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Wellington HZ476-NA-A fallen to Bree on 26/05/1943
* Crash of Lancaster KB778-NA-Y fallen to La Roche on 6/05/1945
* Crash of Halifax DK228-NA-D fallen to Le Mesnil on 14/07/1943
No. 429 (Bison) Squadron was formed at East Moor, on 7th November 1942, as a bomber unit of No. 4 Group, but was assigned to No. 6 (RCAF) Group five months later. On 11th and 12th August 1943, came a move to Leeming, which was to be the squadron's home for the rest of its stay in the UK. Equipped originally with Wellington Ills and Xs, the squadron began operating with Halifax IIs in September 1943, and then switched to Halifax Vs in November and to Halifax Ills in March 1944. By the end of March 1945, it was flying Lancaster ls and IIIs, with which types it made its last few attacks of the heavy-bombing campaign.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 429 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Halifax JD363-AL fallen to Rijkevorsel on 22/10/1943
* Crash of Halifax HX352-AL-L fallen to Gellick on 25/05/1944
* Crash of Wellington LN296-AL fallen to Averbode on 4/07/1943
* Crash of Wellington HF457-AL fallen to Houthalen on 23/06/1943
* Crash of Halifax LK995AL-C fallen to Dinant on 26/11/1943
* Crash of Halifax LW415-AL-K fallen to Bevere on 2/05/1944
No. 430 Squadron RCAF was a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force formed during World War II as the "City of Sudbury" squadron in 1943. Initially created as an army co-operation squadron, 430 was redesignated as a fighter reconnaissance unit later that year. The unit was stationed in England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, and flew photo reconnaissance missions in support of planning for the Normandy landings. After D-Day, missions included before-and-after photography of attacks on V-1 flying bomb launch sites and support for ground forces. 430 Squadron was disbanded in Germany in August 1945.
In the Cold War period, the squadron was reformed in November 1951 at RCAF Station North Bay, flying the Canadair F-86 Sabre. It was given the nickname Silver Falcon. 430 Fighter Squadron went to 2 Wing RCAF Station Grostenquin near Grostenquin, France in September 1952. The squadron was located at Grostenquin until deactivation in September 1962.[2]
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 431 squadron was involved:
*Crash of Mustang AM201-S fallen to Vorselaar on 20/09/1944
No. 431 (Iroquois) Squadron was formed at Burn, near Selby, on 11th November 1942, as a bomber unit of No. 4 Group. In mid-July 1943, it was transferred to No. 6 (RCAF) Group and Tholthorpe and early in December that year moved to Croft, its last home in the UK. The squadron was first equipped with Wellington Xs, converting to Halifax Vs coincident with its move to Tholthorpe. It used the latter type until early April 1944, after which it operated with Halifax IIIs until the end of October 1944. Through the final months of its wartime career it flew Lancaster Xs.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 431 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Halifax MZ529-SE-E fallen to Blauberg on 28/04/1944
* Crash of Halifax LK842-SE-N fallen to Houthalen on 28/04/1944
* Crash of Halifax MZ536-SE-F fallen to Trognée on 28/04/1944
* Crash of Halifax LK884-SE-X fallen to Rance on 9/05/1944
* Crash of Halifax MZ521-SE-T fallen to Zwevezele on 9/05/1944
* Crash of Wellington HE184-SE-M fallen off coast on 12/06/1943
* Crash of Halifax LK925-SE-R fallen to Saint-Vith on 3/10/1943
* Crash of Halifax MZ629-SE-B fallen to St-Genesius-Rode on 13/05/1944
The twelfth RCAF bomber squadron formed overseas during the Second World War, No. 432 originated at Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire, on 1st May 1943, as a unit in No. 6 (RCAF) Group of Bomber Command. Equipped originally with Wellingtons, it later converted to Lancaster Ils and then to Halifaxes. No. 432 undertook its first operation on 23rd/24th May 1943, just over three weeks after having formed, and by the end of the war in Europe, almost two years later, it had flown 3,100 sorties on 238 bombing and mining operations (including 44 attacks on the Ruhr and 11 on Berlin) and lost 71 aircraft. The squadron won 144 decorations comprising 2 DS0s, 1 CGM, 119 DFCs, 1 bar to the DFC, 20 DFMs and 1 Croix de Guerre.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 432 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Wellington HZ481-QO-W fallen to Louvegnée on 4/07/1943
* Crash of Halifax MZ588-QO-W fallen to Verviers on 28/04/1944
Crash of Wellington HE353-QO-R fallen to Givet on 14/07/1943
* Crash of Halifax LW594-CO-G fallen to Grandreng on 9/05/1944
* Crash of Halifax NP812 QO-T fallen to Jemeppe on 30/12/1944
* Crash of Halifax LW583-QO-L fallen to Wevelgem on 9/05/1944
* Crash of Halifax NP699-QO-O fallen to Les Taillettes (F) on 18/12/1944
* Crash of Halifax LW687-QO-C fallen outside the borders on 31/03/1944
No. 433 Squadron was formed as a heavy-bomber unit of No. 6 (RCAF) Group at Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire, on 25th September 1943, but did not begin operations until January 1944. It was to be based at Skipton-on-Swale throughout its wartime existence of nearly two years. The squadron operated with Halifax IIIs until mid-January 1945, and then wound up its operations against the enemy on Lancasters. It flew 2,316 operational sorties on 155 bombing and 54 mining operations and lost 38 aircraft. It won 146 decorations comprising 1 BEM, 132 DFCs, 2 bars to DFCs, 9 DFMs, 1 Purple Heart (US) and 1 Air Medal (US).
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 433 squadron was involved:
* Crew of Hampden AD797-VN fallen to Meeuwen (Linde-Peer) on 3/06/1941
* Crew of Halifax HX291-BM-W fallen to Meeuwen on 23/04/1944
* Crew of Lancaster PA219-BM-M fallen to Vielsam on 4/02/1945
No 434 Squadron was formed at Tholthorpe, Yorkshire, on 13 June 1943, as a unit of No. 6 (RCAF) Group of Bomber Command. It began operations on 12/13th August and continued to operate from Tholthorpe until December 1944, when moved to Croft. There it remained based for the rest of its stay in England. Equipped first with Halifax Vs, No. 434 converted to Halifax IIIs in May 1944, and to Lancaster Xs December 1944. During its tour with No. 6 Group the squadron flew 2,597 operational sorties on 199 operations.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 434 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Halifax LK894-IP-K fallen to Kessenich on 31/08/1943
* Crash of Halifax LL258-WL-W fallen to Teuven on 28/04/1944
* Crash of Halifax EB255-IP-P fallen to Tongeren on 23/08/1943
* Crash of Halifax LW592-QO-A fallen to Sur-les-Bois on 28/04/1944
* Crash of Lancaster KB835-WL-J fallen to Landen on 15/03/1945
436 Transport Squadron was originally a squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). The unit was assembled in Gujrat, (then) India on 9 October 1944. Equipped with the C-47 Dakota, 436 Squadron flew its first official mission on 15 January 1945 from Kanglatongbi, Assam, India, when seven Dakotas airlifted 59 tons of supplies for 33 Corps of the Allied 14th Army in Burma. Soon the adopted emblem of the squadron, "Canucks Unlimited," would be seen far and wide in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theatre of operations.
According to news reports of the day, “in the first 18 days after W/C Ralph Gordon's RCAF Dakota transport squadron reached its present aircraft complement, it led all Dakota squadrons in tonnage carried to the Mandalay and Irrawaddy front. …To save time the aircrew on the squadron voted to eat dry rations between sorties instead of using time over a cooked meal….The time for an engine change has been cut from three to two days without a loss of efficiency under the direction of F/L H. Webb, Caledonia, Ont., the engineering officer. “
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 436 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Halifax LK807-QO-J fallen to Hannêche on 28/04/1944
Still then numbered as No. 118 (Fighter) Squadron, the unit moved to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, in October 1939 as the only operational fighter squadron on the east coast of Canada. It began operations with the Westland Lysander but this aircraft was considered so lacking as a suitable fighter aircraft the squadron was disbanded in September 1940 and it was not stood up again until the unwanted Goblin fighter made its appearance. The fifteen CCF GE23 Goblin equipped the newly formed 118 Fighter Squadron in December 1940 which immediately moved the Goblins from working up in Rockcliffe to Dartmouth in order to continue the defence of Canada's east coast.
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 438 squadron was involved:
* Crash of Typhoon MP178-F3-H fallen to Bullange on 24/12/1944
No. 439 Squadron RCAF was a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force, formed during World War II. No. 123 (Army Co-operation) Squadron was formed on 15 January 1942 and flew army training operations in Ontario and Nova Scotia with the Westland Lysander. It was renumbered No. 439 (Fighter Bomber) Squadron on December 31, 1943, when it transferred to Wellingore, England and spent the war in England, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany.[1] It flew the Hawker Hurricane, and later the Hawker Typhoon.
They disbanded at Flensburg, Germany, on August 26, 1945. They reformed at Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Station Uplands (CFB Uplands) on September 1, 1951, and went to 1 Wing North Luffenham on May 4, 1952, they then moved to 1 Wing Marville, France, on April 1, 1955. The squadron was equipped with the F-86 Sabre. They were deactivated between November 30, 1963, and February 28, 1964, and reactivated on March 1, 1964, as 439 Strike/Attack Squadron, equipped with CF-104 Starfighters. They moved with 3 Wing to Lahr, Germany on April 1, 1967, then to CFB Baden-Soellingen, Germany in 1971 as 439 Tactical Fighter Squadron. The squadron disbanded in November 1984 and reformed in November 1985 with the CF-18. They were disbanded at Baden-Soellingen on 15 May 1993 and reactivated shortly after at 3 Wing Bagotville as 439 Combat Support Squadron (French: 439e Escadron de soutien au combat). The squadron is now equipped with the CH-146 Griffon
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Sources: Royal Air Force
Crash in which the 43 squadron was involved:
* Crew of Typhoon MN894 fallen in Germany on 24/12/1944
