No. 420 Squadron RCAF
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| 420 City of London Squadron | ||
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No. 420 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force (and subsequently Canadian Forces) existed from late December 1941 forwards. The Squadron's nickname was "Snowy Owl". Their motto was Pugnamus Finitum Latin for We Fight To The Finish. No. 420 Squadron is no longer active.
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[edit] History
Number 420 Squadron was formed at Waddington, Lincolnshire, England December 19, 1941 as the RCAF's 18th (and fourth Bomber) squadron formed overseas. 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 of 1945, the Squadron was converted to Lancasters, and after hostilities in Europe concluded, it was selected as part of Tiger Force slated for duty in the Pacific, and returned to Canada for reorganization and training. The sudden end of the war in the Far East resulted in the Squadron being disbanded at Debert, Nova Scotia September 5, 1945. No. 420 Squadron reformed at London, Ontario September 15, 1948, and flew Mustang aircraft in a fighter role until disbanded September 1, 1956. Reformed during the unification period No. 420 was an air reserve squadron based at CFB Shearwater and flew the CP-121 Tracker (Shared with No. 880).
[edit] Aircraft Flown by No. 420 Squadron
- Avro Manchester I (December 1941 - December 1941)
- Handley Page Hampden I (December 1941 - August 1942)
- Vickers Wellington III (August 1942 - April 1943)
- Vickers Wellington X (February 1943 - October 1943)
- Handley Page Halifax III (December 1943 - May 1945)
- Avro Lancaster X (May 1945 - September 1945)
- North American Harvard
- P-51 Mustang IV
- CT-133 Silver Star
- CP-121 Tracker
[edit] Operational (Wartime) History
- First Operational Mission: January 21, 1942: 5 Hampdens dispatched to bomb a target at Emden. two a/c bombed primary, two bombed alternative (town of Emden) and the other FTR. On same night another Hampden laid mines in Nectarines (Frisian Islands) area.
- Last Operational Mission: 18th April 1945: 18 Halifaxes bombed Heligoland and another Halifax crashed in sea en route to objective.
[edit] Crews
PT-Q "Q for Queenie"
- Pilot
- Co-Pilot
- Navigator
- Radio Operator/Flight Engineer
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