Battle of Britain 1940 Defence of Britain 1940–41 English Channel and North Sea 1942 Dieppe Fortress Europe 1941–44 France and Germany 1944–45 Normandy 1944 Arnhem Rhine
No. 401 Tactical Fighter Squadron , a.k.a. "City of Westmount" Squadron (originally No. 1 Squadron), is a Royal Canadian Air Force squadron based at CFB Cold Lake. During World War II it was a fighter squadron and is notable for having fought in the Battle of Britain. Postwar, the squadron operated in Canada as an auxiliary squadron, reserve squadron and a helicopter and training squadron. In 2015 it was reactivated as a Tactical Fighter Squadron.
The Royal Canadian Air Force is the air force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2013, the Royal Canadian Air Force consists of 14,500 Regular Force and 2,600 Primary Reserve personnel, supported by 2,500 civilians, and operates 258 manned aircraft and 9 unmanned aerial vehicles. Lieutenant-General Al Meinzinger is the current Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force and Chief of the Air Force Staff.
Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake, commonly abbreviated CFB Cold Lake, is a Canadian Forces Base located in the City of Cold Lake, Alberta. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is one of two bases in the country housing the CF-18 Hornet fighter, the other being CFB Bagotville. Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 4 Wing, commonly referred to as 4 Wing Cold Lake.
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.
Canadian Forces Base Trenton, formerly RCAF Station Trenton, is a Canadian Forces base located within the city of Quinte West, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is the hub for air transport operations in Canada and abroad. Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 8 Wing, commonly referred to as 8 Wing Trenton. CFB Trenton is Canada's largest Air Force base.
The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin was a British biplane single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1920s produced by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. The Siskin was one of the first new RAF fighters to enter service after the First World War; it was noted for its aerobatic qualities.
Calgary is a city in the Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated at the confluence of the Bow River and the Elbow River in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, about 80 km (50 mi) east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies. The city anchors the south end of what Statistics Canada defines as the "Calgary–Edmonton Corridor".
The unit began as a permanent peacetime unit which, augmented by personnel from RCAF No. 115 Squadron (Auxiliary),[3][4] arrived at its first base in the UK, Middle Wallop, on 21 June 1940. It had brought its own Hurricanes from Canada, and as these were not fully up to UK standard, the squadron was non-operational until mid-August when it moved to RAF Northolt. At the time the squadron comprised 27 officers (21 pilots) and 314 airmen.[5] To gain experience of Fighter Command operations, S/L E.A. McNab, Commanding Officer, flew on operations attached to No. 111 Squadron, and claimed a He 111 bomber destroyed on 11 August 1940.
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by the Supermarine Spitfire's role during Battle of Britain in 1940, but the Hurricane actually inflicted 60 percent of the losses sustained by the Luftwaffe in the engagement, and it went on to fight in all the major theatres of the Second World War.
RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip, 2 nautical miles from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, west London, England, approximately 6 mi (10 km) north of London Heathrow Airport. The station handles many private civil flights in addition to Air Force flights. Northolt has one runway in operation, spanning 1,687 m × 46 m, with a grooved asphalt surface.
Fighter Command 1940
The squadron was posted to Middle Wallop in June 1940, before in July moving to Croydon.
Middle Wallop is a village in the civil parish of Nether Wallop in Hampshire, England, on the A343 road. At the 2011 Census the population was included in the civil parish of Over Wallop. The village has a public house, The George Inn, a petrol station as well as The Wallops Parish Hall.
Croydon is a large town in south London, England, 9.5 miles (15.3 km) south of Charing Cross. The principal settlement in the London Borough of Croydon, it is one of the largest commercial districts outside Central London, with an extensive shopping district and night-time economy.
The squadron's début was inauspicious, when two Bristol Blenheims of RAF Coastal Command were accidentally shot down on 24 August, and three crewmen killed.
The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years and in some cases throughout the Second World War. The aircraft was developed as Type 142, a civil airliner, in response to a challenge from Lord Rothermere to produce the fastest commercial aircraft in Europe. The Type 142 first flew in April 1935, and the Air Ministry, impressed by its performance, ordered a modified design as the Type 142M for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a bomber. Deliveries of the newly named Blenheim to RAF squadrons commenced on 10 March 1937.
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation had been neglected in the inter-war period, due to disagreements between the Royal Navy (RN) and RAF over the ownership, roles and investment in maritime air power.
Pilots of No. 1 Squadron at Prestwick, Scotland, 30 October 1940
On its second patrol on 26 August 1940 it met with 25–30 Dorniers and was credited with three destroyed and three damaged in the fight. However, three of the squadron's aircraft were shot down and one pilot (F/O R. L. Edwards[6]) was killed. The squadron experienced a fairly high aircraft loss rate during the end of August and into September as the squadron battled against the German formations over south London.
The Dornier Do 215 was a light bomber, aerial reconnaissance aircraft and later a night fighter, produced by Dornier originally for export, but in the event most served in the Luftwaffe. Like its predecessor, the Dornier Do 17, it inherited the title "The Flying Pencil" because of its slim fuselage. The successor of the Do 215 was the Do 217.
On 21 September the squadron participated in the first attempt at a wing formation operation by the Northholt-based squadrons, with No. 229 Squadron RAF and No. 303 (Polish), although no enemy aircraft were encountered. By 27 September, although downing seven bombers, only six aircraft were operational by the end of the day.
On 11 October the depleted squadron was moved to RAF Prestwick in Scotland and its operational activity was coastal patrol work over the Clyde approaches.[7]
During the 53 days it participated in the battle the squadron shot down 29 enemy aircraft, probably destroyed eight, and damaged 35. It flew 1,694 sorties (1,569 operational hours and 1,201 non-operational), lost three pilots killed, ten wounded and 16 aircraft, with two pilots killed in accidents.[5] The most successful pilots were F/L Gordon McGregor (five kills), S/L E. A. McNab (four and one shared), F/O B. D. 'Dal' Russel (four and one shared), F/O J.W. Kerwin (three) and F/O A.D. Nesbit (three).
The squadron was withdrawn to Scotland during October 1940. On 2 November McGregor took over as CO from McNab.
1941
The squadron moved south again in February 1941 when it arrived at RAF Digby. It was here on 1 March that No 1 Squadron RCAF was re-numbered to No. 401 Squadron.
The squadron had replaced its Hurricanes with Spitfires Mk IIs in September 1941, Mk Vs in late 1941 and in July 1942 some of the first examples of the new Mk IX. Operating from Digby with No 12 Group Fighter Command until October 1941, it saw little action, but it then moved south to RAF Biggin Hill and remained in 11 Group carrying out offensive operations over Occupied Europe until January 1943.
On 21 October 401's first loss of this phase of operations was F/S B.F. Whitson, taken prisoner after being shot down over Saint-Omer. On 27 October the squadron was operating as high cover to the Biggin Hill Wing, and were 'bounced' by I and III Gruppe, JG 26, led by Oberst Adolf Galland. Five Spitfires were lost, with F/O C. A. B. Wallace, P/O J.A. Small and Sgt. S. L. Thompson killed, and P/O C. W. Floody and Sgt. B. G. Hodgkinson both prisoner.[8] On 8 November 1941 on the last mass fighter sweep of the year the squadron was attacked by I. and III./JG 26, and F/O J. C. Weir (prisoner of war) and Sgt. R. W. Gardner (killed) were lost over Le Touquet shot down by Fw. Babenz and Leut. Uibacker of JG 26. A two-squadron sweep with No. 72 Squadron over France on 22 November saw claims for two Bf 109s and three Fw 190s destroyed (I./JG 26 lost one Bf 109 and a Fw 190 crash-landed) for F/O H.A. Sprague (POW).
1942–44
On 12 February 1942 following the 'Channel Dash' of the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau in Operation Donnerkeil, six Swordfish of No. 825 FAA Squadron were to meet with an escort from 64 and 411 Squadrons (Hornchurch) and 72, 124 and 401 Squadrons (Biggin Hill) over Manston at mid-day. The escort missed the rendezvous, however, although 401 later claimed two Bf 109s destroyed, for the loss of Sgt. Levesque, who was taken prisoner.
The Fw 190 fighter force continued to take toll of the Fighter Command squadrons, 401 being no exception. On 28 April P/O J. A. Ferguson: (POW) and P/O G. B. Whitney (killed) were lost although P/O Don Blakeslee, an RCAF-enlisted American, claimed two 'probables'. On 1 May the squadron lost two more Spitfires to JG 2 over Le Havre, while on 1 June 1942 when a section of 401 intercepted and shot down two Hawker Typhoon fighters of No. 56 Squadron, one pilot was killed. In June the squadron received some of the first Mark IX Spitfires, capable of taking on the Focke Wulf Fw 190A on more or less equal terms. On 19 August during Operation Jubilee two probables and three damaged were claimed. On 8 November F/L Don Morrison was shot down and badly wounded versus units of JG 26, losing a leg and being repatriated in 1943. Morrison's tally of 5.33 aircraft destroyed, four 'probables' and four damaged was 401's highest since the Battle of Britain.[9]
Moving to RAF Catterick in early 1943, the squadron was involved in training and coastal patrols for four months before returning to 11 Group in late May, where the squadron reverted to Spitfire Mk IX's and became part of No. 126 Wing, No 83 Group, 2nd Tactical Air Force (2TAF). The unit resumed operational flying from RAF Redhill in June, and RAF Staplehurst in August and Biggin Hill on October.
Operations prior to D-Day were flown from RAF Tangmere. On 15 March four JG 26 Fw 190s were claimed (three were actually lost).
D-day and European Offensive 1944
On 7 June eight aircraft were claimed destroyed, and on 18 June the squadron moved to the B-4 airstrip at Beny-sur-Mer, France. Six more fighters were claimed downed on 28 June. No. 401 shot down three fighters of JG 26 on 7 July. The squadron's 100th victory was notched up on 20 July, while seven more Bf 109s were shot down on 27 July over Caen.
The squadron increasingly operated in the fighter-bomber role, ground attack and armed reconnaissance operations, culminating in operations supporting operations over Nijmegen and the ground fighting in Arnhem in September. S/L R. I. A. 'Rod' Smith, an experienced Malta 'ace', was posted from 412 Squadron and took command in September. On 29 September the squadron surprised some thirty Bf 109s attacking a Typhoon formation, and claimed at least nine destroyed for one loss.[5]
On 5 October, a five-strong squadron patrol encountered a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet of KG 51 and shot it down, the pilot, Hpt. Hans-Christoph Buttmann, was killed. This was the first victory over this type credited to either the RAF or RCAF.[10]
During late 1944 the unit operated from 'B-80' airfield in Volkel and then 'B-88', near Heesch, in the Netherlands.
In the course of Operation Bodenplatte, the mass ground-attack of 1 January 1945 by the Luftwaffe, the unit claimed nine of the attackers shot down, making the tally since D-Day 76.5 aircraft destroyed, three probables and 37 damaged. The next day S/L W. T. Klersy was appointed Commanding Officer. The squadron caught Fw 190s taking off from Twente airfield on 14 January and five fighters of I./JG 1 shot down for one loss, F/L L. J. Mackay claiming three. On 23 January 401 claimed three Arado Ar 234 jet-bombers of III./KG 76 over Achmer airfield.
Operations were restricted in the early part of 1945 due to bad weather, but from the end of February it was heavily involved in the offensive until the end of the war. The squadron received a few Spitfire XIVs in May 1945, but Mk XVIs became standard equipment until the squadron disbanded at Faßberg in Germany on 3 July 1945.[11] 20 April saw No. 401 claim some eight Bf 109s spotted taking off from a grass airstrip near Schwerin, and another five claimed later in the day over Hagenau aerodrome. On 3 May 401 attacked aircraft on the ground North West of Kiel, claiming 12 Ju 52s, two He 111s and a Ju 87 destroyed; the Squadron's last claims of the war.
End of the war and disbandment
The squadron ended the war as 2TAF's top scoring unit, claiming 112 aerial victories between 6 June 1944 and 5 May 1945.[12] Their total score for the war was 186.5 confirmed, 29 of which were claimed during 1940 when operating as No.1 RCAF Squadron.
Postwar
The squadron was reactivated as an auxiliary fighter unit on 15 April 1946 at RCAF Station St. Hubert and in 1968 became an air reserve squadron based in Montreal. In the 1980s, the squadron was renamed 401 Tactical Helicopter and Training Squadron.
No. 401 Squadron was disbanded on 23 June 1996.
The commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, Major-General Dave Wheeler, along with the commander of 4 Wing Cold Lake, Alberta, Colonel Eric Kenny, participated in a ceremony to reactivate 401 Tactical Fighter Squadron on 30 June 2015.[13]
The Squadron currently flies the CF-18 Hornet, Canada's primary and front line jet fighter aircraft.
Stations
No 401 Squadron was based at the following RAF Stations and locations:
George Frederick "Buzz" Beurling, was the most successful Canadian fighter pilot of the Second World War.
Air Vice Marshal James Edgar Johnson,, nicknamed "Johnnie", was a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and flying ace—defined as a pilot that has shot down five or more enemy aircraft in aerial combat—who flew and fought during the Second World War.
The Eagle Squadrons were three fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force (RAF) formed with volunteer pilots from the United States during the early days of World War II, prior to America's entry into the war in December 1941.
No. 303 Squadron RAF was one of 16 Polish squadrons in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. It was the highest scoring of the Hurricane squadrons during the Battle of Britain)..
Operation Bodenplatte (Baseplate), launched on 1 January 1945, was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries during the Second World War. The goal of Bodenplatte was to gain air superiority during the stagnant stage of the Battle of the Bulge so that the German Army and Waffen-SS forces could resume their advance. The operation was planned for 16 December 1944, but was delayed repeatedly due to bad weather until New Year’s Day, the first day that happened to be suitable.
James Francis "Stocky" Edwards, CM, DFC & Bar, DFM, CD is a former Canadian fighter pilot during World War II. With 19 confirmed aerial victories, Edwards is Canada's highest scoring ace in the Western Desert Campaign.
Irving Farmer 'Hap' Kennedy was a Canadian fighter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during the Second World War. He was one of Canada’s highest-scoring aces of the war, with 10 solo and 5 shared aircraft destroyed, and 1 probably destroyed.
Wing Commander Brendan Eamonn Fergus Finucane,, known as Paddy Finucane amongst his colleagues, was a Second World War Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot and flying ace—defined as an aviator credited with five or more enemy aircraft destroyed in aerial combat.
James Joseph "Orange" O'Meara, was a Royal Air Force officer and fighter pilot of the Second World War. He became a flying ace during the Battle of Britain while flying the Supermarine Spitfire, and by war's end was credited with 11 kills, two shared victories, one unconfirmed destroyed, four probables, 11 damaged and one shared damaged.
Jagdgeschwader 1 was a German World War II fighter unit or "wing" which used the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 aircraft, between 1940 and 1944. The name of the unit derives from Jagd, meaning "hunt" and Geschwader, meaning "wing". First formed in May 1939 in eastern Prussia, I./JG 1 was one of the original groups created by the Luftwaffe as part of its expansion plans.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) had included personnel from outside the United Kingdom from before the beginning of the Second World War and many served in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Many were volunteers from the British Empire, refugees and exiles from German-occupied Europe, and American emigrants.
Operation Flax was a Western Allied air operation executed during the Tunisia Campaign, as part of the larger North African Campaign of the Second World War. The operation was designed to cut the air supply lines between Italy and the Axis armies in Tunis, Tunisia, in April 1943. The parallel Allied naval effort was Operation Retribution.
Jagdgeschwader 26 Schlageter was a German fighter-wing of World War II. It operated mainly in Western Europe against Great Britain, France and the United States, but also saw service against the Soviet Union. It was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a World War I veteran and Freikorps member arrested and executed by the French for sabotage in 1923.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 174 enemy aircraft shot down in 715 combat missions. The majority of his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front, with 51 in the Mediterranean theatre and 20 over the Western Front.
The Supermarine Spitfire, the only British fighter to be manufactured before, during and after the Second World War, was designed as a short-range fighter capable of defending Britain from bomber attack and achieved legendary status fulfilling this role during the Battle of Britain. According to fighter ace J.E. "Johnnie" Johnson it was the best conventional defensive fighter of the war.
Evan Dall "Rosie" Mackie, was a New Zealand fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War. Many New Zealand pilots who served overseas enlisted in the Royal Air Force (RAF); Mackie chose to join the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and as such, with 21.5 "kills", he was the highest scoring member of that service.
Battle of Britain Day is the name given to the day of the large-scale aerial battle that took place on 15 September 1940, during the Battle of Britain.
Group Captain Charles Brian Fabris Kingcome was a British flying ace of the Second World War, most notable for serving with No. 92 Squadron in 1940 during the Battle of Britain. He frequently led the squadron on a temporary basis before receiving full command early in 1941.
Unternehmen Donnerkeil was the codename for a German military operation of the Second World War. Donnerkeil was designed as an air superiority operation to support the Kriegsmarine's Operation Cerberus, also known as the Channel Dash.
The Kanalkampf was the German term for air operations by the Luftwaffe against the British Royal Air Force (RAF) over the English Channel in July 1940. The air operations over the channel began the Battle of Britain during the Second World War. By 25 June, the Allies had been defeated in Western Europe and Scandinavia. Britain rejected peace overtures and on 16 July, Adolf Hitler issued Directive 16 to the Wehrmacht, ordering preparations for the invasion of Britain, under the codename Unternehmen Seelöwe.
Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN0-85130-164-9.
Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE,BA,RAF (Retd). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2001. ISBN1-84037-141-2.
McIntosh, Dave (1990). High Blue Battle. Toronto: Stoddart. ISBN9780773723382.
Rawlings, John D.R. Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (new edition 1976, reprinted 1978). ISBN0-354-01028-X.
Robinson, Anthony. RAF Fighter Squadrons in the Battle of Britain. London: Arms and Armour Press Ltd., 1987 (Reprinted in 1999 by Brockhampton Press, ISBN1-86019-907-0.)
Shores, Christopher F.; Williams, Clive (1994). Aces High: A Tribute to the most notable fighter pilots of the British and Commonwealth Forces in WWII. London: Grub Street. ISBN9781898697008.
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