No. 410 Squadron RCAF
Encyclopedia
410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron, 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.
No. 410 Squadron supported the Allied forces during the Normandy Landings
and the Battle of the Bulge
, flew nightly patrols during this time and many of its pilots gained ace status
. Two members of No. 410 Squadron, Flight Lieutenant (F/L) Currie and Flying Officer (F/O) Rose, were the first members of the RCAF to see the German V-2 rocket
in flight.
The squadron was disbanded in 1964 but reformed again in 1968.
As No. 410 Tactical Fighter (Operational Training) Squadron, the squadron usually trains between 20 and 22 pilots a year on the CF-18, more than any other RCAF squadron. The Canadian documentary television series Jetstream
was filmed with the squadron in 2007 and showed what trainees must endure to become fighter pilot
s.
, Scotland
in June 1941, as a Royal Canadian Air Force "Article XV squadron", under Royal Air Force
operational control.
. In May 1942 these were replaced by the Bristol Beaufighter
, and in October of the same year these were in turn replaced with De Havilland Mosquito
Mk IIs, with which the first victory for the squadron was claimed. No. 410 Squadron was acknowledged as the top-scoring night fighter unit in RAF Second Tactical Air Force
in the period between D-Day
and VE Day, although No. 409 Squadron RCAF
can now make a similar claim, on the basis that there were many victories quickly counted up during 1944 and 1945.
in East Lothian
, but returned to RAF Ayr 10 months later. On 1 September 1942 the squadron was moved to RAF Scorton
in North Yorkshire
, England, but just under two months after that it was relocated to RAF Acklington
in Northumberland
. In 1943 the squadron was placed at RAF Coleby Grange
in Lincolnshire
, then moved for the sixth time to RAF West Malling
in the southeast of England, and then to RAF Hunsdon, just north of London
. Later it was moved to RAF Castle Camps
, and then back to RAF Hunsdon. On 18 June 1944, the squadron was placed at RAF Zeals
in Wiltshire
, only to be moved again to RAF Colerne
in Wiltshire
. On 9 September 1944, No. 410 Squadron RCAF was again moved to RAF Hunsdon. Thirteen days later, the squadron was relocated back to their sixth base, RAF Coleby Grange. On 3 November 1944 the Squadron moved to RAF Amiens-Glisy in northern France. Two months later, the squadron was relocated to RAF Lille-Vendeville in northern France, the first movement of the squadron in 1945. From 5 April 1945 the Cougars were back at RAF Amiens-Glisy, and the final move of the war occurred on 9 June 1945, when the squadron relocated to RAF Gilze-Rijen
in the Netherlands
.
flown by P/O R.R. Ferguson and P/O D. Creed (navigator), intercepted a Luftwaffe Ju 88. The Beaufighter was guided to the Ju 88 approximately 20 miles (32.2 km) northeast of Whitby
on the Yorkshire
coast. The attack damaged the Ju 88, but did not destroy it. Since the aircraft was not destroyed, this did not count as the squadron's first outright victory. That came on 22 January 1943, when Flight Sergeant
B.M. Haight and Sergeant
T. Kipling (RAF, observer), flying a Mosquito II
from RAF Acklington
, were credited with a Dornier Do 217
, which was destroyed near Hartlepool
. This was made possible because of "night readiness", the ability to fly at a moment's notice at night. By the end of the war, victories had been claimed. The squadron flew 2,972 sorties and accumulated 28,150 hours of flight time. The squadron's victories included destroyed, 2 probably destroyed, and 9 damaged. The squadron had the following operational casualties: 17 aircraft and 32 aircrew, of whom 10 were killed, 20 presumed dead, and two were made prisoners of war. Non-operational casualties were: 14 aircraft and 30 personnel, of whom 29 were killed, 1 injured.
Between November 1943 and May 1944, the squadron was engaged in the night defence of Britain. On 5 June 1944, No. 410 Squadron's Commanding Officer (CO), Wing Commander
G.A. Hiltz, flew a four-aircraft detachment to Colerne
where they provided fighter cover for the initial airborne landings. Among the pilots who flew that operation was Flight Lieutenant Charles Emanuel "Pop" Edinger, who later became an ace. On the night prior to the Normandy Landings, all of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force's
night fighter squadrons were working hard to ensure safety for the landing force. During June 1944, 18 of the squadron's 22 fighters were available, the other four were out for periodic maintenance. At 01:00, the first of four patrols took off, but the patrol was uneventful, with the pilots reporting clouds at 10,000 feet. A further five patrols were flown to help cover the 4,000 ships that were part of Operation Neptune
. On 7 June two of the aircraft were fired upon by friendly Lancaster bombers
, who assumed they were hostile. However, No. 410 Squadron claimed its first kill when Flying Officer
s A. Mcleod and Bob Snowdon destroyed a Junkers
Ju 188
. On 12 June the squadron claimed multiple bomber kills. The Cougars shot down 14 raiders with five more probably destroyed or damaged. But the success was overshadowed by the allied invasion of Europe. From June to August 1944, the squadron was mostly occupied with nightly patrols over the beachheads to guard the Allied troops and shipping against German bombers. No. 410 Squadron's Mosquitoes brought down thirty-one German aircraft and damaged or destroyed three more, in less than 31 sorties. Then the squadron moved to France and in the next eight months added 25 "kills" and a "damaged" to its score.
For several days following D-Day, the squadron flew patrols and received credits for many kills. In one instance, Warrant Officer (W/O) W.F. Price and P/O J.G. Costello shot down two Do.217 aircraft in the space of twenty minutes. and the Cougars destroyed twelve German bombers in all. Following this success, however, it was five days before the squadron scored another kill. In the interval, the crews, still maintaining their schedule of nine sorties per night, had little to report. One night an engine in W/C Hiltz’s Mosquito failed on the take-off run and the aircraft, swerving off the runway, crashed into "A" Flight dispersal. The crews escaped injury, but many buildings went up in flames. During an operation that resulted in the thirteenth kill of the period, one aircraft crashed and its crew was unable to bail out. For the next week the weather was poor, which restricted night operations. Most of the crews that did go out had to be diverted to other bases on their return. German activity had also diminished by then and the beachhead was much quieter than it had been in mid-June. On the first two nights in July there were no sorties at all. Then the weather improved and the nightly round of nine patrols was resumed.
F/L Currie and F/O Rose saw a V-2 rocket
in flight on the night of 10/11 September, the first Canadian pilots to do so. While on patrol from Brussels to Antwerp and Rotterdam they saw a bright orange light directly ahead and seemingly at their own altitude, 10000 feet (3,048 m). At first glance, Currie paid no attention to it, taking it for a bright star. Suddenly, Currie said: "It began to climb – hell it climbed!" The light appeared to go straight up so rapidly that within a few seconds it had passed out of sight. On return to base, the crew reported the sighting as a V-1 flying bomb
, but their account of the spectacular rate of climb and other details aroused great interest amongst senior officers. That night, a few moments after Currie and Rose had made their sighting, a V-2 rocket crashed onto the English coast. Two nights later, F/Os Fullerton and Gallagher saw a similar ball of yellow flame streak vertically into the night sky, and in the weeks that followed there were many other reports.
In the middle of December, under bad weather conditions, the Nazis
launched an offensive
in the Ardennes
. The Luftwaffe
caught many squadrons off guard. No. 410 Squadron enjoyed a number of successes during this period, some of them even on Christmas Day. During the Battle of the Bulge
, the entire RAF Second Tactical Air Force
, including No. 410 Squadron, was on 48-hour alert.
Although the war was entering its final stages, the squadron still had to watch for anti-aircraft artillery
. The fighter squadrons continued to make advances until February, while waiting for the Canadian push through the Reichwald. Although there was some aerial fighting, the major conflict with the Luftwaffe occurred when the Canadians started to cross the Rhine on 24 March 1945.
On the evening of 18 December 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, Edinger made contact with a Ju 87, which he then fired upon. His navigator, C.C. Vaessen, confirmed the kill, stating that the aircraft had been hit in the starboard engine and had caught fire. The Ju 87 crashed into trees and was engulfed in flames. Flight Lieutenant Rayne Schultz had claimed his fifth kill of the war, a Ju 188, on 13/14 February 1944. After having returned from working at the Training Command, he claimed another Ju 188 on 10/11 April 1945. He claimed his final kills on 21/22 April 1945 by downing two Ju 88s near Ferrbellen.
A few days after the Squadron had moved to Lille/Vendeville, it was called upon to provide a special patrol of four aircraft as air cover for the Armistice Day
ceremonies being held in Paris
; no German intruders attempted to intervene. Later in the month, there was an accident at base that took the lives of two pilots who had recently joined the Cougars. F/Os H. Connelly and J. Hunt had gone up together to practice circuits and landings. As they made a circuit, preparatory to landing, the Mosquito stalled and crashed from 500 feet (152.4 m). A few days before Christmas 1944, there was another accident, the heaviest suffered by the squadron in terms of lives lost. For several days the airfield had been fogbound and when the sky cleared somewhat in the afternoon of 21 December, S/L Fulton, "B” Flight commander, took off for England in the squadron's Airspeed Oxford
aircraft. With him were three officers and two airmen, all going on leave. Near Wrotham, Kent
, the aircraft crashed and only one of its occupants survived. Killed with S/L Fulton were his navigator F/O A.R. Ayton (RAF), who had accompanied him on posting to the Cougars in October, F/L F.G. Thomson, DFC (RAF), who had arrived late in November to begin a second tour, and LACs E. Wahlers and R. Seefried. F/O W. Rumbold, another RAF navigator, was seriously injured; he had been with the Squadron for two months. The squadron was disbanded at the end of the war on 9 June 1945.
During the Second World War, No. 410 Squadron RCAF was awarded multiple battle honours. These honours are certified by the Canadian Air Force.
At least 12 members of the squadron were decorated during the war, with the award of 11 Distinguished Flying Crosses
(DFC) and one bar
to the DFC, as well as a Distinguished Flying Medal
(DFM). The first DFCs went to Acting Flight Lieutenant
Martin Anthony Cybulski and Flying Officer
Harold Herbert Ladbrook on 9 November 1943 The citation does not mention that they had to return to base on a single engine, and with other damage to the aircraft. This was quickly followed by Flying Officers Rayne Dennis Schultz and Vernon Albert Williams on 14 January 1944. Again, the citation does not mention the severe damage to their aircraft. At the close of an action with their third Do 217
, which the combat report describes as: "a long duel with the enemy pilot showing a high degree of airmanship," they were hit by return fire, including a cannon shell that destroyed much of the instrument panel and which narrowly missed the pilot. The starboard engine almost died, then recovered, but then the port engine caught fire. They managed to return to RAF Bradwell with only the starboard engine working, landing at 19:45 on 10 December 1943.
Sergeant James Norman was awarded the DFM on 26 September 1944. Squadron Leader
James Dean Somerville and F/O George Douglas Robinson were awarded the DFC on 20 October 1944. F/L Charles Emanuel Edinger was awarded the DFC on 5 December of the same year, for destroying four Junkers Ju 88
s and one unidentified German aircraft between June and October. He subsequently claimed one further Ju 88 and one Junkers Ju 87
in December.
Flight Lieutenants Ben Erwin Plumer and William Warren Hargrove received the DFC on 15 December 1944 for shooting down a Messerschmitt Bf 110
on 6 October: F/O Dennis George Tongue was awarded the DFC on 29 December 1944, and a bar
to his DFC on 2 March 1945. F/O Tongue was a member of the RAF, had been commissioned from sergeant and promoted to flying officer. On the night he won the bar to his DFC, on 25 November 1944, his pilot was A. A. Harrington of the United States Army Air Force. They destroyed three Junkers Ju 88
s, their own Mosquito having been hit by debris from the second Ju 88, and during the fight that led to the downing of the third, Tongue was also having to keep track of a further Ju 88 which was endeavouring to attack their aircraft.
F/O Donald Murdo Mackenzie was awarded the DFC on 27 February 1945, having destroyed a Ju 88 on 30 July 1944, and then two more in a single sortie on 24 December.
F.3 aircraft, and was re-formed from a defence role into that of a fighter role at St Hubert (Montreal), Quebec on 1 December 1948. From May 1949 to August 1951, the Blue Devils
aerobatics team formed, to demonstrate the abilities of the new Vampire aircraft at formation flying. The squadron later converted to Canadair Sabres and was deployed to Europe, flying from RCAF Station North Luffenham
in the UK, and then at RCAF Station Marville
(No. 1 (Fighter) Wing) in France. The squadron had been the first regular force fighter unit to fly the Vampire aircraft and was the first to fly the Sabre and the first to join No. 1 (Fighter) Wing of No. 1 Air Division
Europe.
When No. 445 All Weather (Fighter) [AW(F)] Squadron arrived from Canada, however, No. 410 Squadron was deactivated at Marville on 1 October 1956 and reactivated as an all-weather fighter squadron at Uplands
(Ottawa), Ontario on 1 November of that year, flying Avro Canada CF-100s. When CF-100s were removed from service in 1961, the CF-101 Voodoo
interceptor was introduced for North American air defence
. No. 410 Squadron converted to these aircraft and the squadron continued to fly Voodoos until defence cuts led to the squadron being deactivated on 31 March 1964.
, tasked with training pilots and navigators for the three operational RCAF Voodoo squadrons, was later renamed No. 410 Squadron. No. 410 Squadron moved to Cold Lake, Alberta
in 1982, changing aircraft to become the training unit for Canada's new CF-18 Hornet
aircraft.
training aircraft and then flew the Boulton Paul Defiant
from July 1941 to May 1942. The Boulton Paul Defiant was a "turret fighter" that was used as a night fighter. A problem with this aircraft was that it had no forward armament, and so it was exchanged for the Bristol
Beaufighter
II, long-range heavy fighter. The Beaufighter was used from April 1942 until January 1943. The Mk II used the Rolls Royce Merlin engine which provided greater power than the original Beaufighter had had. No. 410 Squadron transitioned to the de Havilland Mosquito Mk II in November 1942, and the Squadron then used the Mosquito exclusively until the end of the war. It used the variants VI (July 1943 – September 1943), XIII (December 1943 – August 1944), and XXX (August 1944 – June 1945). All of these fighters had the same basic design—that of a low- to medium-altitude daytime tactical bomber, high altitude night bomber, pathfinder
, day
or night fighter
, fighter-bomber
, intruder, maritime strike and photo reconnaissance aircraft.
Vampire
, having already flown the aircraft for two years in an Air Defence role.
No. 410 Squadron then re-equipped with the Canadair Sabre in 1951 and then with the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck in 1956.
On 20 December 1961, No. 410 Squadron became Canada's first operational CF-101 Voodoo
squadron. The Voodoo was an all-weather interceptor aircraft; its primary armament was the nuclear-tipped AIR-2A Genie
unguided air-to-air rockets, and was used as Canada's primary means of air defence.
CT-133 Silver Star
.
No. 410 Squadron RCAF is currently equipped (2011) with the CF-18 Hornet
. The first two CF-18s were formally handed over to 410 (Operational Training Unit) Squadron at CFB Cold Lake
, Alberta on 25 October 1982.
aircraft squadron located at Canada
's primary CF-18 training base at Cold Lake
, Alberta
. In 1982, the squadron was renamed 410 Tactical Fighter (Operational Training) Squadron. It runs one fighter pilot course every year, training approximately 20 pilots. The training program consists of nine months of ground school, simulator flights, and operational flying. Students are taken from among the graduates of a Fighter Lead-In Training Course and are provided with the knowledge of basic skills in both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat. Areas covered in depth include aircraft handling, instrument flight, formation flying, night flying, navigation, air-to-air refuelling, and weapons delivery and tactics.
There is also an annual Fighter Weapons Instructor Course (FWIC) run by No. 410 Squadron, and a Fighter Electronic Warfare and Advanced Radar (FEWAR) Course. The intense and highly challenging FWIC lasts for three months. Each operational CF-18 squadron and tactical radar squadron sends candidates (eight students per course) who graduate with the leadership qualities and expertise required to return to their squadrons and design tactical training programs themselves. The Advanced Radar Course is conducted in two phases: ground school at 4 Wing, Cold Lake
, and a flying phase at an electronic warfare range. This three-week course is designed to allow ten pilots annually to graduate and return to their squadrons as electronic warfare experts and instructors. Since No. 410 Squadron has always had some of the most experienced CF-18 pilots in the fighter community, it is often charged with carrying out special fighter projects. The squadron conducted the operational testing and evaluation of the CF's precision guided munitions, and in 2010 was anticipating testing the use of night vision devices in the Hornet.
At the same time as the current work mandate, No. 410 Squadron is also responsible for training and re-certifying about five former CF-18 Hornet pilots annually. These pilots are returning to the CF-18 after a ground or exchange tour. No. 410 Squadron also trains newly-arrived foreign exchange officers who will be joining one of Canada's two operational fighter squadrons. As backgrounds can differ significantly, each course is tailored to the individual, based on their experience and demonstrated competencies. Areas covered in depth in the Fighter Pilot Course (FPC) include basic and advanced aircraft handling, instrument flight, formation flying, night flying, all-weather interception, air-to-air refuelling, Basic Fighter Manoeuvres (BFM – "dogfighting skills") and air combat. The latter half of each FPC comprises academic air-to-ground weapons delivery and Close Air Support (CAS), as well as advanced Air Interdiction (AI) tactics, the former usually completed during a squadron deployment to the south-western United States in the late spring and early fall, due to the significantly better weather and the sheer number of bombing ranges available.
was filmed in 2007, showing life on the base at Cold Lake and what a trainee must endure to become a fighter pilot
. The television documentary followed No. 410 Squadron's training course for the full nine months, and in that time some candidates did not graduate. The television show was given full access to the trainees' lives from ground school to graduation and was allowed access almost everywhere. The series followed six members of the Canadian Air Force's "Class of 2006" who had been selected to learn with No. 410 Squadron. The television show called the air base "fighter town", but Cold Lake has two bases that use fighter/interceptor aircraft, the other being home to No. 409 Squadron
, nicknamed "nighthawk".
In 2009, No. 410 Squadron provided the CF-18 Demonstration Pilot and the air display CF-18 for the year's airshow season. Captain Tim "Donor" Woods, from Dundas, Ontario, was selected as the year's demonstration pilot and the paint scheme of his display aircraft was developed in honour of the "Centennial of Flight" in Canada.
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
aircraft squadron currently located at Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's primary training base for the CF-18 (Canadian Forces version of the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet), at Cold Lake
Cold Lake, Alberta
Cold Lake is a city in northeastern Alberta, Canada, named after the lake it is situated near.-Geography:The city is situated in Alberta's "Lakeland" district, 300 km northeast of Edmonton, near the Alberta-Saskatchewan provincial border. The area surrounding the city is sparsely populated,...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. The squadron was formed during the Second World War as an RCAF
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
squadron under the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF), at RAF Ayr, near Prestwick
Prestwick
Prestwick is a town in South Ayrshire on the south-west coast of Scotland, about south-west of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr, the centre of which is about south...
, in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
The first official sortie
Sortie
Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
of No. 410 Squadron was from RAF Drem
RAF Drem
RAF Drem is a former RAF station, just north of the village of Drem in East Lothian, Scotland. The motto of the station was Exiit Hinc Lumen which means "Ascend from this Light"....
, East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
, Scotland, on the night of 4 June 1942, when twelve Beaufighter
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
crews took off, and it went on to become the top-scoring night fighter squadron in the RAF Second Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
during the period between D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
and VE-Day.
No. 410 Squadron supported the Allied forces during the Normandy Landings
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
and the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, flew nightly patrols during this time and many of its pilots gained ace status
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
. Two members of No. 410 Squadron, Flight Lieutenant (F/L) Currie and Flying Officer (F/O) Rose, were the first members of the RCAF to see the German V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
in flight.
The squadron was disbanded in 1964 but reformed again in 1968.
As No. 410 Tactical Fighter (Operational Training) Squadron, the squadron usually trains between 20 and 22 pilots a year on the CF-18, more than any other RCAF squadron. The Canadian documentary television series Jetstream
Jetstream (TV series)
Jetstream is a 2008 documentary television series produced by Paperny Films for the network Discovery Channel Canada. The series totals 8 episodes and premiered on January 8, 2008. The series was narrated by Canadian Actor Kavan Smith....
was filmed with the squadron in 2007 and showed what trainees must endure to become fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
s.
Badge
No. 410 Squadron's badge depicts a cougar's face with a background decrescent (waning) moon. The cougar, a North American mountain cat, was chosen because of the speed and power of its attacks. The waning moon refers to the squadron's night operations. These two major devices are in reference to the squadron's Second World War night fighter activities, when the unit was renowned for its skill and number of victories. The squadron's motto is Noctivaga, which means "wandering by night".History
No. 410 Squadron was formed at RAF Ayr, near PrestwickPrestwick
Prestwick is a town in South Ayrshire on the south-west coast of Scotland, about south-west of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr, the centre of which is about south...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in June 1941, as a Royal Canadian Air Force "Article XV squadron", under Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
operational control.
Second World War
No. 410 Squadron was the third RCAF night fighter squadron to be formed and was equipped with the Boulton Paul DefiantBoulton Paul Defiant
The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force early in the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any forward-firing guns. It was a contemporary of the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc...
. In May 1942 these were replaced by the Bristol Beaufighter
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
, and in October of the same year these were in turn replaced with De Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
Mk IIs, with which the first victory for the squadron was claimed. No. 410 Squadron was acknowledged as the top-scoring night fighter unit in RAF Second Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
in the period between D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
and VE Day, although No. 409 Squadron RCAF
No. 409 Squadron RCAF
409 Tactical Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Canadian Forces under Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron operates the CF-18 Hornet from CFB Cold Lake in Alberta, Canada.-History:...
can now make a similar claim, on the basis that there were many victories quickly counted up during 1944 and 1945.
Bases
From RAF Ayr, No. 410 Squadron was moved to RAF DremRAF Drem
RAF Drem is a former RAF station, just north of the village of Drem in East Lothian, Scotland. The motto of the station was Exiit Hinc Lumen which means "Ascend from this Light"....
in East Lothian
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....
, but returned to RAF Ayr 10 months later. On 1 September 1942 the squadron was moved to RAF Scorton
RAF Scorton
RAF Scorton was a satellite station of RAF Catterick during World War II. It was located near the village of Scorton in North Yorkshire, England...
in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, England, but just under two months after that it was relocated to RAF Acklington
RAF Acklington
The former Royal Air Force Station Acklington, commonly known as RAF Acklington, was a Royal Air Force airfield airbase situated near Acklington, in Northumberland, England....
in Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
. In 1943 the squadron was placed at RAF Coleby Grange
RAF Coleby Grange
RAF Coleby Grange was a Royal Air Force station situated alongside the western edge of the A15 on open heathland between the villages of Coleby and Nocton Heath and lying due south of the county town Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England....
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, then moved for the sixth time to RAF West Malling
RAF West Malling
RAF West Malling was a Royal Air Force station near West Malling in Kent, England.Originally used as a landing area during the first World War, the site opened as a private landing ground and in 1930, then known as Kingshill, home to the Maidstone School of Flying, before being renamed West Malling...
in the southeast of England, and then to RAF Hunsdon, just north of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Later it was moved to RAF Castle Camps
RAF Castle Camps
-World War II:RAF Castle Camps was listed as being in Cambridgeshire as it is close to its namesake Cambridgeshire village. It is very near the Suffolk border and the airfield straddled the Essex and Cambridgeshire county border. Construction of the station was started in September 1939...
, and then back to RAF Hunsdon. On 18 June 1944, the squadron was placed at RAF Zeals
RAF Zeals
RAF Zeals was a wartime Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire.The station was sited to the north of the village of Zeals, next to the village of Stourton and the Stourhead estate.The station was only in operation from 1942 to 1946...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, only to be moved again to RAF Colerne
RAF Colerne
RAF Colerne now known as Colerne Airfield or AEF Colerne is a former World War II RAF Fighter Command and Bomber Command airfield located on the outskirts of the village of Colerne, Wiltshire...
in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. On 9 September 1944, No. 410 Squadron RCAF was again moved to RAF Hunsdon. Thirteen days later, the squadron was relocated back to their sixth base, RAF Coleby Grange. On 3 November 1944 the Squadron moved to RAF Amiens-Glisy in northern France. Two months later, the squadron was relocated to RAF Lille-Vendeville in northern France, the first movement of the squadron in 1945. From 5 April 1945 the Cougars were back at RAF Amiens-Glisy, and the final move of the war occurred on 9 June 1945, when the squadron relocated to RAF Gilze-Rijen
Gilze-Rijen Air Base
Gilze-Rijen Air Base is a military airbase in the Netherlands located between the cities of Breda and Tilburg, in the Noord-Brabant province. It is mainly, but not exclusively used as a base for attack helicopters. The airfield has two runways, the longest, complete with instrument landing...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Operations
The first official sortie occurred on the night of 4 June 1942, when twelve crews from No. 410 Squadron took off in Beaufighters, but the two scrambles that occurred were uneventful. The first German contact occurred on the night of 6/7 September 1942, when a Beaufighter II from RAF ScortonRAF Scorton
RAF Scorton was a satellite station of RAF Catterick during World War II. It was located near the village of Scorton in North Yorkshire, England...
flown by P/O R.R. Ferguson and P/O D. Creed (navigator), intercepted a Luftwaffe Ju 88. The Beaufighter was guided to the Ju 88 approximately 20 miles (32.2 km) northeast of Whitby
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the...
on the Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
coast. The attack damaged the Ju 88, but did not destroy it. Since the aircraft was not destroyed, this did not count as the squadron's first outright victory. That came on 22 January 1943, when Flight Sergeant
Flight Sergeant
Flight sergeant is a senior non-commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structure...
B.M. Haight and Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
T. Kipling (RAF, observer), flying a Mosquito II
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
from RAF Acklington
RAF Acklington
The former Royal Air Force Station Acklington, commonly known as RAF Acklington, was a Royal Air Force airfield airbase situated near Acklington, in Northumberland, England....
, were credited with a Dornier Do 217
Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by German Luftwaffe during World War II as a more powerful version of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift . Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber, its design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940...
, which was destroyed near Hartlepool
Hartlepool
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
. This was made possible because of "night readiness", the ability to fly at a moment's notice at night. By the end of the war, victories had been claimed. The squadron flew 2,972 sorties and accumulated 28,150 hours of flight time. The squadron's victories included destroyed, 2 probably destroyed, and 9 damaged. The squadron had the following operational casualties: 17 aircraft and 32 aircrew, of whom 10 were killed, 20 presumed dead, and two were made prisoners of war. Non-operational casualties were: 14 aircraft and 30 personnel, of whom 29 were killed, 1 injured.
D-Day and the invasion of Europe
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
G.A. Hiltz, flew a four-aircraft detachment to Colerne
Colerne
Colerne is a village and civil parish in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, midway between Bath and Chippenham in Wiltshire, England. It has an elevated position above sea level and overlooks the Box Valley to the south...
where they provided fighter cover for the initial airborne landings. Among the pilots who flew that operation was Flight Lieutenant Charles Emanuel "Pop" Edinger, who later became an ace. On the night prior to the Normandy Landings, all of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force's
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
night fighter squadrons were working hard to ensure safety for the landing force. During June 1944, 18 of the squadron's 22 fighters were available, the other four were out for periodic maintenance. At 01:00, the first of four patrols took off, but the patrol was uneventful, with the pilots reporting clouds at 10,000 feet. A further five patrols were flown to help cover the 4,000 ships that were part of Operation Neptune
Operation Neptune
The Normandy landings, codenamed Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 , beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time...
. On 7 June two of the aircraft were fired upon by friendly Lancaster bombers
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
, who assumed they were hostile. However, No. 410 Squadron claimed its first kill when Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
s A. Mcleod and Bob Snowdon destroyed a Junkers
Junkers
Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG , more commonly Junkers, was a major German aircraft manufacturer. It produced some of the world's most innovative and best-known airplanes over the course of its fifty-plus year history in Dessau, Germany. It was founded there in 1895 by Hugo Junkers,...
Ju 188
Junkers Ju 188
The Junkers Ju 188 was a German Luftwaffe high-performance medium bomber built during World War II, the planned follow-on to the famed Ju 88 with better performance and payload...
. On 12 June the squadron claimed multiple bomber kills. The Cougars shot down 14 raiders with five more probably destroyed or damaged. But the success was overshadowed by the allied invasion of Europe. From June to August 1944, the squadron was mostly occupied with nightly patrols over the beachheads to guard the Allied troops and shipping against German bombers. No. 410 Squadron's Mosquitoes brought down thirty-one German aircraft and damaged or destroyed three more, in less than 31 sorties. Then the squadron moved to France and in the next eight months added 25 "kills" and a "damaged" to its score.
Immediately after D-Day
For several days following D-Day, the squadron flew patrols and received credits for many kills. In one instance, Warrant Officer (W/O) W.F. Price and P/O J.G. Costello shot down two Do.217 aircraft in the space of twenty minutes. and the Cougars destroyed twelve German bombers in all. Following this success, however, it was five days before the squadron scored another kill. In the interval, the crews, still maintaining their schedule of nine sorties per night, had little to report. One night an engine in W/C Hiltz’s Mosquito failed on the take-off run and the aircraft, swerving off the runway, crashed into "A" Flight dispersal. The crews escaped injury, but many buildings went up in flames. During an operation that resulted in the thirteenth kill of the period, one aircraft crashed and its crew was unable to bail out. For the next week the weather was poor, which restricted night operations. Most of the crews that did go out had to be diverted to other bases on their return. German activity had also diminished by then and the beachhead was much quieter than it had been in mid-June. On the first two nights in July there were no sorties at all. Then the weather improved and the nightly round of nine patrols was resumed.
F/L Currie and F/O Rose saw a V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
in flight on the night of 10/11 September, the first Canadian pilots to do so. While on patrol from Brussels to Antwerp and Rotterdam they saw a bright orange light directly ahead and seemingly at their own altitude, 10000 feet (3,048 m). At first glance, Currie paid no attention to it, taking it for a bright star. Suddenly, Currie said: "It began to climb – hell it climbed!" The light appeared to go straight up so rapidly that within a few seconds it had passed out of sight. On return to base, the crew reported the sighting as a V-1 flying bomb
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
, but their account of the spectacular rate of climb and other details aroused great interest amongst senior officers. That night, a few moments after Currie and Rose had made their sighting, a V-2 rocket crashed onto the English coast. Two nights later, F/Os Fullerton and Gallagher saw a similar ball of yellow flame streak vertically into the night sky, and in the weeks that followed there were many other reports.
Battle of the Bulge and the end of the war
In the middle of December, under bad weather conditions, the Nazis
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
launched an offensive
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
in the Ardennes
Ardennes
The Ardennes is a region of extensive forests, rolling hills and ridges formed within the Givetian Ardennes mountain range, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France , and geologically into the Eifel...
. The Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
caught many squadrons off guard. No. 410 Squadron enjoyed a number of successes during this period, some of them even on Christmas Day. During the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
, the entire RAF Second Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
, including No. 410 Squadron, was on 48-hour alert.
Although the war was entering its final stages, the squadron still had to watch for anti-aircraft artillery
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
. The fighter squadrons continued to make advances until February, while waiting for the Canadian push through the Reichwald. Although there was some aerial fighting, the major conflict with the Luftwaffe occurred when the Canadians started to cross the Rhine on 24 March 1945.
On the evening of 18 December 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, Edinger made contact with a Ju 87, which he then fired upon. His navigator, C.C. Vaessen, confirmed the kill, stating that the aircraft had been hit in the starboard engine and had caught fire. The Ju 87 crashed into trees and was engulfed in flames. Flight Lieutenant Rayne Schultz had claimed his fifth kill of the war, a Ju 188, on 13/14 February 1944. After having returned from working at the Training Command, he claimed another Ju 188 on 10/11 April 1945. He claimed his final kills on 21/22 April 1945 by downing two Ju 88s near Ferrbellen.
A few days after the Squadron had moved to Lille/Vendeville, it was called upon to provide a special patrol of four aircraft as air cover for the Armistice Day
Armistice Day
Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...
ceremonies being held in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
; no German intruders attempted to intervene. Later in the month, there was an accident at base that took the lives of two pilots who had recently joined the Cougars. F/Os H. Connelly and J. Hunt had gone up together to practice circuits and landings. As they made a circuit, preparatory to landing, the Mosquito stalled and crashed from 500 feet (152.4 m). A few days before Christmas 1944, there was another accident, the heaviest suffered by the squadron in terms of lives lost. For several days the airfield had been fogbound and when the sky cleared somewhat in the afternoon of 21 December, S/L Fulton, "B” Flight commander, took off for England in the squadron's Airspeed Oxford
Airspeed Oxford
The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery during the Second World War.-Design and development:...
aircraft. With him were three officers and two airmen, all going on leave. Near Wrotham, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, the aircraft crashed and only one of its occupants survived. Killed with S/L Fulton were his navigator F/O A.R. Ayton (RAF), who had accompanied him on posting to the Cougars in October, F/L F.G. Thomson, DFC (RAF), who had arrived late in November to begin a second tour, and LACs E. Wahlers and R. Seefried. F/O W. Rumbold, another RAF navigator, was seriously injured; he had been with the Squadron for two months. The squadron was disbanded at the end of the war on 9 June 1945.
Wartime commanders
The first officer to command No. 410 Squadron was Squadron Leader P.Y. Davoud, who was in charge between 30 June 1941 and 4 September 1941. Wing Commander (W/C) M. Lipton took over command between 5 September 1941 and 30 July 1942 and the position was then given to W/C F.W. Hillock, between 19 August 1942 and 19 May 1943, and then to W/C G.H. Elms, who commanded No. 410 Squadron between 20 May 1943 and 18 February 1944. In the latter part of the war, W/C G.A. Hiltz was given command between 19 February 1944 and 1 April 1945. The last commander of the war was W/C E.P. Heybroek, who was in charge between 2 April 1945 until the squadron disbanded in June of that year.Unit awards
During the Second World War, No. 410 Squadron RCAF was awarded multiple battle honours. These honours are certified by the Canadian Air Force.
| Award | Year(s) | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|
| Defence of Britain | 1941–44 | Battle of Britain Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940... |
| Fortress Europe | 1943 | for operations against targets in Germany, Italy and enemy-occupied Europe |
| France and Germany | 1944–45 | ops over France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... and Germany prior to and after D-day |
| Normandy | 1944 | Normandy 1944 |
| Rhine | 1945 | Rhine 1945 |
| Biscay | 1940–45 | Biscay 1943 |
Individual awards
At least 12 members of the squadron were decorated during the war, with the award of 11 Distinguished Flying Crosses
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
(DFC) and one bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
to the DFC, as well as a Distinguished Flying Medal
Distinguished Flying Medal
The Distinguished Flying Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and the other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active...
(DFM). The first DFCs went to Acting Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
Martin Anthony Cybulski and Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
Harold Herbert Ladbrook on 9 November 1943 The citation does not mention that they had to return to base on a single engine, and with other damage to the aircraft. This was quickly followed by Flying Officers Rayne Dennis Schultz and Vernon Albert Williams on 14 January 1944. Again, the citation does not mention the severe damage to their aircraft. At the close of an action with their third Do 217
Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by German Luftwaffe during World War II as a more powerful version of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift . Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber, its design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940...
, which the combat report describes as: "a long duel with the enemy pilot showing a high degree of airmanship," they were hit by return fire, including a cannon shell that destroyed much of the instrument panel and which narrowly missed the pilot. The starboard engine almost died, then recovered, but then the port engine caught fire. They managed to return to RAF Bradwell with only the starboard engine working, landing at 19:45 on 10 December 1943.
Sergeant James Norman was awarded the DFM on 26 September 1944. Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
James Dean Somerville and F/O George Douglas Robinson were awarded the DFC on 20 October 1944. F/L Charles Emanuel Edinger was awarded the DFC on 5 December of the same year, for destroying four Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
s and one unidentified German aircraft between June and October. He subsequently claimed one further Ju 88 and one Junkers Ju 87
Junkers Ju 87
The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was a two-man German ground-attack aircraft...
in December.
Flight Lieutenants Ben Erwin Plumer and William Warren Hargrove received the DFC on 15 December 1944 for shooting down a Messerschmitt Bf 110
Messerschmitt Bf 110
The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often called Me 110, was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Hermann Göring was a proponent of the Bf 110, and nicknamed it his Eisenseiten...
on 6 October: F/O Dennis George Tongue was awarded the DFC on 29 December 1944, and a bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
to his DFC on 2 March 1945. F/O Tongue was a member of the RAF, had been commissioned from sergeant and promoted to flying officer. On the night he won the bar to his DFC, on 25 November 1944, his pilot was A. A. Harrington of the United States Army Air Force. They destroyed three Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
s, their own Mosquito having been hit by debris from the second Ju 88, and during the fight that led to the downing of the third, Tongue was also having to keep track of a further Ju 88 which was endeavouring to attack their aircraft.
F/O Donald Murdo Mackenzie was awarded the DFC on 27 February 1945, having destroyed a Ju 88 on 30 July 1944, and then two more in a single sortie on 24 December.
1946–1964
No. 410 Squadron was reactivated on 1 December 1946 as an Air Defence squadron flying de Havilland VampireDe Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...
F.3 aircraft, and was re-formed from a defence role into that of a fighter role at St Hubert (Montreal), Quebec on 1 December 1948. From May 1949 to August 1951, the Blue Devils
Blue Devils (aerobatic team)
The Blue Devils or the 410 Squadron Aerobatic Team was a Royal Canadian Air Force aerobatic team that flew the de Havilland Vampire jet aircraft from 1949 to 1951. The unit was the RCAF's first postwar aerobatic team, and belonged to the RCAF's first operational jet fighter squadron, No...
aerobatics team formed, to demonstrate the abilities of the new Vampire aircraft at formation flying. The squadron later converted to Canadair Sabres and was deployed to Europe, flying from RCAF Station North Luffenham
RAF North Luffenham
RAF North Luffenham was a Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, 1940 - 1998. It is near to the villages of Edith Weston and North Luffenham....
in the UK, and then at RCAF Station Marville
RCAF Station Marville
RCAF Station Marville was a Royal Canadian Air Force station located near Marville in the Meuse department, Lorraine, northeastern France. It was one of four RCAF wings consisting of three fighter squadrons each, established in Europe in the early 1950s to support the goals of NATO in Europe...
(No. 1 (Fighter) Wing) in France. The squadron had been the first regular force fighter unit to fly the Vampire aircraft and was the first to fly the Sabre and the first to join No. 1 (Fighter) Wing of No. 1 Air Division
RCAF Metz, France
No. 1 Air Division, Royal Canadian Air Force was an organization of Canadian operational fighter aircraft squadrons in Europe in the 1950s and early 1960s during the Cold War. Headquarters were located at Metz, France....
Europe.
When No. 445 All Weather (Fighter) [AW(F)] Squadron arrived from Canada, however, No. 410 Squadron was deactivated at Marville on 1 October 1956 and reactivated as an all-weather fighter squadron at Uplands
RCAF Station Uplands
Canadian Forces Base Uplands was a Canadian Forces Base located in Ottawa, Ontario.-History:The Royal Canadian Air Force established RCAF Station Uplands as a wartime training station of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in 1942. The "No...
(Ottawa), Ontario on 1 November of that year, flying Avro Canada CF-100s. When CF-100s were removed from service in 1961, the CF-101 Voodoo
CF-101 Voodoo
The CF-101 Voodoo was an all-weather interceptor aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Forces between 1961 and 1984. They were manufactured by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri for the United States Air Force , and later sold to Canada...
interceptor was introduced for North American air defence
North American Aerospace Defense Command
North American Aerospace Defense Command is a joint organization of Canada and the United States that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and defense for the two countries. Headquarters NORAD is located at Peterson AFB, Colorado Springs, Colorado...
. No. 410 Squadron converted to these aircraft and the squadron continued to fly Voodoos until defence cuts led to the squadron being deactivated on 31 March 1964.
1968 to the present-day
In 1968, No. 3 OTU (Operating Training Unit) at CFB BagotvilleCFB Bagotville
Canadian Forces Base Bagotville , commonly referred to as CFB Bagotville, is a Canadian Forces Base located west of Bagotville in the city of Saguenay, Quebec. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the CF-18 Hornet...
, tasked with training pilots and navigators for the three operational RCAF Voodoo squadrons, was later renamed No. 410 Squadron. No. 410 Squadron moved to Cold Lake, Alberta
Cold Lake, Alberta
Cold Lake is a city in northeastern Alberta, Canada, named after the lake it is situated near.-Geography:The city is situated in Alberta's "Lakeland" district, 300 km northeast of Edmonton, near the Alberta-Saskatchewan provincial border. The area surrounding the city is sparsely populated,...
in 1982, changing aircraft to become the training unit for Canada's new CF-18 Hornet
CF-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet is a Royal Canadian Air Force fighter aircraft, based on the American McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter. In 1980, the F/A-18 was selected as the winner of the New Fighter Aircraft competition, and a production order was awarded...
aircraft.
Second World War
No. 410 Squadron began flying the North American HarvardT-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s...
training aircraft and then flew the Boulton Paul Defiant
Boulton Paul Defiant
The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force early in the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any forward-firing guns. It was a contemporary of the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc...
from July 1941 to May 1942. The Boulton Paul Defiant was a "turret fighter" that was used as a night fighter. A problem with this aircraft was that it had no forward armament, and so it was exchanged for the Bristol
Bristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
Beaufighter
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
II, long-range heavy fighter. The Beaufighter was used from April 1942 until January 1943. The Mk II used the Rolls Royce Merlin engine which provided greater power than the original Beaufighter had had. No. 410 Squadron transitioned to the de Havilland Mosquito Mk II in November 1942, and the Squadron then used the Mosquito exclusively until the end of the war. It used the variants VI (July 1943 – September 1943), XIII (December 1943 – August 1944), and XXX (August 1944 – June 1945). All of these fighters had the same basic design—that of a low- to medium-altitude daytime tactical bomber, high altitude night bomber, pathfinder
Pathfinder (RAF)
The Pathfinders were elite squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II. They located and marked targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing...
, day
Day fighter
A day fighter is a fighter aircraft equipped only to fight during the day. More specifically, it refers to a multi-purpose aircraft that does not include equipment for fighting at night , although it is sometimes used to refer to some interceptors as well.Examples of planes that were classified as...
or night fighter
Night fighter
A night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility...
, fighter-bomber
Fighter-bomber
A fighter-bomber is a fixed-wing aircraft with an intended primary role of light tactical bombing and also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. This term, although still used, has less significance since the introduction of rockets and guided missiles into aerial...
, intruder, maritime strike and photo reconnaissance aircraft.
1946–1964
The squadron became a fighter unit in 1948, flying the de HavillandDe Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
Vampire
De Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...
, having already flown the aircraft for two years in an Air Defence role.
No. 410 Squadron then re-equipped with the Canadair Sabre in 1951 and then with the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck in 1956.
On 20 December 1961, No. 410 Squadron became Canada's first operational CF-101 Voodoo
CF-101 Voodoo
The CF-101 Voodoo was an all-weather interceptor aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Forces between 1961 and 1984. They were manufactured by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri for the United States Air Force , and later sold to Canada...
squadron. The Voodoo was an all-weather interceptor aircraft; its primary armament was the nuclear-tipped AIR-2A Genie
AIR-2 Genie
The Douglas AIR-2 Genie was an unguided air-to-air rocket with a 1.5kt W25 nuclear warhead. It was deployed by the United States Air Force and Canada during the Cold War...
unguided air-to-air rockets, and was used as Canada's primary means of air defence.
1968 to the present-day
As a training unit, No. 410 Squadron used the CanadairCanadair
Canadair Ltd. was a civil and military aircraft manufacturer in Canada. It was a subsidiary of other aircraft manufacturers, then a nationalized corporation until privatized in 1986, and became the core of Bombardier Aerospace....
CT-133 Silver Star
Canadair T-33
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* "Canada's Fab Four". Air Forces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, UK: Key Publishing Limited, August, 2003. ISSN 0955-7091....
.
No. 410 Squadron RCAF is currently equipped (2011) with the CF-18 Hornet
CF-18 Hornet
The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet is a Royal Canadian Air Force fighter aircraft, based on the American McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter. In 1980, the F/A-18 was selected as the winner of the New Fighter Aircraft competition, and a production order was awarded...
. The first two CF-18s were formally handed over to 410 (Operational Training Unit) Squadron at CFB Cold Lake
CFB Cold Lake
Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake , commonly referred to as CFB Cold Lake, is a Canadian Forces Base located within the City of Cold Lake, Alberta. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the CF-18 Hornet fighter/interceptor...
, Alberta on 25 October 1982.
Operational training
No. 410 Squadron is now (2010) a Royal Canadian Air ForceRoyal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
aircraft squadron located at Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's primary CF-18 training base at Cold Lake
CFB Cold Lake
Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake , commonly referred to as CFB Cold Lake, is a Canadian Forces Base located within the City of Cold Lake, Alberta. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the CF-18 Hornet fighter/interceptor...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. In 1982, the squadron was renamed 410 Tactical Fighter (Operational Training) Squadron. It runs one fighter pilot course every year, training approximately 20 pilots. The training program consists of nine months of ground school, simulator flights, and operational flying. Students are taken from among the graduates of a Fighter Lead-In Training Course and are provided with the knowledge of basic skills in both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat. Areas covered in depth include aircraft handling, instrument flight, formation flying, night flying, navigation, air-to-air refuelling, and weapons delivery and tactics.
There is also an annual Fighter Weapons Instructor Course (FWIC) run by No. 410 Squadron, and a Fighter Electronic Warfare and Advanced Radar (FEWAR) Course. The intense and highly challenging FWIC lasts for three months. Each operational CF-18 squadron and tactical radar squadron sends candidates (eight students per course) who graduate with the leadership qualities and expertise required to return to their squadrons and design tactical training programs themselves. The Advanced Radar Course is conducted in two phases: ground school at 4 Wing, Cold Lake
Cold Lake, Alberta
Cold Lake is a city in northeastern Alberta, Canada, named after the lake it is situated near.-Geography:The city is situated in Alberta's "Lakeland" district, 300 km northeast of Edmonton, near the Alberta-Saskatchewan provincial border. The area surrounding the city is sparsely populated,...
, and a flying phase at an electronic warfare range. This three-week course is designed to allow ten pilots annually to graduate and return to their squadrons as electronic warfare experts and instructors. Since No. 410 Squadron has always had some of the most experienced CF-18 pilots in the fighter community, it is often charged with carrying out special fighter projects. The squadron conducted the operational testing and evaluation of the CF's precision guided munitions, and in 2010 was anticipating testing the use of night vision devices in the Hornet.
Re-certification and curriculum
For the first seven years following 1988, when the CF-18 was being delivered, the squadron ran six-month full-squadron courses from which the graduating pilots formed new CF-18 squadrons. Following this initial cadre of courses, No. 410 Squadron trained CF-18 pilots at a rate of approximately 50 per year. In 1992, with the closure of three squadrons in Germany, this was reduced to 25. With the recent reduction in size of the remaining operational squadrons, No. 410 Squadron now trains approximately 20 fighter pilots annually.At the same time as the current work mandate, No. 410 Squadron is also responsible for training and re-certifying about five former CF-18 Hornet pilots annually. These pilots are returning to the CF-18 after a ground or exchange tour. No. 410 Squadron also trains newly-arrived foreign exchange officers who will be joining one of Canada's two operational fighter squadrons. As backgrounds can differ significantly, each course is tailored to the individual, based on their experience and demonstrated competencies. Areas covered in depth in the Fighter Pilot Course (FPC) include basic and advanced aircraft handling, instrument flight, formation flying, night flying, all-weather interception, air-to-air refuelling, Basic Fighter Manoeuvres (BFM – "dogfighting skills") and air combat. The latter half of each FPC comprises academic air-to-ground weapons delivery and Close Air Support (CAS), as well as advanced Air Interdiction (AI) tactics, the former usually completed during a squadron deployment to the south-western United States in the late spring and early fall, due to the significantly better weather and the sheer number of bombing ranges available.
Fighter Operational Test and Evaluation Flight
A sub-unit of No. 410 Squadron is the Fighter Operational Test and Evaluation Flight (FOTEF), which is responsible for operational testing and evaluation. In 2010, its efforts were seen as integral to the operational effectiveness of all aspects of core and CF-18 capabilities. Some of the new systems being evaluated were Night Vision Imaging Systems (NVIS), Multi-function Information Distribution Systems (MIDS), the Advanced Multi-role Infra-Red Sensor, and the evaluation of new mission planning software and the Advanced Distributed Combat Training System. Working closely with a variety of key units across the Air Force, including the "Aerospace Engineering & Test Establishment" (AETE), FOTEF enabled the integration of newly modernized CF-18 ECP-583 R2 aircraft into the Fighter Force.Jetstream and air displays
The Canadian documentary television series JetstreamJetstream (TV series)
Jetstream is a 2008 documentary television series produced by Paperny Films for the network Discovery Channel Canada. The series totals 8 episodes and premiered on January 8, 2008. The series was narrated by Canadian Actor Kavan Smith....
was filmed in 2007, showing life on the base at Cold Lake and what a trainee must endure to become a fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
. The television documentary followed No. 410 Squadron's training course for the full nine months, and in that time some candidates did not graduate. The television show was given full access to the trainees' lives from ground school to graduation and was allowed access almost everywhere. The series followed six members of the Canadian Air Force's "Class of 2006" who had been selected to learn with No. 410 Squadron. The television show called the air base "fighter town", but Cold Lake has two bases that use fighter/interceptor aircraft, the other being home to No. 409 Squadron
No. 409 Squadron RCAF
409 Tactical Fighter Squadron is a unit of the Canadian Forces under Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron operates the CF-18 Hornet from CFB Cold Lake in Alberta, Canada.-History:...
, nicknamed "nighthawk".
In 2009, No. 410 Squadron provided the CF-18 Demonstration Pilot and the air display CF-18 for the year's airshow season. Captain Tim "Donor" Woods, from Dundas, Ontario, was selected as the year's demonstration pilot and the paint scheme of his display aircraft was developed in honour of the "Centennial of Flight" in Canada.