No. 412 Squadron RCAF - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

412 Transport Squadron

Information
Role	VIP transport and general duties
Aircraft Operated	CC-144 Challenger
Home Station	CFB Trenton CFB Trenton Canadian Forces Base Trenton , is a Canadian Forces base located northeast of Trenton, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is the hub for air transport operations in Canada and abroad...
Motto	Promptus Ad Vindictam ("Swift to avenge")
History
Date Founded	1941
Badge	A falcon volant
Notable Battle Honours	Defence of Britain 1941-44, English Channel and North Sea 1942-43, Fortress Europe 1941-44, Dieppe, France and Germany 1944-45, Normandy 1944, Arnhem, Rhine

No. 412 Transport Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force

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...

is one of 3 transport squadrons attached to CFB Trenton

CFB Trenton

Canadian Forces Base Trenton , is a Canadian Forces base located northeast of Trenton, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is the hub for air transport operations in Canada and abroad...

in Trenton, Ontario

Trenton, Ontario

Trenton is a community in Southern Ontario in the municipality of Quinte West, Ontario, Canada. Located on the Bay of Quinte, it is the main population centre in Quinte West....

. This squadron, however, is based out of Ottawa, Ontario. It had formerly been attached to CFB Ottawa

CFB Ottawa

Canadian Forces Base Ottawa was a Canadian Forces Base located in Ottawa, Ontario.CFB Ottawa was formed in 1972 to consolidate several Department of National Defence properties in the national capital region for administrative purposes.The two largest components of CFB Ottawa were the former CFB...

, which closed in 1994. The squadron operates with a strength of about 29 out of the Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
John Gillespie Magee, Jr.
John Gillespie Magee, Jr. was an American aviator and poet who died as a result of a mid-air collision over Lincolnshire during World War II. He was serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force, which he joined before the United States officially entered the war. He is most famous for his poem "High...

Annex. The Annex officially opened on January 11th, 1995.

No. 412 Squadron began as a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force

Royal Canadian Air Force

(RCAF) during the Second World War.

History

No. 412 (Transport) Squadron was formed in 1949, but traces its history back to two separate squadrons: Number 12 Communications Flight at RCAF Station Ottawa and 412 (Fighter) Squadron, which was formed at RAF Digby

RAF Digby

RAF Digby is a Royal Air Force station which, since March 2005, has been operated by the Ministry of Defence's Joint Service Signals Organisation, part of the Intelligence Collection Group. Formerly a training and fighter airfield, it is currently a tri-service military signals installation located...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

on June 30, 1941.

After the Second World War, Number 12 Communications Flight was re-assigned as 412 Squadron on April 1, 1947, and renamed 412 (Composite) Squadron based at Rockcliffe

CFB Rockcliffe

Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe is a former Canadian Forces Base located in the eastern part of Ottawa, Ontario, now used for Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum....

. In 1955, the 412 moved to Uplands. In the late 1970s a sub-unit was established at CFB Lahr

CFB Lahr

Black Forest Airport is a privately owned and operated commercial airport located in Lahr, Germany. Formerly known as Canadian Forces Base Lahr, or CFB Lahr, the Canadian Forces Base was operated primarily as an air force base, and later as an army base, during the late 1960s. The military base...

in West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

. This operation closed in 1993.

In 1994, CFB Ottawa (Uplands) closed and 412's fleet was moved to a civilian hangar at Ottawa International Airport. All aircraft are maintained by Transport Canada

Transport Canada

Transport Canada is the department within the government of Canada which is responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio...

on behalf of the Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

.

Aircraft used by 412 include:

Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
North American Harvard
Beechcraft Expeditor (C-45)
Douglas Dakota (C-47)
1 CL-5 North Star
Canadair North Star
The Canadair North Star was a 1940s Canadian development of the Douglas C-54 / DC-4 aircraft. Instead of radial piston engines found on the Douglas design, Canadair employed Rolls-Royce Merlin engines in order to achieve a 35 mph faster cruising speed. The prototype flew on 15 July 1946 and...

1949-1966
2 de Havilland Comet
De Havilland Comet
The de Havilland DH 106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner to reach production. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland at the Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom headquarters, it first flew in 1949 and was a landmark in aeronautical design...

1A 1953-1963
2 CL-44 Yukon
Canadair CL-44
The Canadair CL-44 was a Canadian turboprop airliner and cargo aircraft based on the Bristol Britannia that was developed and produced by Canadair in the late 1950s and early 1960s...

1961-1978 - VIP configuration
1 de Havilland Dash 7 - based at Lahr 1980-1987
2 de Havilland Dash 8 - based at Lahr 1987-93
1 CL-66 Cosmopolitan
Canadair CL-66
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Molson, Ken M. and Harold A. Taylor. Canadian Aircraft Since 1909. Stittsville, Ontario: Canada's Wings, Inc., 1982. ISBN 0-920002-11-0....

1960-1980
7 Dassault Falcon 20
Dassault Falcon 20
The Dassault Falcon 20 is a French business jet and was the first of a family of business jets built by Dassault Aviation.-Design and development:...

1968-1985

Current role

Today, 412 Squadron provides transport for high level government officials and foreign VIPs while they are in 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...

. The squadron uses 6 CC-144 Challenger business jets.

History

Current role

See also