415 Long Range Patrol Force Development Squadron
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/96/No._415_Squadron_RCAF_badge.jpg) Argent a swordfish proper variant
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Active
| 1941-1945, 1961-2005, 2015-
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Country
|
Canada
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Branch
| Royal Canadian Air Force
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Role
| Maritime patrol
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Part of
| 14 Wing Greenwood
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Based at
| CFB Greenwood
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Nickname(s)
| Swordfish
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Motto(s)
| Latin
:
Ad metam
,
lit.
'To the mark'
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Engagements
| Second World War
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Battle honours
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- Atlantic, 1942
- English Channel and North Sea, 1942?44
- France and Germany, 1944?45
- Biscay Ports, 1944
- Ruhr, 1944?45
- German Ports, 1944?45
- Normandy 1944
- Rhine
- Biscay, 1942?43
[1]
- Arabian Sea
[2]
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Website
| rcaf-arc
.forces
.gc
.ca
/en
/squadron
/415-squadron
.page
![Edit this at Wikidata](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png) |
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Bomber
| Handley Page Hampden
,
Vickers Wellington
,
Fairey Albacore
,
Handley Page Halifax
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Patrol
| Lockheed CP-140 Aurora
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Reconnaissance
| Canadair CP-107 Argus
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Military unit
415 Long Range Patrol Force Development Squadron
is an air squadron of the
Royal Canadian Air Force
that first saw service during the
Second World War
.
History
[
edit
]
No. 415 Squadron was formed at
Thorney Island
on 20 August 1941 as a torpedo-bomber squadron, armed with
Hampdens
. It flew from a number of different bases, attacking enemy convoys and shipyards.
In March 1943 Acting Wing Commander George Howard David Evans, RAF, was appointed as Commanding Officer.
[3]
A week later while flying an air test his aircraft crashed. On 8 April he undertook a night 'roam' over St Malo and Cherbourg armed with bombs but did not find a target. The following day he led 12 Hampdens to Docking and on 10 April six to St Eval. Later in the day he led five Hampdens in a torpedo attack against the Italian blockade runner
Himalaya
which was being escorted by eight German warships in the Bay of Biscay. His aircraft was hit several times by
flak
and was forced to turn back to
Bordeaux
. The squadron received the following signal: "From AOC 19 Group A/479 11 Apr. Please convey to W/Cdr Evans and those concerned my hearty congratulations on the great determination shown by himself, F/O Brenner, P/O Batten and F/Sgts Clive and McGee, in pressing home their important attack on the enemy blockade runner on 10 Apr in the face of the heaviest opposition." On 20 April 1943 Wing Commander Evans was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Cross
(DFC) for his previous service with 489 (RNZAF) Squadron. He handed over command of 415 Squadron on 1 August 1943 and was made a member of the
Distinguished Service Order
on 1 October 1943 for his leadership of the squadron.
In October 1943 the squadron was re-equipped with
Wellingtons
and
Albacores
; operating out of
Bircham Newton
, it became a successful
E-
and
R-boat
hunter unit. During the
D-Day
operations, it used its bombers to lay protective smoke screens for the Allied ships as they assaulted the coastline and landed troops ashore.
In July 1944, the squadron was transferred to
RAF Bomber Command
's
No. 6 Group (RCAF)
and transitioned to
East Moor
. There, it re-equipped with
Halifax IIIs
and began major bombing of German targets on 28/29 July, when it attacked
Hamburg
. For nine months afterward, it made bombing runs over important enemy targets in a variety of places until 25 April 1945, when it made its last mission, an attack on the gun batteries on the island of
Wangerooge
. The squadron disbanded in May, 1945.
The squadron was re-formed at
RCAF Station Summerside
in 1961 as a Maritime Air Command patrol squadron and flew
Argus
aircraft. No 415 continued in this role after unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968. In 1981 the Argus was replaced with the
CP-140 Aurora
and the Sqn was transferred to
CFB Greenwood
. It used these aircraft to conduct operations in the Arabian Sea after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. In 2005 the squadron was stood down and consolidated with
405 Squadron
.
On 5 June 2015, 415 Squadron was reformed as a tactical level force development squadron. 415 Squadron will incorporate the former Maritime Proving and Evaluation Unit, 14 Software Engineering Squadron and the LRP Advanced Training Flight. The re-activiation parade took place in front of the
Greenwood Military Aviation Museum
, installing the squadron's 30th commanding officer.
[4]
References
[
edit
]
- Canadian Department of National Defence - Honours & Recognition for the Men and Women of the Canadian Armed Forces 10th Edition - 2016. Accessed 14 March 2019.
External links
[
edit
]
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Squadron
numbers
| Pre-WWII Squadrons
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100-series squadrons
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WW2 400-series
Article XV
squadrons
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WW2 600-series
AOP
squadrons
1
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Post-war squadrons
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Squadron
codes
| WW2 Canada
| 1 August 1939 - May 1942
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Unit formation in 1940 - May 1942
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Dartmouth
Hurricanes
1942
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May 1942 - 16 October 1942
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WW2 Overseas
1940-1946
| Operational squadrons
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Transport squadrons
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Post-WW2
1947 - 1958
| 1947 - 1951 (VC
XXA)
3
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1951 - 1958 (XX
nnn)
4
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2
Non-standard code as unit using OW added L. Letters normally denoted parent Command, aircraft type (L
Liberator transport
, D
Dakota
etc), unit, and individual aircraft.
3
VC
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Roundel_of_Canada_%281946%E2%80%931965%29.svg/10px-Roundel_of_Canada_%281946%E2%80%931965%29.svg.png) XXA where VC was the civil code used by the RCAF replacing CF-, XX was the unit code and A was the aircraft ID letter
4
XX
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Roundel_of_Canada_%281946%E2%80%931965%29.svg/10px-Roundel_of_Canada_%281946%E2%80%931965%29.svg.png) nnn where XX was the unit code and nnn was the last 3 digits of the serial number. Unit code was replaced with "RCAF" in 1958
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