440 Transport Squadron

No. 440 Squadron RCAF was a Second World War Royal Canadian Air Force squadron that operated as part of the RAF in Europe with the Hawker Typhoon.[6]

RCAF 440 Squadron Typhoon and armourers in the Netherlands, 1944

An RCAF 440 uniform shoulder patch used by the squadron circa 1957. The Crest Craft back-stamp was used only between 1957 and 1959.

Avro Canada Canuck of 440 Squadron in 1960

The squadron was authorised in Vancouver on 5 October 1932 as No. 11 (Army Co-Operation) Squadron, an auxiliary squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force. It received its first aircraft, four de Havilland DH.60M Gipsy Moths, settling down to a routine of flying training at the weekends, with an annual summer camp.[7] In 1935, it received a single Fleet Fawn trainer, equipped for blind-flying training, and in 1937, received two Avro Tutors.[8] The squadron was redesignated No. 111 (Coast Artillery Co-Operation) Squadron on 15 November 1937,[1][9] with the duty of spotting for coastal defense artillery, although any operational training was still geared to the army-cooperation role.[10] In March 1938, a single Avro 626 replaced one of the squadron's Gipsy Moths, allowing the squadron to carry out more realistic training, and in August that year, it received a single de Havilland Tiger Moth, with the Squadron's two remaining Gipsy Moths withdrawn in June 1939.[11]

At the outbreak of the Second World War the squadron formed a detachment at Patricia Bay on Vancouver Island, now Victoria International, before being redesignated No. 111 (Fighter) Squadron on 1 July 1940. At this time the squadron flew the Westland Lysander as no modern fighter aircraft were available. It was disbanded on 1 February 1941 and then reformed on 3 November 1941 flying the Curtis Kittyhawk.[1][9] The squadron and took part in air defence operations in Western Canada and the Aleutian Islands Campaign under RCAF Western Air Command.[9] The squadron had the distinction of shooting down the only Japanese fighter by the RCAF home air force during the war. From the new American base in Umnak, Alaska, flying the Curtis P-40K from American stock, 111 Squadron took part in several raids against the Japanese base at Kiska. On 26 September 1942 the Commanding Officer, Squadron Leader K A Boomer, shot down an intercepting Nakajima A6M2-N Rufe fighter while leading four Canadian-manned P-40s involved in flak suppression.

After the squadron moved to RAF Ayr where it was redesignated No. 440 (Fighter Bomber) Squadron on 8 February 1944 as an Article XV squadron under the control of the British Royal Air Force.[12] It was the third Canadian Typhoon equipped squadron of 143 Wing. The squadron was equipped with the Hawker Hurricane for working up but changed to the Hawker Typhoon once they were delivered.

After a period of training the squadron began operations on 30 March 1944 with the Typhoons from RAF Hurn in the fighter bomber role. Originally the Typhoons were fitted with 500-pound (230 kg) bombs but later were able to carry a 1,000-pound (450 kg) bomb under each wing.[12] The squadron supported and followed the allied armies through France, Netherlands and then into Germany. Although the Canadian Typhoons operated mostly as dive bombers they also flew top cover to protect their aircraft from interception. While bombing in the St. Vith area on 27 December 1944, 440 Squadron engaged three Bf-109s, shooting down one of them, for the squadron's second aerial kill in the war. The squadron was disbanded at Flensburg on 26 August 1945.[6][12]

In 1953 the squadron was reformed at RCAF Station Bagotville and equipped with the Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck. From 1957 until 1962, when they were once again disbanded, the squadron, part of 3 Wing, was stationed at Zweibrücken Air Base, West Germany, as part of Canada's commitment to NATO.

The squadron was reactivated a final time on 8 July 1968 at CFB Winnipeg as No. 440 Communications and Rescue Squadron with Douglas Dakotas and Vertol H-21 helicopters and redesignated as 440 Transport and Rescue Squadron in October. They later moved to CFB Namao just outside Edmonton where they operated de Havilland Canada CC-115 Buffalo and CC-138 Twin Otters. At the time, two of the Twin Otters were stationed in Yellowknife, and in 1994 after CFB Namao closed the squadron moved north to be redesignated No. 440 Transport Squadron in 1995.[1][13]

No. 440 Squadron does not share a lineage with No. 11 (Bomber Reconnaissance) Squadron.