426 Squadron
General Information:
Based:
- RAF Station Dishforth, Yorkshire. 15 October 1942 – 17 June 1943
- RAF Station Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire, England – 18 June 1943 – 24 May 1945.
- RCAF Station Dartmouth – – 1 August 1946 – March 1947
- RCAF Station Lachine – March 1947 –
- McChord Air Force Base, Tacoma, Washington, USA – July 1950 – July 1951
- RCAF Station Lachine – July 1951 – August 1959
- RCAF Station Trenton – September 1959 – December 1961
- RCAF Station St Hubert – January 1962 – September 1962
- CFB Trenton – July 1971 – Present
Years Active:1949 – 1962
Aircraft Used:
- Vickers Wellington Mk.III – October 1942 – April 1943
- Vickers Wellington, Bomber Mk.X – March 1943 – June 1943
- Avro Lancaster, Bomber Mk.II – July 1943 – May 1944
- Handley Page Halifax, Bomber Mk.III – April 1944 – June 1944, December 1944 – March 1945
- Handley Page Halifax, Bomber Mk.VII – June 1944 – May 1945
- Consolidated Liberator, Cargo Mk.VI – July 1945 – December 1945
- Consolidated Liberator, Cargo Mk.VIII – July 1945 – December 1945
- Dakota
- Lodestar
- North Star
Commanding Officer / Officer Commanding:
| Wing Commander Sedley Selby Blanchard Killed in action. | 15 October 1942 – 14 February 1943 |
| Wing Commander Leslie Crooks, DSO, DFC Killed in action (RAF) | 15 February 1943 – 17 August 1943 |
| Wing Commander W.H. Swetman, DSO, DFC | 18 August 1943 – 4 April 1944 |
| Wing Commander E.C. Hamber, DFC | 8 April 1944 – 10 July 1944 |
| Wing Commander C.W. Burgess | 11 July 1944 – 2 January 1945 |
| Wing Commander Fitzroy Cavendish Carling-Kelly Prisoner of War | 3 January 1945 – 28 January 45 |
| Wing Commander C.M. Black, DFC | 29 January 1945 – 24 May 45 |
| Wing Commander D.R. Miller, AFC | 25 May 1945 – 11 December 1945. |
| Wing Commander J.F. Green, DFC | 12 December 1945 – 1 January 1946. |
| Wing Commander C.A. Willis, DFC | August 1946 – February 1947 |
| Wing Commander C.G.W. Chapman, DSO | March 1947 – February 1949 |
| Wing Commander C.H. Mussells, OBE, DSO, DFC | February 1949 – March 1951 |
| Wing Commander J.K.F. MacDonald, DFC, CD | June 1951 – August 1952 |
| Wing Commander H.W. Lupton, AFC | September 1952 – July 1955 |
| Wing Commander A.J. Mackie, DFC, CD | July 1955 – November 1959 |
| Wing Commander J.O. Maitland, CD | November 1959 – October 1961 |
| Wing Commander A.J. Mackie, DFC, CD | October 1961 – September 1962 |
| Lieutenant Colonel D. Kuhn | July 1971 – |
Battle Honors:
| ENGLISH CHANNEL AND NORTH SEA | 1943 |
| BALTIC | 1943 |
| BISCAY | 1943 |
| FORTRESS EUROPE | 1943-1944 |
| FRANCE AND GERMANY | 1944-1945 |
| Biscay Ports | 1943-1944 |
| Ruhr | 1943-1945 |
| Berlin | 1943-1944 |
| German Ports, | 1943-1945 |
| Normandy | 1944 |
| Rhine |
Daily Diary / Historical Reports / ORB Links:
Key Dates / Notes:
1 August 1946 – Reform Squadron at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
1 March 1947 – Squadron Relocated to Dorval, Quebec
May 1949 – Reissue all Organization Orders
July 1950 – Unit operating out of McChord Air Force Base Tacoma, Washington, USA. The unit was located here to support operations on the Pacific Airlift.
1 July 1951 – Relocate Squadron Back to Dorval, Quebec
- Organization Order 71/51
- Amendment 1 – 10 July 1951
- Amendment 2 – 22 August 1951
- Amendment 3 – 2 February 1952
December 1954 – Rewrite of all organization orders
After 1 January 1961 – Squadron relocated to RCAF Station St Hubert, Quebec from RCAF Station Trenton, Ontario.
31 August 1962 – Squadron disbanded at RCAF Station St Hubert, Quebec. A rear party was to be maintained to continue supporting the Pisa component until their closeout on 9 September 1962.

I was in Athens in around 1958 involved with the salvage of a North Star. I was with the 2 Wing Salvage crew. I can’t recall if it was an aircraft from 426 Squadron. It took us a month to strip the aircraft before we hauled the airframe to the scrap pile.