420 Squadron

General Information:

Role(s):

Based:

• Waddington, Lincs. 19 Dec 41 – 6 Aug 42.
• Skipton-on-Swale, Yorks. 7 Aug 42 – 15 Oct 42.
• Middleton St. George, Durham. 16 Oct 42 – 15 May 43.
• En route to North Africa! 16 May 43 – 18 Jun 43.
• Kairouan/Zina, Tunisia 19 Jun 43 – 29 Sep 43.
• Hani East Landing Ground, Tunisia 29 Sep 43 – 16 Oct 43.
• En route to England (minus aircraft) 17 Oct 43 – 5 Nov 43.
• Dalton, Yorks. 6 Nov 43 – 11 Dec 43.
• Tholthorpe, Yorks. 12 Dec 43 – 11 Jun 45.
• En route to Canada 12 Jun 45 – 16 Jun 45.
• Debert, N.S. 16 Jun 45 – 5 Sep 45.
• Crumlin airport (RCAF Station London), Ont. 15 Sep 48 – 1 Sep 56.
• CFB Shearwater, Nova Scotia – May 1975 –
• CFB Summerside, Prince Edward Island

Years Active:

Aircraft Used:

• Handley Page Hampden Mk.I (Dec 41 – Aug 42)
• Vickers Wellington B.Mk.III (Aug 42 – Apr 43)
• Vickers Wellington B.Mk.X (England, Feb – May 43)
• Vickers Wellington B.Mk.X (North Africa, May – Oct 43)
• Handley Page Halifax B.Mk.III (Dec 43 – May 45)
• Avro Lancaster B.Mk.X (Apr – Sep 45, not on operations}
• North American Harvard Mk.II (Aug 49 – Aug $6)
• North American Mustang Mk.IV (Dec 50 – Aug 56)
• Canadair Silver Star Mk.3 (Oct 54 – Aug 56)
• Grumman CP-121 Tracker 1975 –

Commanding Officer:

Wing Commander J.D.D. Collier (RAF), DFC	19 Dec 41 – 29 May 42
Wing Commander D.A.R. Bradshaw	30 Mar 42 – 11 Apr 43
Wing Commander D. McIntosh (Can/RAF), DFC	12 Apr 43 – 7 Apr 44
Wing Commander A.G. McKenna, DFC	8 Apr 44 – 23 Oct 44
Wing Commander G.].J. Edwards, DFC	24 Oct 44 – 23 Nov 44
Wing Commander W.G. Phelan, DFC	24 Nov 44 – 27 Jan 45 OTE.
Wing Commander F.S. McCarthy	28 Jan 45 – 23 Apr 45
Wing Commander R.J. Gray, MBE	24 Apr 45 – 5 Sep 45.
Wing Commander A.D. Haylett, AFC	15 Sep 48 – 14 Dec 53.
Wing Commander G.M. Burns, DFC	15 Dec 53 – 1 Sep 56.

Battle Honors:

English Channel and North Sea	1942-1944
Baltic	1942
Fortress Europe	1942-1944
France and Germany	1944-1945
Biscay Ports	1942-1944
Ruhr	1942-1945
Berlin	1944
German Ports	1942-1945
Normandy	1944
Rhine
Biscay	1942-1943
Sicily	1943
Italy	1943
Salerno

Daily Diary / Historical Reports / ORB Links:

Key Dates / Notes:

• 7 December 1941 – Authorized as ‘420 (Bomber) Squadron’
• 5 September 1945 – Disbanded
• 15 September 1948 – Reformed as ‘420 (Fighter) Squadron’
• 4 September 1952 – Redesignated ‘420 “City of London” (Fighter) Squadron’
• 1 September 1956 – Disbanded
• 20 May 1975 – Reformed as ‘420 Air Reserve Squadron’
• 17 June 1992 – Redesignated ‘420 Composite Squadron’
• 1 April 1993 – Redesignated ‘420 Combat Support Squadron’
• 15 May 1995 – Reduced to nil strength

Ephemera:

External Links:

• Government of Canada
  • Official Webpage – Squadron is currently disbanded and has no official website
  • Official lineage webpage
• Wikipedia
• CASPIR – Canadian Aircraft Serials Personnel Information Resource

Sources:

• RCAF Squadrons and Aircraft, John Griffin and S. Kostenuk, 1977