414 Electronic Warfare Support Squadron is a unit of the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

. It is in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and conducts electronic warfare support training for other units in the

Canadian Armed Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

History

World War II

On 13 August 1941, No 414 Army Co-operation Squadron was formed at RAF Croydon,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, flying

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's ...

and

Curtiss Tomahawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...

aircraft. On 28 June 1943 the squadron's name was changed to 414 Fighter Reconnaissance Squadron to reflect its role, and later known as 414 “City of

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...

” Squadron ( Sarnia Imperials). Throughout the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the squadron was based at numerous airfields in

and in continentental Europe flying

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

and

North American Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James H ...

aircraft. During this period, the squadron provided photo reconnaissance, intelligence and ground attacks for both the

Dieppe Raid Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was an Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a regiment o ...

and the allied

Invasion of Europe Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

. It accounted for 29 enemy aircraft destroyed and 11 damaged, 76 locomotives and 12 naval vessels destroyed. After the war ended, the squadron disbanded at

Lüneburg Airfield Special landing field Lüneburg (ICAO airport code EDHG) is an airfield near Lüneburg in Lower Saxony state, Germany. It is approved for motor planes, motor glider, microlights and gliders up to a maximum weight of 2000 kg. Helicopters are a ...

(

Advanced Landing Ground Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) were temporary advance airfields constructed by the Allies during World War II during the liberation of Europe. They were built in the UK prior to the invasion and thereafter in northwest Europe from 6 June 19 ...

B156), Germany on 7 August 1945.

Postwar

On 1 April 1947, No 414 Photographic Squadron was reformed at RCAF Station Rockcliffe. The squadron used the Douglas Dakota to photograph of Canada's North. When this task was completed it was disbanded on 1 November 1950. Canadair Sabre 4 19460 414 Sqn SPK 27

On 1 November 1952 No 414 Fighter Squadron reformed at RCAF Station Bagotville. The following summer on 24 August 1953 as part of "Leap Frog IV" the squadron moved to 4 Wing Baden-Soellingen flying the Canadair Mark.4 Sabre. Four years later on 14 July 1957 the squadron disbanded to make room for the arrival of

419 Squadron 419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron (French: ) is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron was originally formed during the Second World War and is currently based at CFB Cold Lake. It is responsible for advanced tactical fighte ...

flying the Avro Canada CF-100. On 5 August 1957, the squadron reformed at

RCAF Station North Bay Canadian Forces Base North Bay, also CFB North Bay, is an Canadian Forces base, air force base located at the City of North Bay, Ontario, North Bay, Ontario about north of Toronto. The base is subordinate to 1 Canadian Air Division, Winnipeg, ...

where it operated as an all-weather fighter squadron flying the CF-100 Canuck and the

McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo The McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo was an all-weather interceptor aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Forces between 1961 and 1984. They were manufactured by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri for ...

until 30 June 1964 when it was disbanded once more. The squadron then reformed on 15 September 1967 at

RCAF Station St Hubert Canadian Forces Base St. Hubert was a Canadian Forces Base in the city of Saint-Hubert, Quebec, Saint-Hubert, Quebec. The base began as a civilian airfield in the 1920s and was later also used by RCAF auxiliary (reserve) squadrons, beginning in th ...

in its new role as an

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

squadron flying the CF-100. In August 1972 the squadron moved to CFB North Bay where it remained for the next twenty years flying the CF-100, Dassault CC-117 Falcon and McDonnell EF-101B "Electric Voodoo". In 1992 the squadron was split into two parts with one part going to CFB Comox as No 414 Composite Squadron and the other part going to CFB Greenwood as 434 Composite Squadron. In 1993 the squadron changed its name to No 414 Combat Support Squadron when it was equipped with the Canadair CT-133 Silver Star. The squadron was disbanded in 2002 when its duties were contracted out to a civilian company. On 7 December 2007 approval was received for the squadron to stand up once more, this time as 414 EWS (Electronic Warfare Support) Squadron. Belonging to the RCAF Aerospace Warfare Centre, the squadron is based in Ottawa and is composed of military Electronic Warfare Officers who fulfill the combat support role, flying on civilian contracted aircraft. The squadron was re-formed at Gatineau Airport, Quebec, on 20 January 2009 to operate the

Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer and light attack missions, a ...

provided by Top Aces Canada.

Badges

Image:RCAF 414 Sqn in felt, 1957-67.jpg, RCAF 414 Sqn in felt, 1957–67 Image:CF100Crest.JPG,

CF-100 The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck (affectionately known as the "Clunk") is a Canadian twinjet interceptor/ fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Avro Canada. It has the distinction of being the only Canadian-designed fighter to e ...

badge worn by 414 Squadron crews in the 1970s and 80s

References

* * {{Use dmy dates, date=August 2019 Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons Canadian Forces aircraft squadrons Military units and formations established in 1941 Canadian Article XV squadrons of World War II Military units and formations of Canada in World War II