441 Tactical Fighter Squadron was a unit of the

Canadian 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. ...

. It was originally formed as 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 ...

(RCAF) during the Second World War. The squadron operated the

McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet (official military designation CF-188) is a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) variant of the American McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft. In 1980, the F/A-18 was selected as the winner of the New ...

fighter jet Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...

from

CFB Cold Lake Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake , abbreviated as CFB Cold Lake, is a Canadian Forces Base in the City of Cold Lake, Alberta. The facility is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is approximately south of the ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. It was deactivated in 2006.

History

No. 125 (Fighter) Squadron was formed on 20 April 1942 at

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

and flew

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

as part of

RCAF Eastern Air Command Eastern Air Command was the part of the Royal Canadian Air Force's Home War Establishment responsible for air operations on the Atlantic coast of Canada during the Second World War. It played a critical role in anti-submarine operations in Canadia ...

. It was renumbered No. 441 Fighter Squadron when it transferred overseas to RAF Station Digby, Lincolnshire,

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 ...

, on 8 February 1944. It was posted to airfields in England,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and Belgium throughout the Second World War, flying the

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 ...

. When the squadron returned to England it was disbanded on 7 August 1945. No 441 Squadron reformed at

RCAF Station St. Hubert Canadian Forces Base St. Hubert was a Canadian Forces Base in the city of 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 the mid-1930s. It beca ...

on 1 March 1951 and went to No 1 Wing, then located at

RAF North Luffenham RAF North Luffenham was a Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, 1940 - 1998. It is near to the villages of Edith Weston and North Luffenham. History Second World War The station was built as a training airfield, opening in 1940. It w ...

, in Rutland, England on 13 February 1952. The squadron was temporarily situated at 3 Wing Zweibrücken on 21 December 1954, before moving to their intended destination,

RCAF Station Marville RCAF Station Marville (also known as 1(F) Wing or 1 Wing) was a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) station located near Marville, Meuse, Marville in the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments of France, department, Lorraine (region), Lorraine, northeast ...

, France. They were deactivated (disbanded) on 1 September 1963 at Marville and then reactivated (reformed) as No 441 Strike/Attack squadron on 15 September 1963, then moved with 1 Wing to

Canadian Forces Base Lahr Canadian Forces Base Lahr (IATA:LHA, ICAO: EDTL, former code EDAN) was a military operated commercial airport located in Lahr, Germany. It was operated primarily as a French air force base, and later as a Canadian army base, beginning in the late ...

in April 1967. In 1971 the squadron moved to

CFB Baden-Soellingen CFB may refer to: * College football * Canadian Forces base, military installation of the Canadian forces * Caminho de Ferro de Benguela, railway in Angola * Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District * Cipher feedback, a block cipher mod ...

and changed its name to 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron. They disbanded again in 1986 and then finally reformed at 4 Wing Cold Lake on 26 June 1986. On 6 July 2006, No 441 Squadron was once again stood down (disbanded), and its crew amalgamating with 416 Tactical Fighter Squadron at CFB Cold Lake and re-formed as

409 Tactical Fighter Squadron 409 Tactical Fighter Squadron (French: ) is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron operates the CF-18 Hornet from CFB Cold Lake in Alberta, Canada. History The cross-bow in front of the dark cloak represents a weapon used under co ...

. The squadron's colours and battle honours were placed in Sydney, Nova Scotia, where it first operated.

References

External links

History of 441 Squadron
at DND website
No. 441 Squadron
at Canadianwings.com {{RCAF Squadrons Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons Canadian Forces aircraft squadrons Military units and formations disestablished in 2006