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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 opposi ...

* Battle of the Atlantic * Strategic bombing of Europe , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , flying_hours = , website = , commander1 = , commander1_label = , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , commander3_label = , commander4 = , commander4_label = , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_2_label = , identification_symbol_3 = , identification_symbol_3_label = , identification_symbol_4 = , identification_symbol_4_label = , aircraft_attack = , aircraft_bomber =

Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its ...

Fairey Albacore The Fairey Albacore is a single-engine biplane torpedo bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Fairey Aviation. It was primarily operated by the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm (FAA) and was heavily used during the Second ...

Handley Page Halifax The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its orig ...

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Lockheed CP-140 Aurora The Lockheed CP-140 Aurora is a maritime patrol aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The aircraft is based on the Lockheed P-3 Orion airframe, but mounts the electronics suite of the Lockheed S-3 Viking. "Aurora" refers to the R ...

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Canadair CP-107 Argus The Canadair CP-107 Argus (company designation CL-28) is a maritime patrol aircraft designed and manufactured by Canadair for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). In its early years, the Argus was reputedly the finest anti-submarine patrol bomb ...

, aircraft_trainer = , aircraft_transport = 415 Long Range Patrol Force Development Squadron is an air squadron 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 ...

that first saw service during the

History

No. 415 Squadron was formed at Thorney Island on 20 August 1941 as a torpedo-bomber squadron, armed with Hampdens. It flew from a number of different bases, attacking enemy convoys and shipyards. In March 1943 Acting Wing Commander George Howard David Evans, RAF, was appointed as Commanding Officer. A week later while flying an air test his aircraft crashed. On 8 April he undertook a night 'roam' over St Malo and Cherbourg armed with bombs but did not find a target. The following day he led 12 Hampdens to Docking and on 10 April six to St Eval. Later in the day he led five Hampdens in a torpedo attack against the Italian blockade runner ''Himalaya'' which was being escorted by eight German warships in the Bay of Biscay. His aircraft was hit several times by

flak Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

and was forced to turn back to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

. The squadron received the following signal: "From AOC 19 Group A/479 11 Apr. Please convey to W/Cdr Evans and those concerned my hearty congratulations on the great determination shown by himself, F/O Brenner, P/O Batten and F/Sgts Clive and McGee, in pressing home their important attack on the enemy blockade runner on 10 Apr in the face of the heaviest opposition." On 20 April 1943 Wing Commander Evans was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his previous service with 489 (RNZAF) Squadron. He handed over command of 415 Squadron on 1 August 1943 and was made a member of the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

on 1 October 1943 for his leadership of the squadron. In October 1943 the squadron was re-equipped with Wellingtons and Albacores; operating out of Bircham Newton, it became a successful E- and

R-boat The R boats (''Räumboote'' in German, meaning ''minesweeper'') were a group of small naval vessels built as minesweepers for the ''Kriegsmarine'' (German navy) before and during the Second World War. They were used for several purposes during t ...

hunter unit. During the D-Day operations, it used its bombers to lay protective smoke screens for the Allied ships as they assaulted the coastline and landed troops ashore. In July 1944, the squadron was transferred to RAF Bomber Command's No. 6 Group (RCAF) and transitioned to East Moor. There, it re-equipped with Halifax IIIs and began major bombing of German targets on 28/29 July, when it attacked

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. For nine months afterward, it made bombing runs over important enemy targets in a variety of places until 25 April 1945, when it made its last mission, an attack on the gun batteries on the island of

Wangerooge Wangerooge is one of the 32 Frisian Islands in the North Sea located close to the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. It is also a municipality in the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony in Germany. Wangerooge is one of the East F ...

. The squadron disbanded in May, 1945. The squadron was re-formed at RCAF Station Summerside in 1961 as a Maritime Air Command patrol squadron and flew Argus aircraft. No 415 continued in this role after unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968. In 1981 the Argus was replaced with the

CP-140 Aurora The Lockheed CP-140 Aurora is a maritime patrol aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The aircraft is based on the Lockheed P-3 Orion airframe, but mounts the electronics suite of the Lockheed S-3 Viking. "Aurora" refers to the R ...

and the Sqn was transferred to

CFB Greenwood Canadian Forces Base Greenwood , or CFB Greenwood, is a Canadian Forces Base located east of Greenwood, Nova Scotia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the ...

. It used these aircraft to conduct operations in the Arabian Sea after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. In 2005 the squadron was stood down and consolidated with 405 Squadron. On 5 June 2015, 415 Squadron was reformed as a tactical level force development squadron. 415 Squadron will incorporate the former Maritime Proving and Evaluation Unit, 14 Software Engineering Squadron and the LRP Advanced Training Flight. The re-activiation parade took place in front of the

Greenwood Military Aviation Museum The Greenwood Military Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located in Greenwood, Nova Scotia. The museum houses 15 aircraft and is highlighted by its Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was de ...

, installing the squadron's 30th commanding officer.

References

* Canadian Department of National Defence - Honours & Recognition for the Men and Women of the Canadian Armed Forces 10th Edition - 2016. Accessed 14 March 2019.

External links

*
RAF History - Bomber Command 60th Anniversary

415 Squadron

{{RCAF Squadrons Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons Canadian Forces aircraft squadrons