No. 6 Group RCAF was a

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

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)

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range ( takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larg ...

squadrons in Europe during 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 opposi ...

, between 1942 and 1945. The group operated out of airfields in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

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 ...

History

No. 6 Group was a Royal Canadian Air Force formation, differing from the previous No. 6 Group RAF. In 1936, No. 1 (Air Defence) Group RAF, a group of auxiliary bomber squadrons formed in 1926, was renamed No. 6 (Auxiliary) Group. No. 6 (Auxiliary) Group was renamed No. 6 (Bomber) Group on 1 January 1939. No. 6 (Bomber) Group initially was an operational bomber group. The first bombing attack on the naval base at Wilhelmshaven was by Nos. 107 and 110 Squadrons from No. 6 (Bomber) Group RAF with

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

bombers on 4 September 1939. In the spring of 1940, that group became dedicated to controlling Bomber Command Operational Training Units providing three months training to new bomber crews and occasionally adding bombers to bomber streams. No. 6 (Bomber) Group RAF was renamed No. 91 (Bomber) Group RAF on 11 May 1942 and the 6 Group designation was transferred to the RCAF on 25 October 1942. No. 6 Group RCAF was made up of Article XV squadrons: RCAF units formed under the

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New ...

, for service with British operational formations; hence No. 6 Group was part of

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) Bomber Command. However, a significant number of personnel from the RAF,

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF),

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeal ...

(RNZAF) and other Allied air forces were attached to 6 Group during the war.

Formation

Significant operations involving 6 Group included raids on

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

bases in

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presen ...

and

Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocea ...

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 night bombing raids on industrial complexes and urban centres in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. The RCAF began participating in operations by RAF Bomber Command in 1941, but its squadrons were initially attached to RAF groups. In addition, many individual RCAF personnel belonged to RAF aircrews, in RAF squadrons. The Canadian government wanted RCAF bomber squadrons and personnel to be concentrated, as much as possible, in a distinct, identifiably Canadian group. To this end, 6 (RCAF) Group was formed on 25 October 1942 with eight squadrons. At the peak of its strength, 6 Group consisted of 14 squadrons. Fifteen squadrons would eventually serve with the group, which was almost every RCAF heavy bomber squadron. Headquarters for 6 Group was at Allerton Park near

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenar ...

and

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North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

Operations

No. 6 Group flew 40,822 operational

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining supp ...

s. A total of 814 aircraft and approximately 5,700 airmen did not return from operations and 4,203 airmen lost their lives.

Stations

Memorial to 6 Group RCAF Squadrons - geograph

No. 6 Group was mainly formed from 4 Group, which was based primarily in Yorkshire. Once split, most of 6 Group`s airfields were north of York and most of 4 Group`s were south and east of the city. Like most other groups within

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

, the "base" system was used for station organization. Four bases comprising 11 stations made up No. 6 Group. A base consisted of a main station, or headquarters, and a number of sub-stations. Late in 1943, Bomber Command bases were designated with a two-number identifier. The first number represented the group number, and the second number represented the base within that group. The first base within the group was the group's training base. No. 61 Base was therefore the training base for No. 6 Group. Each base was commanded by an air commodore, and each station was commanded by a

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

Commanders

No. 6 Group's commanders were:https://www.bombercommandmuseumarchives.ca/6group_airfields/airfield_no6group.pdf *25 October 1942 to 28 February 1944

Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

George Brookes with headquarters at Allerton Park, Yorkshire, England *29 February 1944 to 13 July 1945 Air Vice-Marshal

Clifford McEwen Air Vice Marshal Clifford Mackay McEwen CB, MC, DFC & Bar (2 July 1896 – 6 August 1967) was a fighter ace in the British Royal Flying Corps during World War I and a senior commander in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. His ...

with headquarters at Allerton Park, Yorkshire, England *14 July to 1 September 1945 Air Commodore John Kerr at Main Headquarters at Halifax, Nova Scotia *14 July 45 to 1 September 1945 Air Commodore J L Hurley at Rear Headquarters, Allerton Park

Operational squadrons

* No. 405 Squadron RCAF * No. 408 Squadron RCAF * No. 415 Squadron RCAF *

No. 419 Squadron RCAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

* No. 420 (Snowy Owl) Squadron RCAF * No. 424 Squadron RCAF *

No. 425 Squadron RCAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

* No. 426 Squadron RCAF * No. 427 Squadron RCAF * No. 428 (Ghost) Squadron RCAF *

No. 429 Squadron RCAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

* No. 431 Squadron RCAF * No. 432 (Leaside) Squadron RCAF *

No. 433 Squadron RCAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...

No. 434 Squadron RCAF 434 Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron is a Royal Canadian Air Force bomber squadron that flew bombing operations over Europe during World War II and was later a post-war fighter and combat support unit. It was disbanded in 2000. The squa ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * 139 * * * * * * * {{Refend

External links

6 Group Bomber Command

No. 6 Group History

RCAF Bomber Crews and Their Experiences
Units and formations of the Royal Canadian Air Force 006 Group Air force units and formations of Canada in World War II 1942 establishments in England