410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron (French: ), nicknamed the "Cougars", is a

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 ...

aircraft squadron currently located at Canada's primary training base for the

CF-18 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 ...

(Canadian Forces version of the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet), at

Cold Lake, Alberta Cold Lake is a city in northeastern Alberta, Canada and is named after the lake nearby. Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake (CFB Cold Lake) is situated within the city's outer limits. History Cold Lake was first recorded on a 1790 map, by the nam ...

. The squadron was formed during the Second World War as an RCAF squadron under the

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) and ...

(RAF), at

RAF Ayr RAF Heathfield, sometimes known as RAF Ayr/Heathfield due to its proximity to Glasgow Prestwick Airport, which was also used by military flights, is a former Royal Air Force station. Like many other wartime airfields, its runways were of the t ...

, near

Prestwick Prestwick ( gd, Preastabhaig) is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, an ...

, in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The first official

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, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...

of No. 410 Squadron was from

RAF Drem 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) and ...

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

, Scotland, on the night of 4 June 1942, when twelve

Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...

crews took off, and it went on to become the top-scoring night fighter squadron in the

RAF Second Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, ...

during the period between

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

and

VE-Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

. No. 410 Squadron supported the Allied forces during the

Normandy Landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

and the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

, flew nightly patrols during this time and many of its pilots gained ace status. Two members of No. 410 Squadron, Flight Lieutenant (F/L) Currie and Flying Officer (F/O) Rose, were the first members of the RCAF to see the German

V-2 rocket The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed ...

in flight. The squadron was disbanded in 1964 but reformed again in 1968. As No. 410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron, the squadron usually trains between 20 and 22 pilots a year on the CF-18, more than any other RCAF squadron. The Canadian documentary television series ''Jetstream'' was filmed with the squadron in 2007 and showed what trainees must endure to become

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

Badge

Sergeant Clarence (Leslie) Elm, CD, was detailed in 1943 by Wing Commander G.H. Elms to design a 410 Squadron badge. The 410 (Cougar) Squadron badge was approved by His Majesty King George VI in 1945. No. 410 Squadron's badge depicts a cougar's face with a background decrescent (waning) moon. The

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...

, a North American mountain cat, was chosen because of the speed and power of its attacks. The waning moon refers to the squadron's night operations. These two major devices are in reference to the squadron's Second World War night fighter activities, when the unit was renowned for its skill and number of victories. The squadron's motto is which means "wandering by night".

History

No. 410 Squadron was formed at

, near

, Scotland in June 1941, as a Royal Canadian Air Force "

Article XV squadron Article XV squadrons were Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand air force squadrons formed from graduates of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (1939) during World War II. These units complemented another feature of the BCATP, under wh ...

", under

operational control.

Second World War

No. 410 Squadron was the third RCAF night fighter squadron to be formed and was equipped with the

Boulton Paul Defiant The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any fixed forward-firing guns ...

. In May 1942 these were replaced by the

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...

, and in October of the same year these were in turn replaced with

De Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...

Mk IIs, with which the first victory for the squadron was claimed. No. 410 Squadron was acknowledged as the top-scoring night fighter unit in

in the period between

and

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

, although

No. 409 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 ...

can now make a similar claim, on the basis that there were many victories quickly counted up during 1944 and 1945. Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-363-2258-11, Flugzeug Junkers Ju 88

Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-363-2258-11, Flugzeug Junkers Ju 88

Bases

From

, No. 410 Squadron was moved to

, but returned to RAF Ayr 10 months later. On 1 September 1942 the squadron was moved to

RAF Scorton Royal Air Force Scorton or more simply RAF Scorton is a former Royal Air Force Royal Air Force station, satellite station located next to the village of Scorton, North Yorkshire, Scorton in North Yorkshire, England. The base was opened in Octobe ...

in North Yorkshire, England, but just under two months after that it was relocated to

RAF Acklington Royal Air Force Acklington, simply known as RAF Acklington, is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station located south west of Amble, Northumberland and north east of Morpeth, Northumberland. The airfield was operational initia ...

in Northumberland. In 1943 the squadron was placed at

RAF Coleby Grange Royal Air Force Coleby Grange or more simply RAF Coleby Grange was a Royal Air Force satellite station situated alongside the western edge of the A15 on open heathland between the villages of Coleby and Nocton Heath and lying due south of the ...

in Lincolnshire, then moved for the sixth time to

RAF West Malling Royal Air Force West Malling or RAF West Malling is a former Royal Air Force station located south of West Malling, Kent and west of Maidstone, Kent, England. Originally used as a landing area during the First World War,RAF Hunsdon, just north of London. Later it was moved to

RAF Castle Camps RAF Castle Camps was listed as being in Cambridgeshire as it is close to its namesake Cambridgeshire village. It is very near the Suffolk border and the airfield straddled the Essex and Cambridgeshire county border. Construction of the statio ...

, and then back to RAF Hunsdon. On 18 June 1944, the squadron was placed at

RAF Zeals Royal Air Force Zeals or more simply RAF Zeals is a former Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire, sited to the north of the village of Zeals, next to the village of Stourton and the Stourhead estate. History The station was in operation fro ...

in Wiltshire, only to be moved again to

RAF Colerne Royal Air Force Colerne or more simply RAF Colerne is a former Royal Air Force station which was on the outskirts of the village of Colerne in Wiltshire, England, and was in use from 1939 to 1976. The site is now known as Azimghur Barracks and ...

in Wiltshire. On 9 September 1944, No. 410 Squadron RCAF was again moved to RAF Hunsdon. Thirteen days later, the squadron was relocated back to their sixth base, RAF Coleby Grange. On 3 November 1944 the Squadron moved to RAF Amiens-Glisy in northern France. Two months later, the squadron was relocated to RAF Lille-Vendeville in northern France, the first movement of the squadron in 1945. From 5 April 1945 the Cougars were back at RAF Amiens-Glisy, and the final move of the war occurred on 9 June 1945, when the squadron relocated to RAF

Gilze-Rijen Gilze en Rijen () is a municipality in the southern Netherlands. The municipality contains four villages: Rijen, Gilze, Hulten and Molenschot. It is home to the Gilze-Rijen Air Base. Rijen grew in the 19th century due to its leather factories. P ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Operations

The first official sortie occurred on the night of 4 June 1942, when twelve crews from No. 410 Squadron took off in Beaufighters, but the two scrambles that occurred were uneventful. The first German contact occurred on the night of 6/7 September 1942, when a Beaufighter II from

flown by P/O R.R. Ferguson and P/O D. Creed (navigator), intercepted a Luftwaffe

Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast f ...

. The Beaufighter was guided to the Ju 88 approximately northeast of

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

on the

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 ...

coast. The attack damaged the Ju 88, but did not destroy it. Since the aircraft was not destroyed, this did not count as the squadron's first outright victory. That came on 22 January 1943, when Flight Sergeant B.M. Haight and

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

T. Kipling (RAF, observer), flying a Mosquito II from

, were credited with a

Dornier Do 217 The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II as a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber ...

, which was destroyed near

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

. This was made possible because of "night readiness", the ability to fly at a moment's notice at night. By the end of the war, victories had been claimed. The squadron flew 2,972 sorties and accumulated 28,150 hours of flight time. The squadron's victories included destroyed, 2 probably destroyed, and 9 damaged. The squadron had the following operational casualties: 17 aircraft and 32 aircrew, of whom 10 were killed, 20 presumed dead, and two were made prisoners of war. Non-operational casualties were: 14 aircraft and 30 personnel, of whom 29 were killed, 1 injured.

= D-Day and the invasion of Europe

Between November 1943 and May 1944, the squadron was engaged in the night defence of Britain. On 5 June 1944, No. 410 Squadron's Commanding Officer (CO),

Wing Commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

G.A. Hiltz, flew a four-aircraft detachment to

Colerne Colerne is a village and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England. The village is about west of the town of Corsham and northeast of the city of Bath. It has an elevated and exposed position, above sea level, and overlooks the Box valley to ...

where they provided fighter cover for the initial airborne landings. Among the pilots who flew that operation was Flight Lieutenant Charles Emanuel "Pop" Edinger, who later became an ace. On the night prior to the

, all of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force's night fighter squadrons were working hard to ensure safety for the landing force. During June 1944, 18 of the squadron's 22 fighters were available, the other four were out for periodic maintenance. At 01:00, the first of four patrols took off, but the patrol was uneventful, with the pilots reporting clouds at 10,000 feet.Thomas, 26 A further five patrols were flown to help cover the 4,000 ships that were part of

Operation Neptune Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. On 7 June two of the aircraft were fired upon by friendly Lancaster bombers, who assumed they were hostile. However, No. 410 Squadron claimed its first kill when Flying Officers A. Mcleod and Bob Snowdon destroyed a

Junkers Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer. It was founded there in Dessau, Germ ...

Ju 188. On 12 June the squadron claimed multiple bomber kills. The Cougars shot down 14 raiders with five more probably destroyed or damaged. But the success was overshadowed by the allied invasion of Europe. From June to August 1944, the squadron was mostly occupied with nightly patrols over the beachheads to guard the Allied troops and shipping against German bombers. No. 410 Squadron's Mosquitoes brought down thirty-one German aircraft and damaged or destroyed three more, in less than 31 sorties. Then the squadron moved to France and in the next eight months added 25 "kills" and a "damaged" to its score.

= Immediately after D-Day

= For several days following D-Day, the squadron flew patrols and received credits for many kills. In one instance, Warrant Officer (W/O) W.F. Price and P/O J.G. Costello shot down two Do.217 aircraft in the space of twenty minutes. and the Cougars destroyed twelve German bombers in all. Following this success, however, it was five days before the squadron scored another kill. In the interval, the crews, still maintaining their schedule of nine sorties per night, had little to report. One night an engine in W/C Hiltz's Mosquito failed on the take-off run and the aircraft, swerving off the runway, crashed into "A" Flight dispersal. The crews escaped injury, but many buildings went up in flames. During an operation that resulted in the thirteenth kill of the period, one aircraft crashed and its crew was unable to bail out. For the next week the weather was poor, which restricted night operations. Most of the crews that did go out had to be diverted to other bases on their return. German activity had also diminished by then and the beachhead was much quieter than it had been in mid-June. On the first two nights in July there were no sorties at all. Then the weather improved and the nightly round of nine patrols was resumed. F/L Currie and F/O Rose saw a

in flight on the night of 10/11 September, the first Canadian pilots to do so. While on patrol from Brussels to Antwerp and Rotterdam they saw a bright orange light directly ahead and seemingly at their own altitude, . At first glance, Currie paid no attention to it, taking it for a bright star. Suddenly, Currie said: "It began to climb – hell it climbed!" The light appeared to go straight up so rapidly that within a few seconds it had passed out of sight. On return to base, the crew reported the sighting as a

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

, but their account of the spectacular rate of climb and other details aroused great interest amongst senior officers. That night, a few moments after Currie and Rose had made their sighting, a V-2 rocket crashed onto the English coast. Two nights later, F/Os Fullerton and Gallagher saw a similar ball of yellow flame streak vertically into the night sky, and in the weeks that followed there were many other reports.

= Battle of the Bulge and the end of the war

= In the middle of December, under bad weather conditions, the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

launched an offensive in the

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

. The

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

caught many squadrons off guard. No. 410 Squadron enjoyed a number of successes during this period, some of them even on Christmas Day. During the

, the entire

, including No. 410 Squadron, was on 48-hour alert. Although the war was entering its final stages, the squadron still had to watch for

anti-aircraft artillery 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, ...

. The fighter squadrons continued to make advances until February, while waiting for the Canadian push through the Reichwald. Although there was some aerial fighting, the major conflict with the Luftwaffe occurred when the Canadians started to cross the Rhine on 24 March 1945. On the evening of 18 December 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, Edinger made contact with a Ju 87, which he then fired upon. His navigator, C.L. Vaessen, confirmed the kill, stating that the aircraft had been hit in the starboard engine and had caught fire. The Ju 87 crashed into trees and was engulfed in flames.Thomas, 39 Flight Lieutenant Rayne Schultz had claimed his fifth kill of the war, a Ju 188, on 13/14 February 1944. After having returned from working at the Training Command, he claimed another Ju 188 on 10/11 April 1945. He claimed his final kills on 21/22 April 1945 by downing two Ju 88s near Ferrbellen. A few days after the Squadron had moved to Lille/Vendeville, it was called upon to provide a special patrol of four aircraft as air cover for the

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I a ...

ceremonies being held in Paris; no German intruders attempted to intervene. Later in the month, there was an accident at base that took the lives of two pilots who had recently joined the Cougars. F/Os H. Connelly and J. Hunt had gone up together to practice circuits and landings. As they made a circuit, preparatory to landing, the Mosquito stalled and crashed from . A few days before Christmas 1944, there was another accident, the heaviest suffered by the squadron in terms of lives lost. For several days the airfield had been fogbound and when the sky cleared somewhat in the afternoon of 21 December, S/L Fulton, "B" Flight commander, took off for England in the squadron's

Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery roles throughout the Seco ...

aircraft. With him were three officers and two airmen, all going on leave. Near Wrotham,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, the aircraft crashed and only one of its occupants survived. Killed with S/L Fulton were his navigator F/O A.R. Ayton (RAF), who had accompanied him on posting to the Cougars in October, F/L F.G. Thomson, DFC (RAF), who had arrived late in November to begin a second tour, and LACs E. Wahlers and R. Seefried. F/O W. Rumbold, another RAF navigator, was seriously injured; he had been with the Squadron for two months. The squadron was disbanded at the end of the war on 9 June 1945.

Wartime commanders

The first officer to command No. 410 Squadron was Squadron Leader P.Y. Davoud, who was in charge between 30 June 1941 and 4 September 1941. Wing Commander (W/C) M. Lipton took over command between 5 September 1941 and 30 July 1942 and the position was then given to W/C F.W. Hillock, between 19 August 1942 and 19 May 1943, and then to W/C G.H. Elms, who commanded No. 410 Squadron between 20 May 1943 and 18 February 1944. In the latter part of the war, W/C G.A. Hiltz was given command between 19 February 1944 and 1 April 1945. The last commander of the war was W/C E.P. Heybroek, who was in charge between 2 April 1945 until the squadron disbanded in June of that year.

Decorations

= Unit awards

= During the Second World War, No. 410 Squadron RCAF was awarded multiple battle honours. These honours are certified by the Canadian Air Force. Distinguished Flying Cross and bar

= Individual awards

= At least 12 members of the squadron were decorated during the war, with the award of 11 Distinguished Flying Crosses (DFC) and one

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to the DFC, as well as a

Distinguished Flying Medal The Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "exceptional va ...

(DFM). The first DFCs went to Acting

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

Martin Anthony Cybulski and Flying Officer Harold Herbert Ladbrook on 9 November 1943 The citation does not mention that they had to return to base on a single engine, and with other damage to the aircraft. This was quickly followed by Flying Officers Rayne Dennis Schultz and Vernon Albert Williams on 14 January 1944. Again, the citation does not mention the severe damage to their aircraft. At the close of an action with their third

Do 217 The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German '' Luftwaffe'' during World War II as a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomb ...

, which the combat report describes as: "a long duel with the enemy pilot showing a high degree of airmanship," they were hit by return fire, including a cannon shell that destroyed much of the instrument panel and which narrowly missed the pilot. The starboard engine almost died, then recovered, but then the port engine caught fire. They managed to return to RAF Bradwell with only the starboard engine working, landing at 19:45 on 10 December 1943. Sergeant James Norman was awarded the DFM on 26 September 1944.

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

James Dean Somerville and F/O George Douglas Robinson were awarded the DFC on 20 October 1944. F/L Charles Emanuel Edinger and F/O Charles Leo Vaessen were awarded the DFC on 5 December of the same year, for destroying two

Junkers Ju 188 The Junkers Ju 188 was a German ''Luftwaffe'' high-performance medium bomber built during World War II, the planned follow-up to the Ju 88 with better performance and payload. It was produced only in limited numbers, due both to the presence of i ...

s, one

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

and one unidentified German aircraft between June and October. They subsequently claimed one further Ju 88 and one

Junkers Ju 87 The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from ''Sturzkampfflugzeug'', "dive bomber") was a German dive bomber and ground-attack aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann, it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's Con ...

in December. Flight Lieutenants Ben Erwin Plumer and William Warren Hargrove received the DFC on 15 December 1944 for shooting down a

Messerschmitt Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...

on 6 October: F/O Dennis George Tongue was awarded the DFC on 29 December 1944, and a

to his DFC on 2 March 1945. F/O Tongue was a member of the RAF, had been commissioned from sergeant and promoted to flying officer. On the night he won the bar to his DFC, on 25 November 1944, his pilot was A. A. Harrington of the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

. They destroyed three

s, their own Mosquito having been hit by debris from the second Ju 88, and during the fight that led to the downing of the third, Tongue was also having to keep track of a further Ju 88 which was endeavouring to attack their aircraft. F/O Donald Murdo Mackenzie was awarded the DFC on 27 February 1945, having destroyed a Ju 88 on 30 July 1944, and then two more in a single sortie on 24 December.

1946–1964

No. 410 Squadron was reactivated on 1 December 1946 as an

Air Defence 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, ...

squadron flying

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and ...

F.3 aircraft, and was re-formed from a defence role into that of a fighter role at St Hubert (Montreal), Quebec on 1 December 1948. From May 1949 to August 1951, the '' Blue Devils'' aerobatics team formed, to demonstrate the abilities of the new Vampire aircraft at formation flying. The squadron later converted to

Canadair Sabre The Canadair Sabre is a jet fighter aircraft built by Canadair under licence from North American Aviation. A variant of the North American F-86 Sabre, it was produced until 1958 and used primarily by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) until ...

s and was deployed to Europe, flying from RCAF Station North Luffenham in the UK, and then at

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 in the Meuse department, Lorraine, northeastern France. It was one of four RCAF wings consisting of three fighter squadr ...

(No. 1 (Fighter) Wing) in France. The squadron had been the first regular force fighter unit to fly the Vampire aircraft and was the first to fly the Sabre and the first to join No. 1 (Fighter) Wing of No. 1 Air Division Europe. When No. 445 All Weather (Fighter) W(F)Squadron arrived from Canada, however, No. 410 Squadron was deactivated at Marville on 1 October 1956 and reactivated as an all-weather fighter squadron at

Uplands Upland or Uplands may refer to: Geography *Hill, an area of higher land, generally *Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points *Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level *I ...

(Ottawa), Ontario on 1 November of that year, flying

Avro Canada 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 en ...

s. When CF-100s were removed from service in 1961, the

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 ...

interceptor was introduced for North American air defence. No. 410 Squadron converted to these aircraft and the squadron continued to fly Voodoos until defence cuts led to the squadron being deactivated on 31 March 1964.

1968 to the present-day

In 1968, No. 3 OTU (Operating Training Unit) at

CFB Bagotville Canadian Forces Base Bagotville , commonly referred to as CFB Bagotville, and also known as Bagotville Airport or Saguenay-Bagotville Airport, is a Canadian Forces base located west of Bagotville in the city of Saguenay. Located in the centre ...

, tasked with training pilots and navigators for the three operational RCAF Voodoo squadrons, was later renamed No. 410 Squadron. No. 410 Squadron moved to

in 1982, changing aircraft to become the training unit for Canada's new

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 ...

aircraft.

Aircraft

Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1942-1945

Second World War

No. 410 Squadron began flying the

North American Harvard The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

training aircraft and then flew the

from July 1941 to May 1942. The Boulton Paul Defiant was a "turret fighter" that was used as a night fighter. A problem with this aircraft was that it had no forward armament, and so it was exchanged for the

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

II, long-range heavy fighter. The Beaufighter was used from April 1942 until January 1943. The Mk II used the

Rolls-Royce Merlin The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27-litres (1,650 cu in) capacity. Rolls-Royce designed the engine and first ran it in 1933 as a private venture. Initially known as the PV-12, it was later ...

engine which provided greater power than the original Beaufighter had had. No. 410 Squadron transitioned to the de Havilland Mosquito Mk II in November 1942, and the Squadron then used the Mosquito exclusively until the end of the war. It used the variants VI (July 1943 – September 1943), XIII (December 1943 – August 1944), and XXX (August 1944 – June 1945). All of these fighters had the same basic design—that of a low- to medium-altitude daytime tactical bomber, high altitude night bomber,

pathfinder Pathfinder may refer to: Businesses * Pathfinder Energy Services, a division of Smith International * Pathfinder Press, a publisher of socialist literature Computing and information science * Path Finder, a Macintosh file browser * Pathfinder ( ...

, day or

night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

, intruder, maritime strike and

photo reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of ima ...

aircraft.

1946–1964

The squadron became a fighter unit in 1948, flying the

de Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...

Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

, having already flown the aircraft for two years in an

role. No. 410 Squadron then re-equipped with the

in 1951 and then with the

Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck 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 ...

in 1956. On 20 December 1961, No. 410 Squadron became Canada's first operational

squadron. The Voodoo was an all-weather interceptor aircraft; its primary armament was the nuclear-tipped AIR-2A Genie unguided air-to-air rockets, and was used as Canada's primary means of air defence.

1968 to the present-day

As a training unit, No. 410 Squadron used the

Canadair CT-133 Silver Star The Canadair CT-133 Silver Star (company model number CL-30) is the Canadian license-built version of the Lockheed T-33 jet trainer aircraft, in service from the 1950s to 2005. The Canadian version was powered by the Rolls-Royce Nene 10 turboj ...

. No. 410 Squadron RCAF is currently equipped (2011) with the

. The first two CF-18s were formally handed over to 410 (Operational Training Unit) Squadron at

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 on 25 October 1982.

Operational training

CF-188B 410 Sqn with 60th anniversary paint

No. 410 Squadron is now (2010) a

aircraft squadron located at Canada's primary

training base at Cold Lake, Alberta. In 1982, the squadron was renamed 410 Tactical Fighter (Operational Training) Squadron. It runs one fighter pilot course every year, training approximately 20 pilots. The training program consists of nine months of ground school, simulator flights, and operational flying. Students are taken from among the graduates of a Fighter Lead-In Training Course and are provided with the knowledge of basic skills in both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat. Areas covered in depth include aircraft handling, instrument flight, formation flying, night flying, navigation, air-to-air refuelling, and weapons delivery and tactics. There is also an annual Fighter Weapons Instructor Course (FWIC) run by No. 410 Squadron, and a Fighter Electronic Warfare and Advanced Radar (FEWAR) Course. The intense and highly challenging FWIC lasts for three months. Each operational CF-18 squadron and tactical radar squadron sends candidates (eight students per course) who graduate with the leadership qualities and expertise required to return to their squadrons and design tactical training programs themselves. The Advanced Radar Course is conducted in two phases: ground school at 4 Wing, Cold Lake, and a flying phase at an electronic warfare range. This three-week course is designed to allow ten pilots annually to graduate and return to their squadrons as electronic warfare experts and instructors. Since No. 410 Squadron has always had some of the most experienced CF-18 pilots in the fighter community, it is often charged with carrying out special fighter projects. The squadron conducted the operational testing and evaluation of the CF's precision guided munitions, and in 2010 was anticipating testing the use of night vision devices in the Hornet.

Re-certification and curriculum

For the first seven years following 1982, when the CF-18 was being delivered, the squadron ran six-month full-squadron courses from which the graduating pilots formed new CF-18 squadrons. Following this initial cadre of courses, No. 410 Squadron trained CF-18 pilots at a rate of approximately 50 per year. In 1992, with the closure of three squadrons in Germany, this was reduced to 25. With the recent reduction in size of the remaining operational squadrons, No. 410 Squadron now trains approximately 20 fighter pilots annually. At the same time as the current work mandate, No. 410 Squadron is also responsible for training and re-certifying about five former CF-18 Hornet pilots annually. These pilots are returning to the CF-18 after a ground or exchange tour. No. 410 Squadron also trains newly arrived foreign exchange officers who will be joining one of Canada's two operational fighter squadrons. As backgrounds can differ significantly, each course is tailored to the individual, based on their experience and demonstrated competencies. Areas covered in depth in the Fighter Pilot Course (FPC) include basic and advanced aircraft handling, instrument flight, formation flying, night flying, all-weather interception, air-to-air refuelling, Basic Fighter Manoeuvres (BFM – "dogfighting skills") and air combat. The latter half of each FPC comprises academic air-to-ground weapons delivery and Close Air Support (CAS), as well as advanced Air Interdiction (AI) tactics, the former usually completed during a squadron deployment to the south-western United States in the late spring and early fall, due to the significantly better weather and the sheer number of bombing ranges available.

Fighter Operational Test and Evaluation Flight

A sub-unit of No. 410 Squadron is the Fighter Operational Test and Evaluation Flight (FOTEF), which is responsible for operational testing and evaluation. In 2010, its efforts were seen as integral to the operational effectiveness of all aspects of core and CF-18 capabilities. Some of the new systems being evaluated were Night Vision Imaging Systems (NVIS), Multi-function Information Distribution Systems (MIDS), the Advanced Multi-role Infra-Red Sensor, and the evaluation of new mission planning software and the Advanced Distributed Combat Training System. Working closely with a variety of key units across the Air Force, including the "Aerospace Engineering & Test Establishment" (AETE), FOTEF enabled the integration of newly modernized CF-18 ECP-583 R2 aircraft into the Fighter Force.

''Jetstream'' and air displays

The Canadian documentary television series ''Jetstream'' was filmed in 2007, showing life on the base at Cold Lake and what a trainee must endure to become a

. The television documentary followed No. 410 Squadron's training course for the full nine months, and in that time some candidates did not graduate. The television show was given full access to the trainees' lives from ground school to graduation and was allowed access almost everywhere. The series followed six members of the Canadian Air Force's "Class of 2006" who had been selected to learn with No. 410 Squadron. The television show called the air base "fighter town", but Cold Lake has three fighter (including the 410th) squadrons that use fighter/interceptor aircraft, them being 401 Tactical Fighter Squadron and No. 409 Squadron, nicknamed "The Nighthawks".

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

*
No. 410 Squadron (RCAF.com)

"History of 410 Squadron June 1941 – June 1945", From www.manitobamilitaryaviationmuseum.com
Retrieved 31 January 2014 {{good article Canadian Forces aircraft squadrons Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons RCAF training units