No. 8 Squadron RCAF was 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) that was in operation from 1936 to 1945.

History

No. 8 Squadron was formed on the 14 February 1936 as a General Purpose (GP) squadron at

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Manitoba. The squadron moved to

Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport or Rockcliffe Airport , a former military base, is a non-towered airport located on the south shore of the Ottawa River, northeast of Downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The airport is the home of the Canada Aviation and ...

in February 1937, where it was tasked as a photographic unit, equipped with

Fairchild 71 The Fairchild 71 was an American high-wing monoplane passenger and cargo aircraft built by Fairchild Aircraft and later built in Canada by Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada) for both military and civilian use as a rugged bush plane. Design and ...

Bellanca Pacemaker The Pacemaker name was applied to a number of related Bellanca aircraft in the 1920s and 1930s: * Bellanca CH-200 Pacemaker * Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker * Bellanca 31-40 __NOTOC__ The Bellanca 31-40 Senior Pacemaker and its derivatives were a fam ...

and

Canadian Vickers Vedette The Canadian Vickers Vedette was the first aircraft designed and built in Canada to meet a specification for Canadian conditions. It was a single-engine biplane flying boat purchased to meet a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) demand for a smaller ...

. Mobilized on the 10 September 1939 as No. 8 (GR) Squadron at Sydney, Nova Scotia, It was redesignated Bomber Reconnaissance (BR) at the end of October 1939. Equipped with

Northrop Delta The Northrop Delta was an American single-engined passenger transport aircraft of the 1930s. Closely related to Northrop's Gamma mail plane, 13 were produced by the Northrop Corporation, followed by 19 aircraft built under license by Canadian Vi ...

s and

Bristol Bolingbroke The Bristol Fairchild Bolingbroke is a maritime patrol aircraft and trainer used by the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. Built by Fairchild-Canada, it was a license-built version of the Bristol Blenheim Mk IV bomber. De ...

s, the squadron was tasked with anti-submarine duty while serving with

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 ...

. In December 1941, after the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

the squadron was moved to

RCAF Station Sea Island RCAF Station Sea Island was a World War II, British Commonwealth Air Training Plan station located near Vancouver, British Columbia. History World War II No 8 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) formed here on 22 July 1940. Aerodrome info ...

on the west coast of Canada as part of

RCAF Western Air Command Western Air Command was the part of the Royal Canadian Air Force's Home War Establishment responsible for air operations on the Pacific coast of Canada during the Second World War. History Patrol operations When Canada declared war against Germa ...

. In June 1942 in response to the Japanese attack on the Aleutians, it was moved to Alaska flying the Bristol Bolingbroke V as part of RCAF X Wing, operating from Elmendorf Army Airfield (Anchorage), with small detachments stationed at Naval Air Station Kodiak and

Marks Air Force Base Marks Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force facility located two nautical miles (4 km) west of the central business district of Nome, a city in the Nome Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska. It was named in honor of Maj ...

(Nome). The squadron returned to

in March 1943. Having converted to

Lockheed Ventura The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II. The Ventura first entered combat in Europe as a bomber with the RAF in late 1942. Designated PV-1 by the United States Navy (US Navy), it entered combat in 1 ...

GR.V in May 1943, the squadron continued with anti-submarine duty based from

RCAF Station Port Hardy 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 environme ...

and RCAF Station Patricia Bay. No. 8 Squadron was disbanded at Patricia Bay, B.C. 25 May 1945.

Equipment

(Feb 31–Aug 39) *

Bellanca CH-300 The Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker was a six-seat utility aircraft, built primarily in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. It was a development of the Bellanca CH-200, fitted with a more powerful engine and, like the CH-200, soon became renowne ...

Pacemaker (Apr 36–Aug 39) *

(May 36–Aug 39) *

(Feb 37– Nov 41) *

I and IV (Dec 40–Aug 43) *

GR.V (May 43–May 45) Two letter Squadron code was YO from Aug 39 - May 42, GA from May until the use of Squadron codes was discontinued in the RCAF HWE on the 16 Oct 1942, "for security reasons".Kostenuk & Griffin, 1977, p. 233

Bases

RCAF Station Winnipeg Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg , (CFB Winnipeg) is a Royal Canadian Air Force base located within the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Co-located at the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, CFB Winnipeg is home to many flight opera ...

Feb 1936–Feb 1937

RCAF Station Rockcliffe 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 environme ...

Feb 1937–Aug 1939
RCAF Aerodrome - Sydney, Nova Scotia Aug 1939–Dec 1941

Dec 1941–Jun 1942
Elmendorf Army Airfield Jun 1942–Mar 1943

Mar–May 1943
RCAF Station Patricia Bay May 1943–May 1945

References

Citations

Bibliography