No. 428 Squadron RCAF

No. 428 Squadron RCAF was the ninth long-range heavy bomber Article XV squadron formed overseas during the Second World War at RAF Dalton in Yorkshire, England on November 7, 1942. The squadron was initially assigned to No. 4 Group RAF. In January 1944, Halifax bombers from No. 428 Squadron participated in the first high-level mining raid "Gardening", when mines were dropped by parachute from 15,000 feet (4,570 m) over Brest on 4/5 Jan and Saint-Nazaire on 6/7 Jan 1945. The squadron flew its last sortie with the Halifax on June 12, 1944, By the middle of June the squadron had moved to RCAF Station Yarmouth in Nova Scotia, where it was disbanded on September 5, 1945. 428 Squadron was "sponsored" by the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, a Canadian national women's charitable organization based in Toronto. On 7 Nov 1942, he assumed command of No 428 (RCAF) Squadron, standing up the squadron in No. 4 Group. As the OC, it was noted that "Wing Commander Earle was a grand chap, one who can genuinely be called, 'One of Nature's Gentlemen'. He was well liked by the Canadians and sadly missed when he left on promotion to group captain in February 1943. He flew two operations from Dalton, occupying the astro-dome. He had previously been flying Fairey Gordons in the Middle East (Iraq), and found the Wellington difficult, partly due to his eyesight not liking the English skies, and partly as he was not a tall man." After only three months, he left 428 Bomber Squadron (RCAF) as an acting group captain on 7 Feb 1943, when he was assigned as the station commander of RAF Ridgewell and then RAF West Wickham, late in 1943, then as a temporary group captain. He ended the war as Air Officer Commanding No. 300 Group RAF (RAF Transport Command) in Australia. Battle honours: World War Two During the Second World War, No. 428 Squadron RCAF was awarded several battle honours. These honours are certified by the Canadian Air Force. Disbandment: September 1945 By late 1944, the RCAF Overseas leadership became committed to provisional planning of a (very) long-range heavy bomber force being considered for a post-Europe deployment, to the Far East. When released from No.6 Group, 428 Squadron journeyed via Lajes, on Terceira Island, The Azores, to Gander, Newfoundland and onto Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, making a singular mark on the way. Of 165 Tiger Force Lancasters dispatched, 164 made the crossing, whereas on June 4, 1945, Lancaster KB764 No. 428 Squadron approaching Lagens, having previously lost its port outer engine and then its port inner engine, power completely asymmetric, crashed out to sea. "No trouble was experienced in leaving the aircraft", wrote Flight Lieutenant Elihu Paul Acree. Tiger Force's No. 6 Group, RCAF / No. 661 (Heavy Bomber) Wing (10 July 1945), to be commanded by Wing Commander F.R. Sharp, DFC, was to form at RCAF Station Yarmouth in Nova Scotia with No. 419 and No. 428 Squadrons. Beginning reorganization and training on 10 August 1945 'Ghost' Squadron was to be ready for deployment on 1 January 1946, manned with ‘volunteering' personnel from within No. 6 Bomber Group. ==428 All-Weather (Fighter) Squadron==

Mk4A from 428 Ghost Squadron at CFB Borden in 1993 As the fifth Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck equipped squadron, on June 21, 1954, the squadron was re-activated at RCAF Station Uplands as 428 All-Weather (Fighter) Squadron, stood up as an interceptor squadron, capable of operating both day and night. The squadron received eighteen CF-100s, of which a prototype of its first aircraft, the Mark IV, had flown on 11 October 1952. It received its first Mk-4As in June 1954 (i.e. Tail No. 18211/18223), seeing an engine boost in the MK-4Bs it began to receive in February 1955 (i.e. Tail No. 18331/18356) and the big change with the Mk-5s (i.e. Tail No. 18464/18542) it began to receive in March 1956 (losing its guns). Ottawa, Ontario, fighter squadron The RCAF had established a presence at the Uplands (Ottawa) Airport, in August 1940, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, as No. 2 Service Flying Training School began operations. With the war ending, No.2 SFTS closed on 14 April 1945, the Station became home to Headquarters RCAF Maintenance Command, and when Maintenance Command relocated, in 1947, RCAF association with the site ceased. RCAF flying activities resumed at Uplands, with the re-activation of several WW2 fighter squadrons, they designated again for service in Europe. No.439 Squadron was first re-formed in September 1951, at Uplands, as was No.416 Squadron, in September 1952, both departing for in Europe in 1953, they flying the F86 Sabre. In 1954, standing up a 'new Mark IV' fighter squadron, progressing from an initial operating capability, having received its complement of aircrew, to a full operational capability required a change to a Mark III flying and training model. First, flying practices to confirm that pilot/airborne interceptor integration was retained from No.3 OTU training, and learning the changes in Airborne Interception (AI) and Ground-Controlled Interception (GCI) tactics. The 'Guns Only' Conventional Pursuit Interception (flying Mark IIIs) was replaced with the Lead Collision Course (LCC) Attack (with 2.75-in Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets). Accidents and losses Given the serious nature of the Cold War, everything that flew into the Canadian Northern Air Defence Region had to be detected and identified within two minutes by RCAF or USAF Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron personnel. If an aircraft was unknown at two minutes, fighters were scrambled to intercept, to find out why the aircraft could not be identified, to force it to land, or to shoot it down. Receiving interception notification from No.3 ADCC at RCAF Stn Edgar, 428 AW(F) fighters, on Alert Status, were airborne within five minutes, when under reduced status 15 minutes, and one hour was permitted. To meet the standard, and when on exercise, squadron aircraft with alert crews were positioned fuelled and armed, 24 hours a day/seven days a week, in special Quick Reaction Alert hangars. In maintaining its operational readiness, 428 AW(F), Call Sign: Davenport, Squadron Code: HG, saw its share of pilot/navigator loss over its short seven year CF-100 history. The squadron ably equipped with a Canadian two-seat fighter, designed with two powerful engines and an advanced radar and fire control system, was able to fly in all-weather and night conditions, a role considered less glamorous than the task assigned to 'day' fighters. Flying a first rate aircraft, with a good range and payload carrying ability, operating in its all-weather interceptor role, it was second-to-none. Compared to the American Northrop F-89 Scorpion, the CF-100 Canuck was considered to be superior in all aspects. The squadron lost six aircrew during flying operations in 1956 and 1960. 428 AW(F): the commanding officers In its short history there were three Commanding Officers of 428 AW(F) Squadron W/C E.W.Smith DSO from 04.01.1955 to 26.04.1957, S/L P.F. Greenway from 24.04.1957 to 23.04.1959 and W/C M.F. Doyle from 24.04.1959 to 01.06.1961, who would go on to command 410 AW(F) Squadron and later 1 Cdn Air Group in 1970. Remaining in the postwar RCAF, he first served with the RCAF Test and Evaluation (Establishment), where he flew the original "Rockcliffe Ice Wagon" (RY-3 Liberator) and commanded the RCAF Hadrian Glider Detachment with Operation MUSKOX – the first Canadian to pilot a glider above the Arctic Circle. As the first RCAF Exchange Officer to serve in USAF Air Transport Command, he captained both a 20 and 27 mission C-54 Skymaster deployment in the Berlin Airlift, and, later with the USAF, captained both the morning B-17 (Flying Fortress) Drone Test Flight and the evening B-17 Mother (Drone), on May 14, 1948, supporting 'Operation Sandstone' – Test Three 'Zebra' at the Pacific Proving Grounds, at Eniwetok-Atoll. In January 1950, he captained the No. 412 (Composite) Squadron C-5 Canadair North Star (DC-4 M1 7518) making the first RCAF round-the-world flight. Covering 43,000 kilometres, it transported the Secretary of State for External Affairs, Lester B. Pearson, and the governor-general, Field Marshal Viscount Alexander, to the Commonwealth Conference of Foreign Ministers, held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), from 9–14 January 1950. After commanding 428 AW(F) Squadron, he took up command of the relocated No.3 All-Weather (Fighter) Operational Training Unit then at RCAF Station Cold Lake. In Canada to counter this danger, the Avro CF-100 Canuck was designed (1946–50), built and delivered (1953–1957) to nine regular fighter squadrons, and as the Soviet VVS threat changed the Canadian requirement would change. By the late 1950s, the RCAF leadership was anxious to see re-equipping of its Canadian CF-100 squadrons (operating 162 aircraft) with the new Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow. This was to deal with new threats in the Tupolev Tu-16 Badger A (1954) a jet bomber and the Tupolev Tu-95 Bear (1956) a turboprop bomber, it with an operating range of 15,000 km. Reactivation In March 2026, 428 Squadron was reactivated as 428 Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Squadron (428 RPAS Sqn). The squadron was established as a Regular Force unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force and assigned to 14 Wing Greenwood. The reactivation took effect on 27 March 2026. ==References==