 |
Canadian Military Aircraft Serial Numbers RAF owned aircraft |
 |
| The aircraft listed here were
operated by units of the Canadian military arms, but were not owned by
any branch of the Canadian government. I have not yet attempted
to list aircraft operated by Canadians serving with other air
arms. This would be a huge undertaking, and would amount to a
record of all British military aircraft since before the First World
War, and the aircraft of many NATO countries. |
|
| The first aircraft that fit this
description were the RAF owned aircraft operated by the Canadian Air
Force in the UK, in 1918 to 1920. This organization has been
described in a
separate web page.
A handful of RAF aircraft were operated by the Air Board and the RCAF
for testing and training before and during World War 2, while remaining
property of
the
RAF. They appear in the appropriate list below.
The vast majority of the aircraft listed here were operated by the
RCAF,
outside of Canada, during the Second World War. A small number of
RAF aircraft were loaned to the RCAF after the war, for cold weather
testing in Canada, or for training the new fighter squadrons formed for
NATO in the early 1950s. These are also included in the lists
below. The lists currently cover a total of 5,690+ aircraft, but
are probably not complete. |
|
| The first RCAF squadrons to Europe - 1940 Canada's original plan for its contribution to the war in Europe included an Army Cooperation Wing, of 3 Lysander squadrons, to accompany the First Canadian Division. A shortage of Canadian built Lysanders, and of trained crews, meant that the Auxiliary squadrons were only able to muster 2 full squadrons. The first, No. 110 (AC) Squadron, began arriving in the UK in February 1940. It was joined by No. 112 (AC) Squadron within a few months, and both units began training with the First Canadian Division for deployment to the continent . The rapid German successes in the spring and summer of 1940 meant that neither squadron was deployed before the fall of France. |
|
| The
Army Cooperation squadrons
were joined by No. 1 (F) Squadron, and its UK built Hurricanes, in June
of 1940. This unit was declared fully operational in August 1940
at RAF Station Northolt, Middlesex, and was heavily engaged for 8 weeks
at the peak of
the Battle of Britain. By the time the unit was rotated out of
the front line in October, to a quieter base at Prestwick in Scotland,
it had
scored 31 confirmed victories, plus 43 probably destroyed or damaged,
and had lost three pilots. |
|
| As related elsewhere in these
pages, all three of these first Canadian units found their RCAF
aircraft
were not up to the latest RAF modification status, and that their
oddball configurations made sharing of spares and maintenance resources
difficult. Within days of their arrival, all three units began to
exchange their RCAF aircraft for RAF owned, RAF serialized,
aircraft. These are contained in the lists below,
when I can
identify them. |
|
| The first Article 15 squadrons - 1941 to
1942 The majority of the aircraft listed below were used by the 400 series squadrons of the RCAF, that served around the world within the RAF organization during, and briefly after, the Second World War. These squadrons had their beginnings in the original multinational agreement that created the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (the BCATP) in Canada, signed on 17 December 1939. Article 15 of this document promised that Dominion graduates of the BCATP would ".. be identified with
their
respective Dominions, either by the method of organizing Dominion units
and formations or in some other way".
For this reason, the squadrons in the 400 series are often referred to as "the Article 15 squadrons". An addendum to this agreement on 7 January 1941 stated that 25 Canadian squadrons would be created in the UK, in addition to the three already serving there. |
|
| Early experience with the first
three RCAF squadrons that arrived in the UK in mid 1940 showed that
there were several problems associated with trying to operate a small
number of Canadian squadrons within the command and base structure of
the RAF. These ranged from problems with aircraft modification
status, to the need to integrate the squadrons into higher RAF command
structures, to nomenclature and identification. An
extreme example of the later was found at RAF Station Northolt in mid
1940,
which was home to No. 1 Squadron, RAF, No. 1 Squadron, RCAF,
and No. 1 Squadron of the Polish Air Force, all operating
Hurricanes. Therefore, it was decided that future squadrons from
Canada, or any other Commonwealth country, would be completely
integrated into the
RAF structure, and would have squadrons numbers in the 400 range.
Canada was allocated squadron numbers 400 to 449. |
|
The three existing units in the
UK were
renumbered on 1 March 1941:
|
|
| The first of the new squadrons,
No. 403 (F) Squadron, was formed at Baginton on 1 March 1941, and began
training on Tomahawks. The last of
the initial squadrons, No. 427 (B) Squadron, was formed at Croft,
Yorkshire, on Wellingtons, on 7 November 1942. |
|
| The
shortage of experienced RCAF
senior officers, and mismatches between the output of the BCATP and the
needs of the RCAF units in the UK meant that, from the beginning, the
RCAF units included RAF members in their strength. In addition,
roughly half
of the RCAF graduates of the BCATP served initially with RAF
units. As RCAF members gained in experience and moved up in rank,
the RCAF in Europe formed wings, took control of entire bases, and
eventually formed No. 6 Group within Bomber Command. These higher
formations were always within the RAF command organization. The
mixing
of RAF and RCAF staff in all these units continued until the
end of the war. |
|
| Mid and late war expansion - 1942 to 1945 The steady output of the BCATP allowed additional new squadrons to be formed, starting with No. 428 (B) Squadron, formed on Wellingtons at Dalton, Yorkshire on 7 November 1942. The last 400 series squadron formed from scratch in the UK was No. 437 (T) Squadron, which operated Dakotas in support of airborne operations over Europe from September 1944 to June 1946. |
|
As
the Japanese threat to North America eased in late 1943, the RCAF
was
able to release 6 home defense squadrons to the UK for the build up to
D-Day that was underway by then.
These units left their RCAF aircraft in Canada, and moved their
personnel to the UK as
fully integrated, well trained units. The squadrons, which would
all serve with the Second Tactical Air Force until the end of the war
in Europe, were:
|
|
| Late in the war 3 AOP
squadrons would be formed on the
continent,
operating Auster AOP Mk. IV and Mk. V aircraft, with a mix of RCAF and
Canadian Army staff. They were No. 664, 665 and 666 (AOP)
Squadrons, formed between December 1944 and March 1945. This
brought the total number of RCAF Article 15 squadrons to 47. This
total does not include No. 162 (BR) Squadron, which was loaned from
Eastern Air Command to the RAF Coastal Command from January to
August 1944, for operations from Iceland and Scotland. This unit
used its Canadian built Cansos, with RCAF
4 digit serial numbers, throughout this period. |
|
| Winding down the RCAF overseas - 1945 to
1946 When the war in Europe ended, most of the RCAF bomber squadrons of 6 Group had been earmarked for use in the Pacific as part of Tiger Force. The RCAF would contribute bomber and transport units for this strategic bombing force, while Australia and New Zealand would provide fighter units. The RCAF squadrons began to fly their Canadian built Mk. X Lancasters back to Canada in June 1945. It was intended that these would eventually be replaced with Canadian built Lincolns. These aircraft remained on the RAF books while Tiger Force waited for instructions in Eastern Canada, up to its disbandment on 5 September 1945. For several months this produced the interesting situation of Canadian built aircraft being operated in Canada, by the RCAF, but not belonging to the Canadian government. Most were transferred to the RCAF in late 1945 or early 1946, and operated in the RCAF with RAF serial numbers. A few were scrapped when Tiger Force was disbanded. |
|
| A few of the fighter squadrons
serving on the continent with the Second Tactical Air Force stayed on
in
Germany as part of the occupation forces. The last of these units
to disband appear to be No. 411, 412, 416, and 443 Squadrons, who all
returned their Mk. XVI
Spitfires to their RAF owners on 21 March 1946. |
|
| The
last of the Article
15 Squadrons were the transport units. In India, No. 435 and No.
436 (T) Squadrons were the last RCAF units engaged against the enemy,
flying their Dakotas on front line and behind the line supply drops
until August 1945. They returned to the UK, where they joined No.
437 Squadron, already flying Dakotas. Other RCAF
transport squadrons at this time included No. 422 and 423 Squadrons,
both undergoing
conversion from Sunderlands to Liberator transports when the war
ended. Also, No. 426
Squadron had converted from Halifaxes to transport Liberators in
May 1945, and was flying regular missions from the UK to Egypt and
India when the war ended in August 1945. It was intended that
these units would form a transport wing to support Tiger Force.
The Liberator squadrons were disbanded in late 1945, while the
Dakota units continued operating from the UK,
supporting the occupation forces in Germany, and flying ex-POWs and
casualties back to the UK. No. 436 and No. 437 Squadron crews
flew their
Dakotas back to Canada in June 1946, the day after these units formally
disbanded. Most of these aircraft
were transferred to the RCAF after arriving in Canada, and operated
in the RCAF with RAF serial numbers, and then later with CAF serial numbers, for many
years to come. |
|
| Other Canadians serving with the
RAF This page should not be assumed to represent the complete Canadian contribution to the air war effort in World War 2. Large numbers of Canadians served everywhere the RAF and FAA operated, from the first day of the war to the last. According to Kostenuk and Griffin, in "RCAF Squadrons and Aircraft", on the day the war started there were Canadians serving with at least 35 RAF operational squadrons, most of them in RAF uniforms. The number of Canadians serving as flight crew officers in the RAF in September 1939 actually exceeded the total number of all officers then in the RCAF, including the active squadrons, the Auxiliaries, and staff positions. |
|
| Many of these Canadians had
joined the RAF years before, and were not always identified as
Canadians in the records of the day, or in subsequent histories.
Spencer Dunmore, in his book "Above and Beyond", identifies at least
two Canadian casualties on the first day of RAF operations against
Germany, 4 September 1939. Sergeant Albert Prince, of Vancouver,
BC, died when his No. 107 Squadron Blenheim was shot down during an
attack
on the German fleet in Wilhemshaven. Earl Godfrey, of Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, was the pilot of a No. 223 Squadron Hudson that failed to
return from patrol that day. The Canadian government would not
declare
war on Germany for another 6 days. By October 1939, Canadians in
the RAF were scoring air to air victories, and from November 1939
Canadian pilots were serving with the Expeditionary Forces on the
continent. |
|
| When the RCAF reached its peak
overseas manpower in 1944, some 65 per
cent of these people were serving with RAF units around the
globe. The RAF also peaked in manpower this year, and some
sources place the Canadian contribution to their manpower at that time
(wearing both RAF and RCAF uniforms) as high as 25 per cent. One veteran reported
the Canadian content of RAF squadrons in Burma late in the war at 75
%. Canadians were
in action right up to the last day of British operations, 9 August
1945. Several Canadians were amongst the Fleet Air Arm
pilots conducting operations over Japan that day, including Robert Gray
of Nelson, BC. He would be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross
for sinking a Japanese destroyer that day, after his No. 1841 Squadron
Corsair was set on fire by gun fire from the ship. Gray had been
nearly shot down back in August 1944, when his Fleet Air Arm Corsair
was badly damaged while attacking the German
battleship Tripitz, in Norway. |
|
| A footnote on the last 400 series squadrons
- including No. 450 (HT Hel) Squadron, Canadian Armed Forces This story may not really fit here, but I couldn't find a better place for it. As the RCAF wound down after the war, it was decided to commemorate the huge contribution that the 400 series squadrons had made, by renaming Canadian units with the more historic numbers. At the peak of the Cold War, the RCAF was big enough to require additional squadron numbers. The 400 series was continued, starting with No. 444 Squadron, formed at the Canadian Joint Air Training Centre in 1947, and reaching No. 448 Squadron in 1967. Shortly after Integration in February 1968, several Argus training flights would be combined to produce No. 449 Squadron. |
|
| As the late cold war shrinkage
occurred, there were
soon fewer Canadian units than there were historic squadron
numbers. Thus,
when
the Armed Forces were integrated, ex-RCAF senior
commanders saw
an opportunity to revive more historic numbers when they gained control
of the few Army and Navy flying units. The ex-Army commanders
would
tolerate having the AOP flights renumbered to memorialize RCAF units
that had fought alongside the Canadian Army in the Second
World War, but they balked when it came to
the
pride of Canadian Army aviation - No. 1 Transport Helicopter Platoon,
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps. This unit, they argued, was
unique in Canadian military history, and deserved its own number.
Thus, even though several historic 400 series numbers were
available, No. 450 (HT Hel) Squadron came into existence on 29
March 1968,
operating
Voyageur helicopters at Namao, Alberta and St. Hubert, Quebec. It
would later operate Chinooks and Twin Hueys, before disbanding in
1996 at St. Hubert, as No. 450 (Tac Hel)
Squadron. This squadron number has been
brought back to use for the new CH-147F helicopters delivered to
Petawawa in 2013 and 2014. |
|
|
|
|
| The
table below will connect you to two types of listings of these
aircraft. The "Brief lists" present a minimum amount of
information about as many aircraft as I can fit on a reasonably sized
page. Use these lists to identify individual aircraft, or to
quickly scan a large range of serials. The "Detailed lists"
contain all the information currently in my database, and are broken
into many more pages to keep the data manageable. The initial information has come from 3 main sources: www.rcaf.com, the book "RCAF Squadrons and Aircraft" by Kostenuk and Griffin, and extensive research of RAF records done by Tony Wilson in Australia (thanks, mate). Additional data has come from WWII veterans, and their familes, and is greatly appreciated. I have started to view the war time squadron diaries available from the National Archives, and these contain a lot of information. However, it is apparent that the authors had other things on their minds than historical accuracy. There are several apparent typos, of both serial numbers and marks, in these records. When I can, I'm sorting this out with references to "RCAF Squadrons and Aircraft", and to Bruce Robertson's book of RAF serial numbers. All these sources have given me much more data on the history and fates of the individual aircraft than is currently shown in the brief lists. This will eventually find its way into my database, so check back regularly for updates. |
| Typical
aircraft |
|
| RAF
serials up to P9999 278 records, updated 6 December 23 July 2015 |
Pup,
D.H.9a, Avro 504K, Dolphin, S.E.5a, Snipe The CAF in the UK, 1918 to 1920 ,19 records, updated 15 April 2005 |
| Siskin,
Lysander, Hurricane, Roc, Hampden, Lerwick, Manchester, Magister, Blenheim,
Beaufort, Defiant, Huson, Master, Spitfire |
|
| RAF serials R1000 to V9999 146 records, updated 9 May 2015 |
Wellington,
Magister, Beaufighter, Hurricane, Oxford, Spitfire, Typhoon, Lysander, Blenheim, Defiant,
Tiger Moth, Hudson, Halifax |
246 records, updated 9 May 2015 | Halifax, Spitfire, Sunderland, Wellington, Lancaster, Boston, Catalina, Hurricane |
| RAF
serials X1000 to Z9999 258 records, updated 8 October 2015 |
Wellington,
Hampden, Spitfire, Beaufighter, Catalina, Boston, Hurricane, Blenheim |
| RAF
serials AA100 to AF999 259 records, updated 29 October 2007 |
Defiant, Spitfire, Hampden, Hurricane |
| RAF serials AG100 to BJ999 321 records, updated 20 January 2008 |
Hurricane, Mustang,
Catalina, Airacobra, Tomahawk, Boston, Hudson, Hampden, Spitfire,
Beaufort, Halifax, Albacore, Wellington |
| RAF serials BK100 to BN999 290 records, updated 18 March 2012 |
Wellington, Spitfire, Hurricane |
| RAF
serials BP100 to DG999 193 records, updated 18 March 2012 |
Hurricane, Spitfire, Beaufighter, Liberator, Mosquito, Sunderland, Tiger Moth, Oxford, Wellington, Halifax |
| RAF
serials DK100 to DT999 216 records, updated 18 March 2012 |
Halifax,
Mosquito, Master, Typhoon, Sunderland, Lancaster |
| RAF serials DV100 to FZ999 250 records, updated 20 May 2012 |
Wellington,
Sunderland, Mosquito, Halifax, Spitfire, Typhoon, Tiger Moth,
Liberator, Hudson, Dakota, Lancaster, Catalina |
| RAF serials HA100 to HJ999 270 records, updated 20 May 2012 |
Wellington,
Mosquito |
| RAF serials HK100 to HZ999 288 records, updated 2 February 2014 |
Wellington,
Halifax, Mosquito, Hurricane |
| RAF serials JA100 to JN999 210 records,updated 2 February 2014 |
Wellington, Lancaster, Halifax, Spitfire, Beaufighter, Sunderland |
| RAF serials JP100 to KB999 328 records, updated 15 November 2014 |
Halifax,
Typhoon, Catalina, Lancaster |
| RAF serials KD100 to LK999 359 records, updated 4 December 2015 |
Dakota,
Liberator, Mustang, Beaufighter, Hurricane, Halifax |
| RAF serials LL100 to LW999 343 records, updated 5 February 2016 |
Halifax,
Lancaster, Wellington |
| RAF serials LX100 to MP999 309 records, updated 28 October 2005 |
Beaufighter,
Spitfire, Lancaster, Sunderland, Mosquito, Typhoon, Wellington |
| RAF serials MR100 to NN999 286 records, updated 28 October 2005 |
Wellington,
Auster, Spitfire, Dakota, Halifax, Beaufighter, Lancaster, Sunderland |
| RAF serials NP100 to RB999 309 records, updated 28 October 2005 |
Halifax,
Mosquito, Beaufighter, Auster, Lancaster, Spitfire, Typhoon |
|
139 records, updated
28 October 2005
|
Lancaster,
Mosquito, Halifax, Spitfire, Auster, Typhoon, Dakota, Vampire, Meteor |
This data has come from a variety of sources, and may contain all sorts of errors. In the future, I will add a complete list of references. For now, some recent Internet references can be found at the links below. I would welcome any corrections or additions you may have. Contact me using the link below.
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contact me | Canadian Military Aircraft links | Serial Number Links | About the Author | The Project |
© 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 by R. W. R. Walker All rights reserved under the copyright laws.
This is an amateur site - please don't rely on any of this data for anything important!
Created 22 April 2005. Updated 5 February 2016.