No. 428 Squadron RCAF, also known as 428 Bomber Squadron, and 428 Ghost Squadron,
was a bomber

Bomber

A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...

 squadron

Squadron (aviation)

A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...

 in the Royal Canadian Air Force

Royal Canadian Air Force

The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...

. Throughout its service in the Second World War the squadron was based in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and flew bombing missions against the enemy. After the end of the war the squadron then moved to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 before being disbanded in September 1945. In 1954 the squadron was reformed as 428 All Weather Fighter Squadron, before being disbanded in 1961.

The motto of the squadron is Usque ad finem (Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

: "To the very end") and the squadron's badge contains a Death's Head

Totenkopf

The Totenkopf is the German word for the death's head and an old symbol for death or the dead. It consists usually of the skull and the mandible of the human skeleton...

 in a shroud

Shroud

Shroud usually refers to an item, such as a cloth, that covers or protects some other object. The term is most often used in reference to burial sheets, winding-cloths or winding-sheets, such as the famous Shroud of Turin or Tachrichim that Jews are dressed in for burial...

. The badge refers to the squadron's Ghost designation which was earned through its night bombing operations, and the death and destruction which it inflicted upon the enemy.

No. 428 Squadron RCAF

No. 428 Squadron RCAF was first formed during the Second World War at RAF Dalton

RAF Dalton

RAF Dalton was an airfield used by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War. It was a satellite or sub-station of nearby RAF Topcliffe and actually nearer to the village of Topcliffe than the station so named.-History:...

 in Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

, England on November 7 1942. The squadron was a bomber unit in No. 4 Group RAF

No. 4 Group RAF

No. 4 Group was a Royal Air Force group, originally formed in World War I, and reformed in the wake of the Second World War, mostly part of RAF Bomber Command, but ending its days in RAF Transport Command.-Formation in World War I:...

. The squadron transferred to No. 6 Group RCAF

No. 6 Group RCAF

No. 6 Group RCAF was an organization of Royal Canadian Air Force bomber squadrons which operated from airfields in Yorkshire, England during the Second World War. Although 6 Group was RCAF, it was controlled by the Royal Air Force as part of Bomber Command. No. 6 Group had been previously active...

 on January 1, 1943 operating with it until April 25, 1945. The squadron was first equipped with Vickers Wellington

Vickers Wellington

The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...

s (Mk III and Mk X), and its first operational mission of the war was on January 26–27 1943, when 5 Wellingtons bombed Lorient

Lorient

Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...

. In the early part of June 1943, the squadron moved to RAF Middleton St. George

RAF Middleton St. George

RAF Middleton St. George was a Royal Air Force Bomber Command station during World War II. It was located in County Durham, five miles east of Darlington, England....

 where it remained for the remainder of the squadron's duration in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Around this time the squadron was equipped with Handley Page Halifax

Handley Page Halifax

The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...

es (Mk V, and later supplemented by Mk II Series IIA).

In January 1944 Halifaxes from No. 428 Squadron RCAF participated in the first high-level mining raid, when mines were dropped by parachute from 15,000 feet (4,570 m) over Brest

Brest, France

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...

. The squadron flew its last sortie with the Halifax on June 12, and was re-equipped with Canadian-built Avro Lancaster

Avro Lancaster

The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...

s (B. Mark X). The first sortie involving the squadrons new Lancasters took place on June 14, and they were used for the continuation of the war. For the rest of the war the squadron took part in both day and night raids, with its last operational sortie on April 25, 1945, when 15 Lancasters bombed gun batteries on the island of Wangerooge

Wangerooge

Wangerooge is one of the 32 Frisian Islands in the North Sea located close to the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. It is also a municipality in the district of Friesland in Lower Saxony in Germany.Wangerooge is one of the East Frisian Islands...

. No. 428 Squadron RCAF remained in service in the UK until the end of May 1945. By the end of May the squadron then had moved to RCAF Station Yarmouth in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, where it was disbanded on September 5, 1945.

428 Squadron was "sponsored" by the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire, an organization based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

428 All Weather Fighter Squadron

On June 21, 1954 the squadron was reformed at RCAF Station Uplands

RCAF Station Uplands

Canadian Forces Base Uplands was a Canadian Forces Base located in Ottawa, Ontario.-History:The Royal Canadian Air Force established RCAF Station Uplands as a wartime training station of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in 1942. The "No...

 as 428 All Weather Fighter Squadron. The squadron was a night fighter squadron and flew Avro CF-100 Canuck.

It was supposed to have upgraded and re-equipped with the Avro CF-105 Arrow, but with the controversial cancellation of the Arrow the squadron was finally disbanded on June 1, 1961.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft	Period of service	Representative serial
Vickers Wellington Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...  Mk III	November 1942 – May 1943	ZI719 (NA - P)
Vickers Wellington Mk X	December 1942 – June 1943	HL864 (NA - D)
Handley Page Halifax Handley Page Halifax The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...  Mk B.V	June 1943 – January 1944	DK237 (NA - L)
Handley Page Halifax Mk B.II	November 1943 – June 1944	JN955 (NA - L)
Avro Lancaster Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...  Mk B.X	June 1944 – September 1945	KB763 (NA - S)
Avro CF-100 Canuck

Squadron bases

Squadron bases	Date
RAF Dalton RAF Dalton RAF Dalton was an airfield used by RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War. It was a satellite or sub-station of nearby RAF Topcliffe and actually nearer to the village of Topcliffe than the station so named.-History:...	November 1942 – June 1943
RAF Middleton St. George RAF Middleton St. George RAF Middleton St. George was a Royal Air Force Bomber Command station during World War II. It was located in County Durham, five miles east of Darlington, England....	June 1943 – May 1945
RCAF Station Yarmouth Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Yarmouth is a town and fishing port located on the Gulf of Maine in rural southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Yarmouth County. The town is located in the heart of the world's largest lobster fishing grounds and has Canada's highest lobster catch.- History :The townsite may...	May 1945 – 5 September 1945 (disbanded)
RCAF Station Uplands RCAF Station Uplands Canadian Forces Base Uplands was a Canadian Forces Base located in Ottawa, Ontario.-History:The Royal Canadian Air Force established RCAF Station Uplands as a wartime training station of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in 1942. The "No...	21 June 1954 (reformed) – 1 June 1961 (disbanded)

External links

• 428 sqn on RCAF.com