Handley Page Halifax

(RAF Photo, 1942)(Source Harold A Skaarup Web Page)A Royal Air Force Handley Page Halifax Mk. II Series I (Serial No. W7676), coded TL-P, of No. 35 Squadron, RAF, based at Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire in the UK, being piloted by Flight Lieutenant Reginald Lane, (later Lieutenant-General, RCAF), over the English countryside. Flt Lt Lane and his crew flew twelve operations in W7676, which failed to return from a raid on Nuremberg on the night of 28/29 August 1942, when it was being flown by Flt Sgt D. John and crew.

The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester.

The Halifax has its origins in the twin-engine HP56 proposal of the late 1930s, produced in response to the British Air Ministry's Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use." The HP56 was ordered as a backup to the Avro 679, both aircraft being designed to use the underperforming Rolls-Royce Vulture engine. The Handley Page design was altered at the Ministry to a four-engine arrangement powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine; the rival Avro 679 was produced as the twin-engine Avro Manchester which, while regarded as unsuccessful mainly due to the Vulture engine, was a direct predecessor of the famed Avro Lancaster. Both the Lancaster and the Halifax would emerge as capable four-engined strategic bombers, thousands of which would be built and operated by the RAF and several other services during the War.

On 25 October 1939, the Halifax performed its maiden flight, and it entered service with the RAF on 13 November 1940. It quickly became a major component of Bomber Command, performing routine strategic bombing missions against the Axis Powers, many of them at night. Arthur Harris, the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Bomber Command, described the Halifax as inferior to the rival Lancaster (in part due to its smaller payload) though this opinion was not shared by many of the crews that flew it, particularly for the MkIII variant. Nevertheless, production of the Halifax continued until April 1945. During their service with Bomber Command, Halifaxes flew a total of 82,773 operations and dropped 224,207 tons of bombs, while 1,833 aircraft were lost. The Halifax was also flown in large numbers by other Allied and Commonwealth nations, such as the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Free French Air Force and Polish forces. Wikipedia

Halifax Heavy Bomber WWII

Harold A Skaarup Web Page

Wikipedia Halifax Bomber

National Air Force Museum of Canada

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421 (B) Sqn Bellicum Cecinere ("Red Indian")

History of the Squadron during World War II (Aircraft: Spitfire VA, VB, IX, IXB, XVI)

The squadron was the 20th squadron and the last of the eight Fighter squadrons formed overseas by the RCAF in WWII. It was initiated at Digby, Lincolnshire, England on April 9, 1942, It flew on defensive operations over Britain, as well as offensive operations over Europe, before D-Day. After the invasion, the squadron moved to France on 16 June 1944 and thereafter provided air and ground support to the Allied ground forces as they moved through France, the Low Countries and Germany. The squadron was disbanded at Utersen, Germany on July 10, 1945.

In the course of its operations, the squadron flew some 10,900 sorties and claimed 79 enemy aircraft destroyed, 2 probables and 27 damaged, for the loss of 34 aircraft and 33 pilots, of whom 4 were killed, 25 missing and 4 injured. The squadron had 2 aces, Squadron Leader R.W McNair, DFC and 2 Bars, and Flight Lieutenant P.G. Johnson. The squadron members were awarded 1 second Bar to DFC, 2 Bars to DFC and 5 DFCs. Battle Honours were: Defence of Britain 1942-43, Fortress Europe 1942-44, France and Germany 1944-45, Normandy 1944, Arnhem, RhineWikipedia, Kostenuk and Griffin

Maps for Movements of 421 Squadron 1942-45

MAP 1: 421 Squadron Movements in England 1942-44 (right-click on image to display enlarged in new tab)

MAP 2: 421 Squadron Movements, detail of Map 1

MAP 3: 421 Squadron Movements in Europe 1944-45

421 Squadron History Summary 1942-45

421Squadron History Summary 1942-45 Page 2

421 Squadron History Summary 1942-45 Page 3

History of the Squadron Post-WWII (Aircraft: Vampire III, 5, Meteor T7, Sabre 2, 5, 6, Starfighter)

The squadron was re-formed as a Fighter unit at Chatham, New Brunswick on 15 September 1949, flying de Havilland Vampire III aircraft and, during 1951, was stationed in the United Kingdom for operational training with the Royal Air Force, flying Gloster Meteor T Mk. 7 training aircraft. In December 1951 it was re-equipped with Sabre aircraft and in October 1952 joined No. 2 (Fighter) Wing at Grostenquin, France . Selected as one of eight Sabre squadrons in No. 1 Air Division Europe to be re-equipped with CF-104 Starfighter aircraft for a nuclear strike role, the squadron was deactivated on 1 August 1963 and was reactivated as Strike Attack on 21 December. When No. 2 Wing was disbanded in February 1964, the squadron joined No. 4 Wing at Baden-Soellingen, Germany . On 1 February 1968 the squadron was integrated into the Canadian Armed Forces. It was redesignated '421 Tactical Fighter Squadron' on 1 January 1972. The squadron was finally disbanded 31 August 1992, as a result of the ending of the Cold War.