No. 6 Group RCAF

No. 6 Group RCAF
Memorial to 6 Group RCAF Squadrons. The text on the memorial says "In memory of and to honour those who served at Croft during World War II. Dedicated by the members of 431 Iroquois and 434 Bluenose R.C.A.F Squadrons. 6 Group Bomber Command. 26 September 1987.
Active	25 Oct 1942 - 31 Aug 1945
Country	Canada
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Canadian Air Force
Role	Strategic and tactical bombing
Size	14 squadrons at peak strength
Part of	RAF Bomber Command
Garrison/HQ	Allerton Park, Yorkshire
Motto	Latin: Sollertia et ingenium (Translation: "Initiative and skill")[1]
Commanders
Notable commanders	Air Vice-Marshal G.E. Brookes, Air Vice-Marshal C.M. McEwen
Insignia
Group badge heraldry	A maple leaf superimposed on a York rose[1]
Aircraft flown
Bomber	Vickers Wellington Short Stirling Handley Page Halifax Avro Lancaster
Trainer	British Aircraft Eagle Foster Wikner Wicko Airspeed Oxford

No. 6 Group RCAF was an organization of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) 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 in the RAF in 1918, from 1924 to 1926, and from 1936 to 1939.^[2] Before the war, 6 Group was an RAF training group; at the beginning of the war, the group was non-operational.^[3]

Formation

Canadian bomber squadrons began participating in the war effort in 1941 and were attached to RAF Bomber Command groups. Canada, however, wanted its own identifiable presence in Allied air operations overseas, and it did not want its air force to be merely a source of manpower for the Royal Air Force. To this end, 6 (RCAF) Group was formed on 25 October 1942^[4] with eight squadrons. At the peak of its strength, 6 Group consisted of 14 squadrons.^[5] Fifteen squadrons would eventually serve with the group, which was almost every RCAF heavy bomber squadron.^[5][6] Headquarters for 6 Group was at Allerton Park near Knaresborough and Harrogate in North Yorkshire.

Order of battle for no. 6 Group RCAF, April 1943, data from^[7][8][9]

Base	Squadron	Aircraft	Version
RAF Croft	No. 420 Squadron RCAF No. 427 Squadron RCAF 1535 BATF	Vickers Wellington Vickers Wellington Airspeed Oxford	Mk.III Mks.III, X
RAF Dishforth	No. 424 Squadron RCAF No. 425 Squadron RCAF No. 426 Squadron RCAF No. 428 Squadron RCAF No 1659 (Canadian) Heavy Conversion Unit RAF 1512 BATF	Vickers Wellington Vickers Wellington Vickers Wellington Vickers Wellington Handley Page Halifax Airspeed Oxford	Mks.III, X Mks.III, X Mks.III, X Mks.III, X Mks.I, II
RAF Leeming	No. 420 Squadron RCAF	Handley Page Halifax	Mk.II
RAF Middleton St. George	No. 419 Squadron RCAF	Handley Page Halifax	Mk.II
RAF Skipton-on-Swale	No. 408 Squadron RCAF	Handley Page Halifax	Mk.II
RAF Topcliffe	Group Communications Flight (GCF)	British Aircraft Eagle Foster Wikner Wicko

Operations

Aircrew and groundcrew of a No. 428 Squadron RCAF Lancaster bomber

Significant operations involving 6 Group included raids on U-boat bases in Lorient and Saint-Nazaire, France and night bombing raids on industrial complexes and urban centres in Germany.

No. 6 Group flew 40,822 operational sorties.^[4] A total of 814 aircraft^[4] and approximately 5,700 airmen did not return from operations and 4,203 ^[10] airmen lost their lives.

Bases

Several RAF stations were allocated to No. 6 Group. Like most other groups within RAF Bomber Command, the "base" system was used for station organization.^[11] A base consisted of a main base station, or headquarters, and a number of sub-stations. No. 6 Group consisted of four bases which were made up of 11 stations. Late in 1943, Bomber Command bases were designated with a two-number identifier. The first number represented the group number, and the second number represented the base within that group. The first base within the group was the group's training base. No. 61 Base was therefore the training base for No. 6 Group. Each base was commanded by an Air Commodore and each station was commanded by a Group Captain.

No. 61 Base	No. 62 (Beaver) Base[12]	No. 63 Base	No. 64 Base
RAF Topcliffe, Yorkshire (HQ)	RAF Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire (HQ)	RAF Leeming, Yorkshire (HQ)	RAF Middleton St. George, County Durham (HQ)
RAF Dishforth, Yorkshire	RAF East Moor, Yorkshire	RAF Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire	RAF Croft, North Yorkshire
RAF Dalton, Yorkshire	RAF Tholthorpe, Yorkshire
RAF Wombleton, Yorkshire

Operational squadrons

No. 405 Squadron RCAF No. 408 Squadron RCAF No. 415 Squadron RCAF No. 419 Squadron RCAF No. 420 Squadron RCAF

No. 424 Squadron RCAF No. 425 Squadron RCAF No. 426 Squadron RCAF No. 427 Squadron RCAF No. 428 Squadron RCAF

No. 429 Squadron RCAF No. 431 Squadron RCAF No. 432 Squadron RCAF No. 433 Squadron RCAF No. 434 Squadron RCAF

References

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Moyes 1976, p. 344.
2. ^ "Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation, Group No's 1 - 9." rafweb.org/Grp01. Retrieved: 19 February 2010.
3. ^ Dunmore 1991, p. 4.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Moyes 1976, p. 346.
5. ^ ^{a b} Millberry 1984, p. 166.
6. ^ Dunmore 1991, p. 375.
7. ^ Halley 1988, pp. 494–510.
8. ^ Delve 1994, p. 62.
9. ^ Sturtivant and Hamlin 2007, pp. 97, 125–126.
10. ^ Bashow 2005, p. 458.
11. ^ "Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Bomber Command Bases."rafweb.org/Grp01. Retrieved: 19 February 2010.
12. ^ Sturtivant and Hamlin 2007, p. 77.

Bibliography

• Bashow, David L. No Prouder Place: Canadians and the Bomber Command Experience 1939-1945. St. Catharine's, Ontario, Canada: Vanwell Publishing Limited, 2005. ISBN 1-55125-098-5.
• Delve, Ken. The Sourcebook of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 1994. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
• Dunmore, Spencer and Carter, William. Reap the Whirlwind: The Untold Story of 6 Group, Canada's Bomber Force of World War II. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: McLelland and Stewart Inc., 1991. ISBN 0-7710-2924-1.
• Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
• Milberry, Larry, ed. Sixty Years - The RCAF and CF Air Command 1924 - 1984. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Canav Books, 1984. ISBN 0-9690703-4-9.
• Moyes, Philip J.R. Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London, UK: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1964 (2nd edition 1976). ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
• Sturtivant, Ray, ISO and John Hamlin. RAF Flying Training and Support Units since 1912. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2007. ISBN 0-85130-365-X.

External links

• 6 Group Bomber Command
• More 6 Group History