Fortress Europe 1941–44 France & Germany Biscay Ports 1941–45 Ruhr 1941–45 Berlin 1941 German Ports 1941–45 Normandy 1944 Walcheren Rhine Biscay 1942–43 Arabian Sea[1]
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry
An eagle's head erased, facing to the sinister and holding in the beak a sprig of maple.
Armourers check over a mixed bomb load of three 1,000 lb MC bombs and small bomb containers (SBCs) filled with 30 lb incendiary bombs, loaded into the bomb-bay and wing cells of a Handley Page Halifax Mark II of 405 Squadron RCAF at RAF Pocklington, England
405 Squadron Halifax "Ruhr Valley Express" at RAF Pocklington. This aircraft was lost returning from a raid on Flensburg in October 1942
The squadron's last operational mission took place on 25 April 1945 when nine Lancasters bombed the Berghof, and four aircraft bombed enemy gun batteries on island of Wangerooge. The squadron was disbanded on 5 September 1945.[2]
Post war
The squadron was reformed on 1 April 1947 as No. 405 Bomber Reconnaissance Squadron at RCAF Station Greenwood, and was later redesignated No. 405 Maritime Reconnaissance Squadron and then No. 405 Maritime Patrol Squadron.[3]
In April 1950, as a Maritime Patrol Squadron, the squadron was equipped with modified Mark X Lancasters. These were replaced in mid-1955 by the P2V7 Neptune giving the squadron a much greater anti-submarine capability.[4]
In April 1958 the squadron was given the distinction of being the first to fly the Canadian-built CP-107 Argus. The squadron made its last flight in the Argus on 10 November 1980 before introducing the CP-140 Aurora.[4]
Current operations
Though 405 Squadron's primary combat functions are anti-submarine (ASW) and anti-surface warfare (ASUW), most of its time is spent fulfilling a variety of non-combat roles. These include search and rescue, counter-drug operations with the RCMP, and anti-pollution and fisheries patrols.[5] It flew operations in the Arabian Sea after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.
References
Notes
^Canadian DND – Honours & Recognition for the Men and Women of the Canadian Armed Forces 10th Edition – 2016, pg 46.
Canadian Department of National Defence – Honours & Recognition for the Men and Women of the Canadian Armed Forces 10th Edition – 2016. Accessed 14 March 2019
2 Non-standard code as unit using OW added L. Letters normally denoted parent Command, aircraft type (L Liberator transport, D Dakota etc), unit, and individual aircraft.
3 VCXXA where VC was the civil code used by the RCAF replacing CF-, XX was the unit code and A was the aircraft ID letter
4 XXnnn where XX was the unit code and nnn was the last 3 digits of the serial number. Unit code was replaced with "RCAF" in 1958