422 General Reconnaissance Squadron formed at RAF Castle Archdale near Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, in April 1942. It was a flying-boat squadron, flying Cansos and Short Sunderlands to patrol the North Atlantic for German U-boats. They were redesignated a Transport Squadron in June 1945, and disbanded in September 1945.[2]
The squadron was reformed at RCAF Station Uplands in January 1953 as 422 Fighter Squadron. The squadron went to 4 Wing RCAF Station Baden-Soellingen in August 1953, becoming part of the Canadian Armed Forces in 1968. Becoming 422 Fighter Squadron, CAF, it remaining there until deactivation in July 1970.[2]
A Short Sunderland flying boat of No. 422 Squadron at Castle Archdale, Northern Ireland
The squadron was reactivated as 422 Tactical Helicopter Squadron in January 1971, and remained a helicopter squadron until it was disbanded in August 1980.[2]
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