| Squadrons for : A de Breyne |
| A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by A de Breyne. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. |
| Squadron | Info |
No.419 Sqn RCAF |
Country : Canada
Founded : 15th December 1941
Fate : Disbanded 5th September 1945
Moose Moosa aswayita - Beware of the moose
No.419 Sqn RCAF
No.419 Sqn RCAF
No. 419 Squadron was formed at Mildenhall, Suffolk, on 15th December 1941, as the third RCAF bomber squadron overseas. The first CO was Wing Commander John "Moose" Fulton, DSO, DFC, AFC, a native of Kam1oops, British Columbia, and it was from him that the unit gained its nickname. Originally in No. 3 Group of Bomber Command, the squadron joined No. 6 (RCAF) Group upon the latter's formation on 1st January 1943. From Mildenha1l it moved to Leeming, Topcliffe and Croft for short periods before settling down, in November 1942, at Middleton St George, where it remained based until the end of the European war. Beginning operations with Wellington medium bombers, No. 419 later converted to Halifax heavy bombers and then to Lancaster Xs. Over a span of roughly three-and-a-quarter years it logged 400 operational missions (342 bombing missions, 53 mining excursions, 3 leaflet raids and 1 "spoof") involving 4,325 sorties. One hundred and twenty nine aircraft were lost on these operations.
W/C J. Fulton 21 December 1941 - 28 July 1942 (KIA)
W/C A. P. Walsh 5 August 1942 - 2 September 1942 (KIA)
W/C M. M. Fleming 8 September 1942 - 8 October 1943
W/C G. A. McMurdy 11 October 1943 - 22 October 1943 (KIA)
W/C W. P. Pleasance 25 October 1943 - 21 August 1944
W/C D. C. Hagerman 22 August 1944 - 25 January 1945
W/C M. E. Ferguson 26 January 1945 - 6 August 1945
W/C R. F. Dyer 7 August 1945 - 5 September 1945 | | Aircraft for : A de Breyne |
| A list of all aircraft associated with A de Breyne. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. |
| Squadron | Info |
Lancaster |
| We have prints featuring Lancaster aircraft. |
Manufacturer : Avro
Production Began : 1942
Retired : 1963
Number Built : 7377
Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four engines. The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started operations in March 1942. By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56 squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being No.44 Squadron. During World War Two the Avro Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Lancaster Bomberss took part in the devastating round-the-clock raids on Hamburg during Air Marshall Harris' Operation Gomorrah in July 1943. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and the Lancaster was scrapped after the war in 1947. A few Lancasters were converted into tankers and the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The operation was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship. The Lancaster bomber was the basis of the new Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. (Becoming Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively.) Their Lancastrian airliner was also based on the Lancaster but was not very successful. Other developments were the Avro York and the successful Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992. |
