420 Squadron (PT) RCAF

"Snowy Owls": City of London

Motto: "We fight to the end"

420 "A Flight" Ground Crew (?)

(Click on the above image to see enlarged images of the group)

Preamble:

In the associated web pages I try to relate to readers information I have gathered over a number of years of researching the squadron and recollections of my late father. I hope these web pages provide an interesting link between the daily life of the squadron and an overall view of the historical events 420 Squadron participated in from its formation (Dec 19, 1941) through to VE day (May 8, 1945).

As can be seen this is a work in progress with almost daily additions and updates. I appreciate the reader's patience as I fill in and revise the information for each period of the squadron's war history and incorporate additional information provided to me by readers. I suspect some will be grateful to read something about this somewhat neglected squadron which their relatives served with. And, to the "critics in the crowd," I accept your corrections of my mistakes and will deal with the suggested revisions when I can.

Dedication:

These web pages are my small tribute in memory of my father, Bert Parker, who passed away in 2009, and the men and women of 420 Squadron with whom he served..... in particular, to Frederick "Freddie" Way, Floyd "Skip" Rutledge, and Don "Squeak" Hatfield who remained in contact with my father all their lives, and to all the veterans of World War II.

Being of a generation which has never experienced an armed conflict on the scale of World War II, it is difficult for me to comprehend the loss of ten or more bombers night after night with 60 or 70 crew members. Not to mention the losses in the other services. This must have taken a heavy emotional toll on the squadrons involved, the immediate families, friends and the communities back home. Their sacrifice for our freedom must not be forgotten.

The Nanton, Alberta, Bomber Command Museum of Canada provides a searchable memorial for those air crew who lost their lives serving in RCAF 6 Group.

Bert Parker War Service:

As World War II began Canada was just coming out of the debilitating depression of the 1930's. Saskatchewan was just beginning to recover from the effects of low agricultural prices and poverty-level farm incomes it had experienced for over a decade. Many Canadians were looking for adventure and employment after the depression left a generation coming of age without much hope for the future. Volunteering for the forces offered many young men and women a chance to finally get a paying job and an opportunity to see something new and have an adventure. Patriotism for "King and Country" was low on most people's lists. And most considered the "other guy" would get killed.

This was the atmosphere my father, Bert Parker, enlisted in the RCAF on August 15, 1941.

On September 12, 1941 he arrived at St. Thomas, Ontario to begin training as a fitter (engine mechanic).

St. Thomas Photos:

Upon completing his training and embarkation leave he arrived in Halifax on March 26, 1942. He was shipped overseas on the M/S Batory, leaving port on May 3, 1942. On May 11, 1942 the ship docked in Scotland. He arrived at 420 Bomber Squadron, based at Waddington, on June 11, 1942. He served with 420 Squadron A-Flight in England and North Africa as a "fitter" until being discharged in September 1945. He became a Corporal in December 1943. By then he usually had ten men working for him and four "kites" under his direct care. In January 1945 he was Mentioned In Despatches in the King's New Year's Honours list for distinguished service. The citation reads: "PARKER, Corporal Bertram (R115948) - Mention in Despatches - No.420 Squadron (No.62 Base) - Award effective 1 January 1945 as per London Gazette of that date and AFRO 425/45 dated 9 March 1945. Recommended for MiD, 22 July 1944 by the Commanding Officer, No.420 Squadron, who wrote: Corporal Parker has displayed a very fine example in his section by maintaining a high standard of efficiency. He is a conscientious and willing worker and has proved himself to be a very capable NCO. His untiring efforts have been an inspiration to all."

After being discharged from the Air Force in 1945, Bert returned to the family farm near Quill Lake, SK. He married Margaret (nee Oatway) in 1947. They lived on the farm until 2005.

420 Squadron Battle Honours:

English Channel and North Sea 1942-44, Baltic 1942, Fortress Europe 1942-44, France and Germany 1944-45, Biscay Ports 1942-44, Berlin 1944, Ruhr 1942-45, Normandy 1944, Rhine, Biscay 1942-43, Sicily 1943, Italy 1943.

420 Squadron History:

On December 19, 1941, 420 Squadron was formed in 5 Group at Waddington airbase four miles south of Lincoln. The first CO of the squadron was J. Collier who was followed by WC D.A.R. Bradshaw on April 30, 1942. The squadron flew the Handley Page Hampden Mark I from January 1942 to the first week of August of that year. The squadron then moved to the nearly completed airfield just north of the village of Skipton-on-Swale, 7 miles west of Thirsk. Here it began the conversion to the Vickers Wellington Mark III. It also was transferred from 5 Group to 4 Group. When it became operational in the Wellington it flew from Leeming airbase as the Skipton-on-Swale air base was not fully functional.

In mid October, 1942, the squadron moved to Middleton St. George, 6 miles east of Darlington. It became a part of Canadian 6 Group on January 1, 1943. On April 12, 1943 CO Bradshaw was replaced by W.D. McIntosh, DFC.

In May, 1943 the squadron, along with 424 and 425 squadrons, was deployed to North Africa to become 331 Wing of RAF 205 Group. On May 16 most of the squadron personnel boarded a ship in Liverpool and nine days later arrived in Algiers. Two days later it was transported to Boufarik, Algeria. Then on June 16, the squadron was moved to a newly created airstrip "Zina" scraped out of the barren plain 22 km sw of Kairouan, Tunisia. The squadron's twenty Wellington Mark X's were flown from England to Africa on June 1. The squadron flew its first operational mission as part of 331 Wing on June 26. The Wing came under the jurisdiction of 205 Group RAF on July 9. From Zina, it actively took part in the campaign against the Axis powers in Sicily and Italy. On September 29 it moved to Hani/East. The squadron's final operational sorties occurred on October 8. It left for Algiers by train on October 18, arriving three days later. On October 26 the squadron was loaded on the SS Samaria, which sailed for Liverpool the following day.

The SS Samaria arrived in Liverpool on November 6, 1943. The squadron disembarked and was transported to Dalton airbase. On November 9 the London Ontario Air Force Wives Association asked if they could adopt the squadron. Their request was gratefully accepted and a cable to Mrs. Pidgeon was sent to that effect. So the squadron became informally known as the "City of London Squadron."

From Dalton it was moved to Tholthorpe, 12 miles northwest of York, on December 12, 1943. At Tholthorpe the squadron converted to the Handley Page Halifax Mark III. The squadron remained at Tholthorpe until the end of the war. McIntosh was replaced as CO by G. A. McKenna on April 6, 1944. McKenna, in turn, was replaced by G.J. Edwards on October 24, 1944. W.G. Phelan DFC took over as CO on November 25, 1944. The last CO the squadron had during World War II was F.S. McCarthy who succeeded Phelan on January 30 1945. The last bombs dropped by the squadron's Halifaxes occurred on April 18, 1945.

The squadron then began converting to the Avro Lancaster Mark X in mid April, 1945 but hostilites in Europe ended prior to the squadron becoming operational on the Lancaster. The squadron aircrews flew their Lancasters to Debert, Nova Scotia. Those personnel not transported by air were sent to Canada by ship. 420 Squadron ended its mission in England on June 14, 1945. At Debert the squadron prepared to be a part of Tiger Force for attacks on Japan, but Japan surrendered before the squadron became operational in the Pacific Theatre.

420 Squadron Statistics (based on Middlebrook and Everitt, 1990 and squadron logs)

420 Squadron was one of the first three squadrons formed during World War II that were to be fully Canadian. 408 Vancouver Squadron was formed seven months earlier on April 23, 1941 in 4 Group and 419 Moose Squadron was formed on December 15, 1941 in 3 Group just four days prior to 420 Squadron's formation.

The squadron flew a total of 3,479 sorties while completing 314 missions as part of Bomber Command during World War II flying over Europe. The majority, 79% (247), of these were bombing missions. Mine laying accounted for 18% (47) and the remaining missions were related to leaflet dropping (eight missions) and weather reconnaissance (two missions). It also participated in a number of channel searches for downed aircraft. The squadron had the fourth highest number of sorties of all RCAF squadrons flying over Europe. Only 405, 408 and 419 squadrons had higher numbers of sorties. Its loss rate of 1.7% (60 planes) was the lowest of these squadrons and was the fourth lowest of all 6 Group squadrons in Europe. Additionally, from May to November 1943 it, with 424 and 425 Squadrons, was part of 331 Wing, RAF 205 Group stationed in North Africa. Here 420 Squadron was involved in 65 bombing missions and completed 641 sorties plus seven (eleven sorties) nickelling missions against Sicily and Italy. In North Africa it had eight losses, two of which occurred over the Bay of Biscay during the squadon's transit from England to North Africa prior to it becoming operational.

During the period it was flying Hampdens it flew 44 bombing and 37 mine laying missions as well as eight nickelling and one weather mission for a total of 535 sorties. During this phase it incurred 19 losses (3.6%). Flying Wellington Marks III's and Mark X's in the European and Mediterraean theaters the squadron was engaged in 108 bombing missions, 20 minelaying missions, seven nickelling and a single weather mission for a total of 1119 sorties. It lost 22 (2%) planes while flying Wellingtons on operations. The majority, 60% (2477), of the sorties flown during the war by the squadron was while they flew Halifax Mark III's. These were all bombing missions over Europe from February 15, 1944 to April 22, 1945. During this period only 1%, 25 bombers, were lost.

General Squadron Notes

420 Squadron was one of three "Canadian" Squadrons, the other two being 408 and 419, in existence when RCAF 6 Group came into being on January 1, 1943. The subsequent Canadianization of these three squadrons and five newly created squadrons was not a smooth process. Postings to and from the initial squadrons to increase Canadian content left squadrons under staffed and without the experience and expertise needed in the trades and aircrews. Plus there was a lack of qualified RCAF officers who had relevant flying experience and who would garner respect from the airmen. The relatively rapid increase in the number of squadrons in the Group (14 by January 1945) only aggravated and prolonged the problem. As a result, for quite some time 6 Group squadrons were best to be avoided if air crews wanted to survive. It took many months for the organization of the squadrons to gain some stability in personnel, trade expertise, standardize the aircraft (mainly the Halifax Mark III and Lancaster X by January 1945), and establish its own identity. Once this happened 6 Group soon lost its reputation as being a "chop" group and became a group to which aircrews wanted to be assigned.

I am always surprised by the lack of information on 420 squadron. It is usually mentioned only in passing with no details other than "420 Squadron" in the dry academic discussion of the politics and detached history of the war and Bomber Command, or, the biographical or autobiographical books of the adventures of particular flight crews of other squadrons. I have so far only found two references that focus on the squadron. Sainty (1988) deals with the Hampden period and McKay (1989), who completed a tour as a pilot with the squadron in 1944. The squadron had an interesting history during World War II that included a stint in North Africa. This was shared by only two other RCAF squadrons, 424 Squadron and 425 Squadron.

420 Squadron was always late converting to new planes. This may be why it has received so little attention. The squadron initially flew the essentially obsolete Hampden Mark I while other squadrons were converting to the Lancaster or were flying Halifaxes, Stirlings and Wellingtons. In fact, 420 was one of the last two squadrons, along with 408 Squadron, to quit flying the Hampden operationally. Similarly, it was late in converting to Halifaxes and Lancasters. The latter it never flew on ops in World War II. The squadron seemed to epitomise "Bomber" Harris's feeling when RCAF 6 Group was formed that the RAF should not give "these people ... the best of our equipment." He appeared to view the formation of 6 Group as purely political to appease the colonial masses in Canada. He was likely right too. In some ways, these delays might have been a benefit as the squadron did not have to survive the "operational testing" of new planes being rushed into production with flaws i.e. the initial marks of Halifaxes that were considered by many to be under-powered killers until the rudders were changed and the Merlin engines were discarded for Bristol Hercules which turned the Halifax B III into a bomber some would say almost equal to contemporary Lancaster marks.

The squadron's conversion to the Halifax B III from Wellington X's was very thorough, almost two months. The conversion for pilots included ground school as well as a number of dual and solo flying hours. At the same time the ground crews were learning how to service the aircraft. This probably improved the servicibility and reduced the number of initial crashes occurring in 420 Squadron compared to other squadrons. Squadrons flying the Mark II or Mark V were essentially just given the Mark III to fly with very little time for conversion. In some cases the pilots were just given a check list of changes and sent on their way. This resulted in a period of reduced servicibility and "prangs".

420 Squadron was involved in two major activities, dropping bombs and mining coastal waters. Bomber Command had a number of bombs in its main arsenal. There were general purpose bombs of sizes from 250 lbs to 2000 lbs. "Cookies", that were made from a thin metal canister filled with explosive, weighed in at 4,000, 8,000 or 12,000 lbs. The latter were one or two 4,000 lb cookies connected together. (There were also special purpose bombs used by modified Lancasters such as the spinning/bouncing "dambuster" and the huge 22,000 lb Grand Slam and the 12000 "tallboy" which were used to destroy hardened submarine pens, deep bunkers and tunnels. All were designed by Sir Barnes N. Wallis who also was the genius behind the geodesic design of the Wellington.) Incendiaries, fire starting bombs, were mostly of the 4 or 30 lb variety, some of phosphorus, that were packed in containers. When the container fell from the bomber it would break apart releasing its "bomblets". Many of the incendiaries and general purpose bombs had delayed fuses that would explode hours or even weeks after they were dropped (Dunmore and Carter 1992).

As well as dropping bombs 420 Squadron was heavily involved with aerial minelaying, also known as "gardening", along the European coast line and even in some major inland waterways. This technique proved very successful in damaging German shipping as well as involving many men and resources needed to continuously sweep for mines. 6 Group, according to Dunmore and Carte (1992), was the premier mining group in Bomber Command. Aerial mining involved precision flying from a "fix" to a specified locale where the mine would be dropped. The mines weighed from 1000 to just under 1900 lbs. Early versions had to be dropped from a very low altitude and at a specific speed or they would explode or be damaged when they contacted the water. Later mine designs enabled the bombers to fly much higher. The mines dropped would lay on the bottom until detonated by a ship's propellor sound or metal hull. The mines were battery operated so they had a limited life expectancy. "Gardening parties" were not milk runs. Flak from shore batteries or mobile flak ships and prowling night fighters protected the German coastal waters and caused many losses. Other dangers were the weather and flying into the black sea due to faulty instruments and/or weather.

A third mission 420 Squadron flew was that of dropping propaganda leaflets, "nickelling" over cities and towns in enemy held territory. While these were not as glamorous as bombing or minelaying they were considered essential to the Allied war effort and not without risk.

Papers and Maps:

King & Queen Visit to Linton on Ouse:

An RCAF bomber squadron during World War II typically consisted of two flights; A-Flight and B-Flight plus a maintenance flight of extra aircraft that would be rotated into operations as needed. Each plane was assigned a letter, A-Flight (A through M) and B-Flight (N through Z) that was used to identify it. Each flight consisted of about eight to twelve planes depending on losses and those "off" for repairs and inspection (R&I). However, if an all out effort was called for more than twenty bombers could sometimes be mustered for take off.

Aircrew numbers varied depending on the type of plane flown. While flying Hampdens the aircrew consisted of a pilot, navigator/bomb aimer, wireless operator/gunner and rear gunner. Wellington crews typically included a dedicated navigator and wireless operator and a bomb aimer who also operated the front gun. The conversion to the four engine Halifax increased the crew to seven with the addition of a flight engineer and a mid upper gunner. A mid under gunner position was regularly added to protect the vulnerable under belly of the plane.

A contingent of ground crew (erks) of various trades (engine mechanics (fitters), air frame workers (riggers), electricians, armourers, etc) would be responsible for the maintenance and arming of the bombers. These trades were divided so that a group would be directly responsible for four to six bombers. But the men of the trades were always willing to lend a helping hand to others down the line to ready the aircraft. No aircrew would minimize the importance of the ground crew although the aircrew received the "glamorous" reports in the daily news. All aircrew knew their lives depended on the expertise of the ground crew. In 420 Squadron, and possibly in other squadrons, the ground crew were given as their special mascot a stuffed penguin. "They may not fly but they are still birds."

A "sprog" (new/rookie) aircrew on ops would be assigned whatever bomber was available for that particular night. As an aircrew survived and got a number of ops "under their belt" they may be assigned a bomber to fly almost exclusively when they were on ops. At this point a close working relationship would often develop between plane, aircrew, and ground crew. Such was the case with many pilots and my father, especially Freddie Way, whose relationship with my father turned into a lifelong friendship.

Bomber squadrons were essentially a small town of aircrew, ground crew, administration, medical and catering services that made it possible to fly the fourteen or more bombers on operations night after night. For example, when the squadron was at Skipton-on-Swale its bombers were flown out of Leeming air base. For seven Wellingtons to be prepared for ops 95 ground crew were needed along with the 40 aircrew. The lowly erk, such as my father, toiled on the bombers in open dispersals in mud, rain and snow, cold or heat through the days and nights, as many pictures in my father's collection attest to. They also had to deal with pilot issues, system "Gremlins", "superior" officers, high explosive bombs, poor pay, and often extremely poor accommodations. I suspect all ground crew in the squadrons wanted to fly but because of limited education or physical problems they were unable to become part of a flight crew so they did the next best thing. So theirs was not the dangers of search lights, flak and night fighters but the unglamorous dangers of spinning props, vast quantities of hi octane fuel, explosives and ammo, and hand-smashing tools. Many erks were injured or killed from being hit by props, falling off ladders or slippery fuselages and wings, or crushing hands and fingers during the maintainence of the aircraft.

The daily routine on the flight line would begin with the arrival of the "kites" from night ops. In the case of 420 Squadron this was usually very early in the morning. The process began with the returning crew reporting any "snags" (problems/faults) they encountered with the bomber on ops. These were duly entered on the "700 Log" (maintenance sheet) for each bomber. Then a daily inspection (DI) would be done that involved all the major systems of the aircraft: engines and controls, all hydraulics, electrical systems, radios, intercom, oxygen supply, bomb sights, special navigation equipment, night fighter warning devices and friend/foe emitters, lighting systems, brakes. Minor battle damage from flak or night fighter shells to the "skin", perspex and flying surfaces would be patched up. The engines would all be run up by the fitters and checked for any performance issues or leaks. Often, there would be serious "snags" with the "kite"(s) that would have to be frantically repaired to get the bomber ready. If the bomber was on ops for the coming night it would be given a short flight test, usually by the crew that was going to fly it that night, after repairs had been made to ensure it was air worthy and ready for the night's mission. Once it had landed and all systems were satifactory it would be topped up with fuel and bombed up. Last minute things such as ensuring the right flare colours and polishing the perspex would be done. The now ops ready bomber would then be signed over to the care of the pilot with his signature on the 700 log.

As dusk closed in, the erks' cherished planes (After all, the aircrews just "borrowed" the aircraft, the ground crews "owned" the aircraft!) were started engine by engine. This was a hectic time for fitters as a plane that had all engines running perfectly in the afternoon would have one that refused to start due to heavy handed pilots or gremlins. (February 15,1944: Ops to-night after a heavy day's work. Changed several plugs on D and it got off OK. Sent six off from "A" flight.) Sometimes the plane would refuse to cooperate and the crew would have to pile out and rush to a spare bomber if one was available. Once everything was running smoothly the bombers would taxi out of dispersal to the marshalling line. Then each bomber in turn would taxi into position at the end of the runway and take off into the night's black abyss. Weary ground crews would head to their billets to do domestic duties, write letters or try and catch some fitful sleep while all the time worrying about "their" aircrews and "kites". Those on duty would catch short naps or tinker with an aircraft not on ops waiting for the crews to return.

In the early morning hours the bombers on ops straggled back "home". If lucky, the crews would return weary but unharmed. Too often there would be urgent requests for priority landing because of damage from flak or a night fighter's shells or wounded or dead crew members on board. Too often a crew would not return at all. Then there would be the waiting and checking with other bases to determine if the crew had diverted away from base. If no information could be found the crew would be simply, coldly, reported as "missing." (May 1, 1944: Lost Ed in "J" last night. The only kite lost of 6 Group and it was his last trip too. War is hell in so many ways. Ops on again to tonight and I am on. ) Then the aircrew's kit and personal belongings would be gathered together by the padre and the inevitable notification letters would be written and sent to the next of kin. Often it would be some time before the squadron could confirm if any members of the aircrew survived crashes on enemy territory and were either POW's or working their way through the underground in an attempt to escape to England (January 27, 1945: Squadron advised that RAF1336195 Sgt Bethell, P.E., who had gone missing on the night of March 15, 1944 is considered presumed dead.)

Regularly bombs would hang up over the target and could not be jettisoned. Then all the skill of the exhausted pilot would be called upon to gently land, an often damaged bomber, and not cause the bomb to dislodge. If the bomb did fall out there was a good chance it and much of the aircraft would be blown skyward in an horrific explosion and fire killing many of the crew. If the landing was successful the armourers would have the ticklish job of getting the bomb out of the bomb bay. Often the bomb would just be resting on the closed bay doors waiting to drop out when they were opened.

Often the aircraft were prepared for ops with full fuel loads and bomb loads, air crews briefed and "psyched up" waiting for take off only to have the ops delayed for hours or even scrubbed at the last moment by bad weather enveloping the base, forecast storms on the planned route to the target, cloud forecast over the target, or, by what seemed to be, the whims of the upper echelons of Bomber Command. It must have been frustrating for all of the airmen. As the war progressed the use of pathfinders with their target indicators, and as navigation aids such as Gee, Oboe and H2S equipped more planes, accurate bombing even through 10/10's cloud was possible. Although as it can been seen from the various reports even these aids did not guarantee a successful raid.

If not slated for ops, aircrews were lectured on the latest flying tactics, enemy tactics and new equipment or in flight training procedures and drills. In the early years air gunners spent hours shooting clay pigeons to improve their aim. Training flights throughout the UK were always scheduled except in severe weather. These flights required the same efforts from the aircrews and ground crews as a regular mission. And, no matter what the training flight entailed (bulls-eye (mock attacks over English cities), fighter affiliation, cross-country, etc) there was always a risk of getting lost, being shot down by friendly flak batteries or night fighters or having a critical malfunction and crashing. Thus the work of the squadron was a never ending struggle to keep the bombers in service. A person can understand why, with all this effort on top of the uncertainty of survival of the aircrews, that when not on ops or on leave, the servicemen needed to "blow off a little steam" at the local village pub or the famous Bettys Bar in York with its mirror signed by hundreds of airmen.

Aircrews were usually screened after a first tour of about 30 ops. They were then usually sent to a training unit where they instructed and trained new airmen. After about 6 months they were returned to active front line duty for a second tour that would be about 20 ops. If they survived the second tour they would be screened from further active duty and posted to a training facility or "desk job". This was very unlike the erks who would have to remain in the "King's service" until, at the "King's" discretion, they were "demobbed" or in most cases the hostilities ended.

Bibliography and Resources:

The main reference for these pages is the RCAF Operational Records Books for 420 Squadron from the Library and Archives Canada/C12293 and C12294, which provide a daily report of the squadron's activities. Often these are very detailed documents relating the weather, important visitors, postings and activities as well as the expected details of operations. Unfortunately, some of these records have errors or are illegible, likely due to the number of carbon copies that had to be typed, the typists and the microfilm copying process. And, some are even hand written to make things worse! Not to mention that the records on the many yards/meters of microfilm are not in chronological order. For the European Theater Middlebrook and Everitt (1990), Dunmore and Carter (1991) and Richard Koval's excellent web site on 6 Group Bomber Command provided valuable supplemental information as well as information pertaining to losses. Further information related to losses in the European Theater are drawn from WH Chorley's series "Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War" (1942, 1943, 1944, 1945).

For the period 420 Squadron spent in North Africa as part of 331 Wing 205 Group I have supplemented the squadron's ORB's with information from the ORB's from 331 Wing and 205 Group RAF that were researched for me in London by R. O'Hara of Public Record Searches.

Acknowledgements:

Readers are beginning to provide supplemental information to the 420 web pages and I wish to thank the following for their contributions: R. Barclay, R. Butson, C. Davies, J. Everitt, D. Fimio, H. Fluxgold, K. Gibson, P.Gribbons, N. Guild, R. Koval, J. Lauder, R. Leslie, B. May, R. McLaren, D. Murry, R. O'Hara (Public Record Searches), G. Poirie, E.H. Pollock, P. Sainty, J. Trost, J. Waghorn and M. Wort.