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The Crucible of War 1939-1945

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The Crucible of War 1939-1945 The Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Volume III Brereton Greenhous, Stephen J. Harris, William C. Johnston, and William G.P. Rawling Some 40 per cent of RCAF aircrew who served overseas during the Second World War did so in RCAF squadrons. This is their story. The first squadron to see action was No l Fighter Squad­ ron, later to be No 40 l, which after l 8 August 1940 participated in the Battle of Britain. The last squadrons in service were Nos 435 and 436, de­ livering supplies in Burma until late August 1945· In the intervening years, RCAF squadrons served in all the major commands and in most major theatres of war. They were engaged by day and by night in air-to-air combat, strategic bombing, photo-reconnaissance, anti-shipping strikes and anti-submarine patrols, close air support, interdic­ tion, and tactical airlift supply. The Crucible of War is divided into five parts: Air Policy, the Fighter War, the Maritime Air War, the Bomber Air War, and the Air Transport War. The authors break new ground by demon­ strating the influence of senior RCAF officers in shaping the execution of Canadian air policy, and they show how senior RCAF officers were permit­ ted to determine the pace of Canadianization of the RCAF. Many operations are described in detail from a wide variety of documentary sources, among them the unsuccessful battle of attrition that resulted from Fighter Command's offensive over France in 1941-2, and the actions of the RCAF's No 83 Group in Second Tactical Air Force, which pro­ vided air support for the British Second Army. Overdue notice is accorded the anti-shipping strike squadrons of Coastal Command. No 6 Group's battle with German night-fighters is re­ counted within the framework of complex elec­ tronic measures and counter-measures developed by both sides. The RCAF, with a total strength of 4061 officers and men on l September 1939, grew by the end of the war to a strength of more than 263,000 men and women. This important and well-illustrated -- ---~~ ------ --~~---~~~-9~~----- - --- 0 MOSCOW \ / / ___________________________ !~~~~ ~~~~ -------------------------- -- akoradi Equator ATLANTIC OCEAN Durban Langebaan Cape Town T HE C RU C I B LE 0 F W AR , 1939-1945 THE OFFICIAL HISTORY OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE VOLUME III BRERETON GREENHOUS STEPHEN J. HARRIS WILLIAM C. JOHNSTON and WILLIAM G.P. RAWLING The Crucible of War, 1939-1945 The Official History of The Royal Canadian Air Force Volume III Maps and charts by William R. Constable Published by University of Toronto Press in cooperation with the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Government Publishing Centre, Supply and Services Canada © Minister of Supply and Services Canada 1994 Co-published by University of Toronto Press Inc. in cooperation with the Department of National Defence and the Canada Communication Group - Publishing, Supply and Services Canada. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of the Minister of Supply and Services Canada. Printed in Canada ISBN 0-8020-0574-8 Government catalogue number 02-63/3- 1994E Printed on acid-free paper Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title: The Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force Contents: v. 3. The crucible of war, I 939-I 945 Brereton Greenhous ... [et al.] Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8020-0574-8 (v. 3) 1. Canada. Royal Canadian Air Force - History. l. Canada. Dept. of National Defence. c80-094480- 1 This volume will also be published in French translation. Illustrations in this book come from the Department of National Defence, Ottawa, and the Imperial War Museum, London, England; acknowledgment is hereby given for permission to reproduce them. Codes at the end of captions represent negative numbers at the DND (PL, PMR, RE, HC, PT, LMG, MSG, EM R) and the !WM (B, c, CH, CL, H, HY) . Note: In the writing of this volume the authors have been given full access to relevant official documents in possession of the Department of National Defence. The infer­ ences drawn and opinions expressed are those of the authors, and the department is in no way responsible for their reading or presentation of the facts as stated. Contents Maps, Figures, and Tables vu Acknowledgments xi Abbreviations xiii General Introduction xxiii Part I: Air Policy Introduction l 3 l The Re-creation of a Colonial Air Force, September 1939-May 1941 16 2 The Foundations of Canadianization, June 1941-June 1942 44 3 Struggle and Dissent, June 1942-May 1945 77 4 Cutting Out a Paper Tiger, 1943-5 106 Part II: The Fighter War Introduction 163 5 Establishing a Presence, r 940 166 6 Turning to the Offensive, 1941-2 200 7 The Turn of the Tide, 1942-3 231 8 Preparing for D-Day, 1943-4 265 9 The Normandy Campaign, June-August 1944 293 IO Final Battles, T 944-5 323 Part III: The Maritime Air War Introduction 375 l 1 The Anti-Submarine War in European and Far Eastern Waters, 1941-5 378 12 In Search of a Strike Force, 1940-2 417 I 3 A Force to Be Reckoned With, 1943- 5 444 vi Contents Part IV: The Bomber War Introduction 523 14 The Genesis of a Bombing Offensive, 1933-41 528 15 The Offensive at Risk, Fall 1941-Spring 1942 554 16 The Expansion of Bomber Command, Summer 1942 587 17 The Formation of No 6 (RCAF) Group, Fall 1942-Spring 1943 623 18 No 6 Group Falters, Spring and Summer 1943 656 19 Into the Electronic Age, Hamburg and After, July-October 1943 689 20 On to Berlin, November-December 1943 729 21 Berlin, Mining, and Preparations for Overlord, January-April I 944 761 22 Working for SHAEF, April-September 1944 796 23 Armageddon over Germany, September 1944-May 1945 829 Part v: Air Transport Introduction 875 24 Airlift in Europe and Southeast Asia, 1944-5 877 Appendices A: RCAF Casualties 912 B: Senior Appointments 913 Notes 919 Index 1047 Maps, Figures, and Tables Maps Royal Canadian Air Force Operations Overseas, 194o-6 endplates RCAF Bases and Targets during Circus and Ramrod Operations in 1941 211 RCAF Bases and Targets during Circus and Ramrod Operations, January- August 1942 2 I 9 'Operation Jubilee' - Dieppe Raid, 19 August 1942 234 No 417 Squadron, June 1942 - May 1945 252 Fighter Ranges (from Tangmere) and Group Boundaries for Operation Overlord, 6 June 1944 301 RCAF Wings in Northwest Europe in Relation to the Front Line on Specific Dates, 6 June 1944-7 May 1945 (between 328 and 329) Operation Bodenplatte, I January 1945 342 No 413 Squadron Area of Operations, 1942-4 385 Maritime Air Operations in Northwest Europe, 1941-5 (between 392 and 393) RCAF Anti-shipping Operations, Dutch Coast, 1941-5 425 RCAF Anti-shipping Operations, Norwegian Coast, i943-5 451 German Night-Fighter Defences and Bomber Command, May 1940 543 German Night-Fighter Defences and Bomber Command, December 1940 544 German Night-Fighter Defences and Bomber Command, March 1941 563 German Night-Fighter Defences and Bomber Command, February 1942 564 The German Defensive System, 3 I December l 941 588 No 6 Group Bases in the Vale of York (between 616 and 617) No 331 Wing Operations in the Mediterranean, 26 June-6 October 1943 645 German Night-Fighter Defences and Bomber Command, September 1942 662 German Night-Fighter Defences and Bomber Command, July 1943 663 Kassel 22/23 October 1943, Position of Bomber Aircraft at 20:40 Hours, Outward Route 723 viii Maps, Figures, and Tables Luftwaffe Radar Installations, 1944-5 747 Luftwaffe Night-Fighter Organization, March 1944 774 No 6 Group Minelaying Operations, 1939-45 (between 776 and 777) Night Operations, 20/21 April 1944 798 Night Operations, 6/7 October 1944, Dortmund 833 No 6 Group Bombing Targets, 1943-5 (between 840 and 841) Luftwaffe Night-Fighter Organization, November 1944 848 Coverage Provided by the German Early Warning Radar Network, November l 944 849 Night Operations, 5/6 January 1945, Hanover 853 435 and 436 Squadrons Operations, October 1944-September 1945 895 Figures RCAF Squadron Strength, 1939-45 40 RCAF Overseas Order of Battle - Fighter and Army Cooperation 180-1 No 83 (Composite) Group 269 Airfield Organization, 83 Group 273 RCAF Overseas Order of Battle, Maritime Reconnaissance and Strike 380 Relative Efficiencies of Bomber Aircraft: National Labour Effort Expended by Bomber Command to Drop One Ton of Bombs - All Targets, 1943 605 RCAF Overseas Order of Battle, Bomber Command 637 Accuracy of Night Bombing of German Cities (excluding Berlin) 659 Loss Rates, by Group, on Halifax Night Operations, January 1943- April 1945 (between 680 and 681) Loss Rates, by Group, on Lancaster Night Operations, January 1943- April 1945 (between 680 and 681) Loss Rates, by Group, on Wellington Night Operations, January- October 1943 683 The Electronic War 1942: Major Measures and Countermeasures 691 The Electronic War: Window 1943-5 692 The Electronic War: Major 1943 Additions (excluding Window) 704 Theoretical and Actual Distribution of Losses in Bomber Command Squad- rons Resulting from Raids on German Targets, May-September 1943 718 The Electronic War: Major 1944-5 Additions (excluding Window) 733 No 6 Group Raids, Winter 1943-4: Northeastern Germany 744 No 6 Group Raids, Winter 1943-4: Southern Germany 744 Relation between Loss Rate and Percentage of Crews Surviving IO, 20, and 30 Operations 7 56 Bombing Accuracy in Night Operations, 1942-4 768 Tonnage of Bombs Dropped by Bomber Command (including
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