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No. 466 Squadron was a R.A.A.F. Squadron, operating under R.A.F. command from Britain. It was formed at Driffield on 15 October 1942, and formed part of the Bomber Command main force for most of the war. The squadron converted from the Wellington to the Halifax in the autumn of 1943, retaining that aircraft until September 1945. The squadron had just converted to the Liberator as part of Transport Command when it was disbanded.
Location
October 1942 to 27 December 1942: Driffield
27 December 1942 to 3 June 1944: Leconfield
3 June 1944 to 8 September 1945: Driffield
8 September 1945 to 26 October 1945: Bassingbourn
Aircraft
October 1942 to December 1942: Vickers Wellington III
November 1942 to September 1943: Vickers Wellington X
September 1943 to November 1943: Handley Page Halifax B.Mk II
November 1943 to May 1945:
Handley Page Halifax B.Mk III
May 1945 to October 1945: Handley Page Halifax B.Mk VI
October 1945: Liberator VIII
Squadron Codes: HD
Group and Duty
October 1942 to May 1945: Bomber squadron with No. 4 Group
7 May 1945 to 26 October 1945: Transport Command
26 October 1945: Disbanded
Known Raids/ Significant Dates
13 January 1943: First Wellington operation
1 December 1943: First Halifax operation
Bomber Offensive, Sir Arthur Harris.
The autobiography of Bomber Harris, giving his view of the strategic bombing campaign in its immediate aftermath. Invaluable for the insights it provides into Harris’s approach to the war, what he was trying to achieve and the problems he faced. Harris perhaps overstates his case, not entirely surprisingly given how soon after the end of the war this book was written (Read Full Review)
Halifax Squadrons of World War II , Jon Lake. This is a very good book on the combat record of the Handley Page Halifax. It covers much more than just its role as a front line bomber, with chapters on the Halifax with Coastal Command, the Pathfinders and SOE, amongst others. [see more]
