No. 427 "Lion" Squadron (RCAF): Second World War

Aircraft - Locations - Group and Duty - Books

No.427 "Lion" Squadron was a RCAF squadron that formed in November 1942 in Britain as part of Bomber Command. The new squadron formed around a nucleus provided by No.419 Squadron, and was able to begin operations only five weeks after forming, flying its first raid with the Wellington on 14 December 1943.

The squadron remained part of the main bomber force until the end of the war, with only two breaks - one between 27 April and 29 May 1943 when the squadron converted to the Lancaster, and one between 3-11 March 1945 while it switched to the Lancaster. The squadron was one of the more stable of the war, making only one change of base in three years, when it moved from Croft to Leeming, ten miles to the south.

Aircraft
November 1942-April 1943: Vickers Wellington III
February 1943-May 1943: Vickers Wellington X
May 1943 to February 1944: Handley Page Halifax B.Mk V
January 1944 to March 1945: Handley Page Halifax B.Mk III
February 1945-May 1946: Avro Lancaster I and III

Location
7 November 1942-4 May 1943: Croft
4 May 1943-31 May 1946: Leeming

Squadron Codes: ZL

Duty
Bomber squadron with No. 6 (RCAF) Group

Books

Battlefields in the Air: Canadians in the Allied Bomber Command, Dan McCaffery. A look at Bomber Command's controversial campaign against Germany, and the role played in it by the Canadian pilots of No.6 Group. McCaffery's well researched text is supported by eye witness accounts from both the Canadian air crew and the German targets of the bombing campaign.

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]

Lancaster Squadrons 1944-45, Jon Lake. A well balanced look at the career of the Avro Lancaster in 1944-45, the period most famous for the systematic night bombardment of German cities. This was also the period that saw the Lancaster used to support the invasion of France, and the period that saw 617 Squadron drop Barnes Wallis's huge streamlined bombs with great precision. [see more]

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