No. 432 "Leaside" Squadron (RCAF): Second World War

Aircraft - Locations - Group and Duty - Books

No.432 "Leaside" Squadron was a RCAF bomber squadron, formed on 1 May 1943 around a nucleus of eighteen crews provided by No.427 squadron. As a result it was able to fly its first operation on 23 May, only three weeks later.

On 22 October 1943 No.432 became the last of No.6 Groups to use the Wellington on a raid, before converting to the Lancaster. It converted to the Halifax III early in 1944, flying its first operation with the new aircraft on 28 February 1944. The aircraft remained part of the main bomber force until the end of the war in Europe.

Aircraft
May 1943-October 1943: Vickers Wellington X
October 1943-February 1944: Avro Lancaster II
February-July 1944: Handley Page Halifax B.Mk III
June 1944-May 1945: Handley Page Halifax B.Mk VII

Location
1 May-18 September 1943: Skipton-on-Swale
18 September 1943-15 May 1945: East Moor

Squadron Codes: QO

Duty
1943-1945: Bomber Command

Books

6 Group Bomber Command: An Operation Record, Chris Ward. This is a very detailed reference book that looks at the wartime service of the Canadian group in RAF Bomber Command. A detailed narrative history of the group is followed by a series of chapters on each squadron, with a brief history, list of stations, commanding officers and types of aircraft, and most impressively a list of every individual aircraft to serve with each squadron and its fate [read full review]
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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.
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Review of Halifax Squadrons by John lake 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]
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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)
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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (23 March 2007), No. 432 Squadron (RCAF): Second World War, http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RCAF/432_wwII.html

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