No.435 Squadron (RCAF): Second World War

Aircraft - Locations - Group and Duty - Books

No.435 Squadron (RCAF) was a Canadian transport squadron that operated over Burma, supporting the 14th Army during the reconquest of Burma.

The squadron was formed on 20 August 1944 at Chaklala (in the Punjab), where its equipment and personnel arrived over the next weeks. It was equipped with the Douglas Dakota, and trained with that aircraft at Chaklala. It then moved to Gujrat (north of Lahore, also in the Punjab), before in December 1944 moving to Tulihal (just to the south-east of Imphal), and only thirty miles to the west of the Burmese border.

On 20 December 1944 the squadron carried out its first operation, and it spent the rest of the war flying supplies to the advancing 14th Army as it reconquered Burma. Air support was a key factor in the Allied victory in Burma, allowing much stronger forces to deployed than could have been supplied by land transport.

On 1 September 1945 the squadron's aircraft began to leave for the UK. On 18 September the squadron was declared operational at Down Ampney, and it spent the next few months operating on routes between Croyden and the Continent. Operations ended on 15 March 1946 and the squadron was disbanded on 31 March.

Aircraft
September 1944-March 1946: Douglas Dakota III
October 1944-March 1946: Douglas Dakota IV

Location
20 August-1 October 1944: Chaklala
1 October-19 December 1944: Gujrat (north of Lahore)
19 December-1 September 1945: Tulihal
18 September 1944-31 March 1946: Down Ampney
     10 October 1945-15 March 1946: Detachment to Croydon

Squadron Codes: O, ODMA

Duty
Transport

Books

 

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (8 November 2021), No. 435 Squadron (RCAF): Second World War, http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RCAF/435_wwII.html

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