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Aircraft - Locations - Group and Duty - Books
No.436 Squadron (RCAF) was a Canadian transport squadron that flew supplies to the Fourteenth Army during the reconquest of Burma, then operated with Transport Command in the UK after the end of the war.
The squadron was officially formed on 20 August 1944, but at that point it's personnel were still on their way to India. The air crews went to Chaklala (in the Punjab) to train, while the rest of the squadron formed at Gujrat (also in the Punjab, now in modern Pakistan). The first personnel arrived in October and the first aircraft in November.
The squadron became operational in December, when it was used to transport No.117 Squadron from Bikram to its new base at Hathazari.
On 13 January 1945 the squadron moved to Kangla, on the Burmese border. It was then used to drop supplies to the Fourteenth Army during the reconquest of Burma, which was largely made possible by the widespread use of air supply.
In January the squadron was used to fly No.42 Squadron to Ye-U in Burma, and then to fly supplies to XXXIII Corps, part of the Indian Army. The pace of operations soon built up, and in March the squadron flew 1,600 sorties, mainly supply drops or into small landing strips.
In April most of the squadrons operations were in support of the battle around Meiktela. In May and June it was used to fly supplies into Ramree Island, which had fallen to the British early in February 1945. In June 1,388 sorties were flown. This pace was kept up during July, but began to slow down in August.
In the first half of September 1945 Nos.435 and 436 Squadrons flew from Burma to the UK, and reformed at Down Ampney in Gloucestershire. From October 1945 until the summer of 1946 the squadron was used to provide transport services to Allied bases across Europe.
On June 1946 the squadron began to fly its aircraft west across the Atlantic to Canada, with the last leaving on 22 June. The squadron was officially disbanded on 30 June 1946.
Aircraft
October 1944-June 1946: Douglas Dakota III and Douglas Dakota IV
Location
9 October 1944-13 January 1945: Gujrat (Punjab)
13 January-17 March 1945: Kangla (Burmese Border)
18 MArch-10 May 1945: Maunubyin
10 May-1 September 1945: Kyaykpyu
15 September-4 April 1945: Down Ampney
9 December 1945-13 April 1946: Detachment to Biggin Hill
4 April-22 June 1946: Odiham
Squadron Codes: D
Duty
January-September 1945: Transport Squadron, Far East
October 1945-June 1946: Transport Command, UK