No. 39 Wing RCAF
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2022) |
| No. 39 Wing RCAF No. 83 (RCAF) (Reconnaissance) Wing RAF No. 39 (Reconnaissance) Wing RCAF No. 39 (Army Co-operation) Wing RCAF 39th (Training) Wing RFC .svg){kind=small}  | |
|---|---|
| Active | 27 October 1917 - 4 April 1919 (RFC/RAF) 3 December 1942 – 9 July 1943 (RCAF) 9 July 1943 - 7 August 1945 (RAF) |
| Country | Canada United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Canadian Air Force Royal Air Force |
| Type | Wing |
| Role | Reconnaissance |
| Part of | First Canadian Army RAF Second Tactical Air Force |
No. 39 Wing RCAF was a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force which served with the Royal Air Force in Europe during the Second World War.
History
[edit]No. 39 Wing was established on 12 September 1942 as an "Army Cooperation" Wing at Leatherhead, Surrey, England.[1][2] It comprised No. 400 Squadron RCAF, No. 414 Squadron RCAF, and No. 430 Squadron RCAF. As a reconnaissance unit, its purpose was to gather photographic intelligence in support of allied ground operations.[1]
However Ray Sturtivant and John Hamlin in their 2007 edition of "Royal Air Force flying training and support units since 1912" states the unit was reformed on 3 December 1942.[3] However Ken Delve in his 1994 book "The Source Book of the RAF" says No. 39 Wing RCAF was formed on 1 August 1943 at RAF Redhill, disbanding on 7 August 1945.[4]
The Wing left the UK and moved to the European continent on 2 July 1944 at Sommervieu, France.[1] The Wing moved ever eastward following the front and finished the war at airfield B156 Luneburg, Germany where it was finally disbanded.[1]
Aircraft
[edit]- Curtiss Tomahawk I (1942–1943)
- North American Mustang I (1942–1945)
- Supermarine Spitfire LF IX (1944–1945)
- de Havilland Mosquito PR XVI (1943–1945)
Commanding Officers
[edit]- G/C D.M. Smith, 12 Sep 42 – 9 Feb 44
- G/C E.H.G. Moncrieff AFC, 10 Feb 44 – 8 Feb 45
- G/C G.H. Sellers, AFC, 9 Feb 45 – 15 May 45
- G/C R.C.A. Waddell, DSO DFC, 16 May 45 – 7 Aug 45
See also
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References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b c d Kostenuk, Samuel; Griffin, John (1977). RCAF Squadron Histories and Aircraft 1924–1968. Toronto: National Museum of Man Canada. p. 255. ISBN 0-88866-577-6.
- ^ "Air Force (Canada) History". Royal Canadian Air Force Association. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 289.
- ^ Delve 1994, p. 133.
Bibliography
[edit]- Delve, Ken (1994). The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
- Sturtivant, Ray; Hamlin, John (2007). Royal Air Force flying training and support units since 1912. Tonbridge, UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 978-0851-3036-59.
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1 Aircraft administered and serviced by the RCAF but crewed by the Royal Canadian Artillery.
2 Non-standard code as unit using OW added L. Letters normally denoted parent Command, aircraft type (L Liberator transport, D Dakota etc), unit, and individual aircraft. 3 VC .svg){kind=small} XXA where VC was the civil code used by the RCAF replacing CF-, XX was the unit code and A was the aircraft ID letter4 XX nnn where XX was the unit code and nnn was the last 3 digits of the serial number. Unit code was replaced with "RCAF" in 1958 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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