No. 428 Squadron — Ghost

Group
No. 6 Group (RCAF)
Command
Bomber Command
Home station
RAF Middleton St George

In the database: 1 aircraft.

History

No. 428 “Ghost” Squadron was formed in November 1942 as a Royal Canadian Air Force bomber unit and joined the Canadian No. 6 Group at the start of 1943. It flew its first operation on the Vickers Wellington against the U-boat base at Lorient, and in mid-1943 settled at RAF Middleton St George, where it remained for the rest of the war. There it converted to the Handley Page Halifax and then, in mid-1944, to the Canadian-built Avro Lancaster B.X.

The squadron was said to have earned its “Ghost” name from its long hours of night work and the destruction it carried to the enemy. Its motto was Usque ad finem — “to the very end”. In the closing days of the war its Lancasters also helped airlift liberated prisoners of war home.

Photographs

Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Damage to [Vickers Wellington](/aircraft/4/) Mark X, HE239 'NA-Y', of [No. 428 Squadron](/squadrons/50/) RCAF based at [Dalton](/airfields/6111/), Yorkshire, resulting from a direct hit from anti-aircraft gun fire while approaching to bomb Duisburg, Germany on the night of 8/9 April 1943. Despite the loss of the rear turret and its gunner, as well as other extensive damage, the pilot, Sergeant L F Williamson, continued to bomb the target, following which it was found that the bomb doors could not be closed because of a complete loss of hydraulic power. Williamson nevertheless brought HE239 and the remainder of his crew back for a safe landing at [West Malling](/airfields/6389/), Kent, where this photograph was taken.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vickers_Wellington_wreck_West_Malling_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945_CH9867.jpgView source & full licence →