No. 111 Squadron
Thunderbird
Authorized as No. 11 (Army Co-operation) Squadron at Vancouver, British Columbia on October 5, 1932, the unit commenced flying training in October 1934 when it received four Moth aircraft. Re-numberered and re-designated as No. 111 CAC (Coast Artilllery Co-operation) Squadron on November 15, 1937. The Squadron was mobilized on September 10, 1939 and moved to its war station at Patricia Bay (Vancouver) British Columbia, with a strength of four Lysander aircraft. Designate as a Fighter squadron on June 14 but not converted. The Squadron was disbanded on February 1, 1941.
Re-formed as a Fighter unit at Rockcliffe (Ottawa), Ontario on 3 November 1941, the squadron flew Kittyhawk aircraft on West Coast air defence. From June 1942 to August 1943 it was part of the RCAF reinforcement to the United States Army Air Forces in Alaska, and completed two tours of offensive operations against Japanese forces on Kiska Island in the Aleutians. Selected in late 1943 as one of six home fighter units for overseas duty it was redesignated No. 440 (Fighter Bomber) Squadron at Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland on 8 February 1944.
1 DFC, 4 Air Medals (USA)
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First Mission 1 July 1942, 6 Kittyhawks from Elmendorf Field, Anchorage, Alaska - to intercept unidentified aircraft, wrong vector given, intruder turned out to be a Bolingbroke. First Offensive Mission 25 September 1942, 4 Kittyhawks from Umnak Island (RCAF's first mission against Kiska) were part of the fighter cover of 12 P-39's and 20 P-40's for 9 B-24's attacking Japanese installations. After the B-24's completed their bombing run, the fighters strafed naval craft and gun emplacements, and S/L Boomer was credited with a Zero floatplane fighter destroyed. Summary
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