No. 440 Squadron

Badge: A bat in front of clouds
Motto: Ka ganawaitak saguenay (He who protects the Saguenay)
Authority: Queen Elizabeth II, Oc­tober 1955

The bat suggestive of night flying and use of radar, and the clouds condi­tions of poor visibility.

Formed as an All-Weather (Fighter) unit at Bagotville, Quebec on 1 Oc­tober 1953, the squadron flew CF-100 aircraft on North American air defence until May 1957 when it then joined No. 1 Air Divi­sion Europe to replace No. 413 (Fighter) Squadron in No. 3 Wing at Zweibrucken, Germany. On the withdrawal of CF-100 aircraft from operational service, the squadron was disbanded on 31 December 1962.

Brief Chronology: Formed at Bagotville, Que. 1 Oct 53. Disbanded at Zweibrucken, Ger. 31 Dec 62.

Nickname: “Bat”

Commanders

• W/C A.G. Lawrence, DFC, AFC 1 Oct 53 – 17 Oct 54.
• W/C C.V.B. Carson, CD 18 Oct 54 – 11 Jan 56.
• W/C J.M. Sutherland, CD 9 Feb 56 – 28 Mar 57.
• W/C W.A.G. Mcleish, DFC, AFC, CD 29 Mar 57 – 20 Jun 57 KIFA.
• W/C S.F. Cowan, CD 27 May 58 – 2 Aug 59.
• W/C J.F. Corrigan, DFC, CD 3 Aug 59 – 24 Jul 61.
• W/C R.F. Herbert, CD 31 July 61 – 31 Dec 62.

Higher Formations and Squadron Locations

Air Defence Command:

• Bagotville, Que. 1 Oct 53 – 10 May 57.
• En route overseas (Operation “Nimble Bat III”) 11 May 57.

No. 1 Air Division Europe:

No. 3 (Fighter) Wing,

• Zweibrucken, Ger. 12 May 57 – 15 Jun 62.

No. 4 (Fighter) Wing,

• Baden-Soellingen, Ger. (for withdrawal of CF-100 aircraft) 16 Jun 62 – 31 Dec 62.

Representative Aircraft (Unit Code KE)

Avro CF-100 Canuck Mk.38 (Oct 53 – Sep 55)

• 18126   18134   18137   18150

Avro CF-100 Canuck Mk.4B (Feb 55 – Dec 62)

• 18320   18363   18402   18416