No. 426 Squadron

Badge A thunderbird
Motto On wings of fire
Authority King George VI, October 1943

The thunderbird is a mythical bird, the sight of which is supposed to cause havoc and death to those who perceive it. It was the name given by some Indians to the first aeroplane they saw. The thunderbird signified disaster to those on the ground who have incurred its displeasure.

Formed as a Transport unit at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia on 1 August 1946 from the Dartmouth portion of No. 164 (Transport) Squadron, the squadron moved to Dorval (Montreal), Quebec in March 1947 and was re-equipped from Dakota to four-engine North Star aircraft for long­range transport duty. From July 1950 to June 1954 it was employed on the Korean airlift (Operation “Hawk”) and made 600 round trips across the North Pacific between Vancouver and Tokyo, logging 34,000 flying hours and carrying 13,000 personnel and 7,000,000 pounds of freight and mail without mishap. In 1956 it airlifted United Na­tions Emergency Force personnel and equipment to the Middle East and, in 1960-62, to the Belgian Congo. The unit moved to Trenton, Ontario in September 1959, and in January 1962 to St Hubert (Montreal) Quebec. The squadron was disbanded on 1 September 1962 (1).

Brief Chronology: Formed at Dartmouth, N.S. 1 Aug 46. Disbanded at St Hubert, Que. 1 Sep 62.

Nickname: “Thunderbird”

Ancestry: No. 164 (Transport) Squadron

Commanders

• W/C C.A. Willis, DFC 1 Aug 46 – 28 Feb 47.
• W/C C.G.W. Chapman, DSO 1 Mar 47 – 17 Feb 49.
• W/C C.H. Mussells, OBE, DSO, DFC 18 Feb 49 – 31 Mar 51.
• W/C J.K.F. MacDonald, DFC, CD 1 Jun 51 – 28 Aug 52.
• W/C H.W. Lupton, AFC, CD 8 Sep 52 – 20 Jul 55.
• W/C A.J. Mackie, DFC, CD 21 Jul 55 – 3 Nov 59.
• W/C J.O. Maitland, CD 4 Nov 59 – 18 Oct 61.
• W/C A.J. Mackie, DFC, CD 20 Oct 61 – 1 Sep 62.

Higher Formation and Squadron Locations

Air Transport Command:

• Dartmouth, N.S. 1 Aug 46 – 9 Mar 47.
• Dorval, Que. 10 Mar 47 – 31 Aug 59.
• Korean Airlift (Operation “Hawk”) McChord AFB, Tacoma, Wash., USA 25 Jul 50 – 15 Jun 51.
• Trenton, Ont. 1 Sep 59 – 31 Dec 61.
• St Hubert, Que. 1 Jan 62 – 1 Sep 62.

Representative Aircraft

Douglas Dakota Mk.IV (Aug 46 – Jun 48)

Canadair North Star (Sep 47 – Aug 62)

• 17502 to 17505   17509 to 17512

Honours and Awards: 1 OBE (W/C Mussells), 1 MBE, 4 AFC’s, 2 AFM’s, 13 Queen’s Commendations.

(1) The squadron was replaced in the long-range transport role by No. 437 (T) Squadron, equipped with Yukon aircraft.