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No. 403 Squadron
Nickname: Wolf, City of Calgary
Motto: STALK AND STRIKE
Battle Honours:
Defence of Britain 1941-44, English Channel and North Sea 1942, Fortress Europe 1941-44, Dieppe France and Germany 1944-45, Normandy 1944 Rhine
Its Badge, a wolf's head erased. The wolf is a fierce and powerful antagonist, indigenous to most parts of Canada.
The War Years
This was the first Canadian squadron formed overseas that had no ties to any previous flying unit. Created on 1 March 1941 as No. 403 Army Cooperation (AC) Squadron equipped with the Curtiss Tomahawk. In May of 1941 the Squadron's role was changed to Fighter and it exchanged its Tomahawks for Supermarine Spitfire Mk Is and moved from Baginton to Ternhill. The Squadron moved again in August to Hornchurch to commence offensive operations and replaced its Mk I's with new Spitfire Mk Vb's. The Squadron continued operations from various airfields in the south of England until July 1942, when it withdrew to Catterick. It returned briefly to Manston to participate in operations over Dieppe on the 19th of August. The Squadron then moved to Kenley in January 1943 and converted to Spitfire Mk IX's. Kenley became No. 127 Airfield in No. 17 Fighter Wing, and then 127 Wing of the new 2nd TAF (Tactical Air Force) later in the year. In April 1944 the wing moved to Tangmere for operations during the Normandy invasion, moving to French soil on 16 June. Patrols over the front and frequent aerial engagements followed throughout the summer and fall. Moving into Belgium in November the Squadron maintained regular contact with the remainder of the Luftwaffe and this ensured that the unit ended hostilities as the RCAF's second highest scoring unit with 125 1/4 victories claimed. The code letters carried by the Squadron during this period were KH. The Squadron was disbanded at Fassberg, Germany on 10 July 1945.
- Tomahawk I/IIA (April 1941 - June 1941)
- Spitfire I (May 1941 - July 1941)
- Spitfire IIA (July 1941 - September 1941)
- Spitfire VB (August 1941 - January 1943)
- Spitfire VC (August 1941 - January 1943)
- Spitfire IXC (January 1943 - December 1944)
- Spitfire XVI (December 1944 - July 1945)
The Cold War
On 15 October 1948 the squadron was re-formed at RCAF Station Calgary as 403 Fighter-Bomber Sqn (Auxiliary), and on 3 September 1952 it received the title 'City of Calgary'. The squadron remained in Calgary until it was disbanded on 30 June 1964.
- Harvard Mk II, IV
- Mustang Mk IV
- CT-133 Silver Star
- CSR-123 Otter
- C-45 Expeditor
Unification
The Squadron re-formed in 1968 as No. 403 Helicopter Operational Training Squadron (HOTS) and moved to CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick. The Squadron was operational training squadron for all the Utility Tactical Helicopter (UTTH) and Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) squadrons of the Canadian Armed Forces.
- CH-118 Iroquois
- CH-135 Twin Huey
- CH-136 Kiowa
Background: The Present
No. 403 Hel OTS (Helicopter Operational Training Squadron) remains at CFB Gagetown and currently operates the CH-146 Griffon in the operational training role.