Number 460 Squadron Royal Australian Air ForceThe Royal Australian Air Force is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF began in March 1912 as the Australian Flying Corps making it the second oldest air force in the world...
(460 Sqn RAAF) was raised during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
at
RAF MolesworthRAF Molesworth is a Royal Air Force station located near Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom with a history dating back to 1917.Its runway and flight line facilities were closed in 1973 and demolished to support ground-launched cruise missile operations in the early 1980s...
, in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on November 15, 1941. It was a multinational unit, but most personnel were
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n.
The squadron moved to RAF Breighton, and — equipped with
Vickers WellingtonThe Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
bombers — joined
RAF Bomber CommandRAF Bomber Command was the organisation that controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II, the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s was at the peak of its postwar power with the V bombers and a...
. 460 Sqn made its first raid, against the German city of
EmdenEmden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
, on March 12 1942. In October the squadron was re-equipped with
Avro LancasterThe Avro Lancaster was a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF and squadrons from other...
s. The following May 460 Sqn relocated to
RAF BinbrookRAF Binbrook, located at Binbrook, England, was opened as a Bomber Command station in June 1940 during World War II. It closed in 1942 for the installation of three concrete runways, reopening in 1943 as home to No. 460 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force...
, from where it participated in the
strategic bombing of GermanyStrategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature, which took place between 1939 and 1945, involving any nations engaged in World War II...
.
In late 1943 early 1944 the squadron flew sorties in the
Battle of BerlinThe Battle of Berlin was a British bombing campaign on Berlin from November 1943 to March 1944. The campaign period was not limited to attacks solely on Berlin, other German cities were attacked to prevent the concentration of defences in Berlin, and Bomber Command had other responsibilities and...
.
Number 460 Squadron Royal Australian Air ForceThe Royal Australian Air Force is the Air Force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF began in March 1912 as the Australian Flying Corps making it the second oldest air force in the world...
(460 Sqn RAAF) was raised during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
at
RAF MolesworthRAF Molesworth is a Royal Air Force station located near Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom with a history dating back to 1917.Its runway and flight line facilities were closed in 1973 and demolished to support ground-launched cruise missile operations in the early 1980s...
, in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on November 15, 1941. It was a multinational unit, but most personnel were
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n.
History
The squadron moved to RAF Breighton, and — equipped with
Vickers WellingtonThe Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
bombers — joined
RAF Bomber CommandRAF Bomber Command was the organisation that controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II, the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s was at the peak of its postwar power with the V bombers and a...
. 460 Sqn made its first raid, against the German city of
EmdenEmden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
, on March 12 1942. In October the squadron was re-equipped with
Avro LancasterThe Avro Lancaster was a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF and squadrons from other...
s. The following May 460 Sqn relocated to
RAF BinbrookRAF Binbrook, located at Binbrook, England, was opened as a Bomber Command station in June 1940 during World War II. It closed in 1942 for the installation of three concrete runways, reopening in 1943 as home to No. 460 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force...
, from where it participated in the
strategic bombing of GermanyStrategic bombing during World War II is a term which refers to all aerial bombardment of a strategic nature, which took place between 1939 and 1945, involving any nations engaged in World War II...
.
In late 1943 early 1944 the squadron flew sorties in the
Battle of BerlinThe Battle of Berlin was a British bombing campaign on Berlin from November 1943 to March 1944. The campaign period was not limited to attacks solely on Berlin, other German cities were attacked to prevent the concentration of defences in Berlin, and Bomber Command had other responsibilities and...
. During the spring and summer of 1944, the squadron flew many missions in support of the D-Day landings. Its final raid was an attack on
Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , popularly known as the Nazi Party...
's mountain retreat of
BerchtesgadenBerchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps. It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, near the border with Austria, some 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km southeast of Munich...
on
Anzac DayAnzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who...
, 1945. In May, 460 Sqn joined
Operation MannaOperations Manna and Chowhound took place from 29 April to the end of World War II in Europe on 8 May 1945. These two operations - Manna by the Royal Air Force and Chowhound by the U.S...
, the transportation of relief supplies to starving
DutchThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
civilians. The squadron moved to RAF East Kirby, in preparation for re-location to the
Pacific theatreThe Pacific War was the part of World War II—and preceding conflicts—that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia. The war began as a conflict with the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China on July 7, 1937, but by December 1941, became part of the greater World War II,...
, as part of a proposed Commonwealth strategic air force known as
Tiger ForceTiger Force, also known as the Very Long Range Bomber Force, was the name given to a World War II British Commonwealth long range heavy bomber force, formed in 1945, from squadrons serving with RAF Bomber Command in Europe, for proposed use against targets in Japan...
, for the
invasion of JapanOperation Downfall was the overall Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The operation was cancelled when Japan surrendered after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan.Operation Downfall had two parts:...
. The move became unnecessary following the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and NagasakiThe atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at the executive order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman on August 6 and August 9, 1945, respectively...
and 460 Squadron disbanded in October 1945.
The squadron flew the most
sortieSortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
s of any Australian bomber squadron and dropped more bomb tonnage than any squadron in the whole of Bomber Command — 24,856 tons. It lost 181 aircraft. In a speech in 2003, the Chief of the RAAF,
Air MarshalAir Marshal is a 3 star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries...
Angus HoustonAir Chief Marshal Allan Grant "Angus" Houston, AC, AFC is the Chief of the Australian Defence Force, as of 4 July 2005. At the time of his appointment he was Australia's Chief of Air Force, a position he had held since 20 June 2001.-Service career:...
, pointed out that, with an aircrew establishment of about 200 and 1,018 combat deaths (589 of whom were Australian), 460 Sqn was effectively wiped out five times over during its existence. RAF Bomber Command represented only two percent of the RAAF personnel in WW2, but accounted for 23% of the RAAF personnel killed in action.
460 Sqn is commemorated at the
Australian War MemorialThe Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
by a display featuring its only surviving aircraft,
G for GeorgeG for George is an Avro Lancaster Mk.I bomber, squadron code AR-G and serial number W4783, operated by No. 460 Squadron RAAF during World War II...
.
Further reading