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No. 407 (Demon) Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force
No 407 (Demon) Coastal Strike Squadron was formed at Thorney Island on the 8th of May 1941, training on Blenheims. It was one of seven RCAF units serving with RAF Coastal Command. From September 1941 to January 1943 it was a strike squadron that attacked German shipping, earning its nickname as the Demon squadron. It was redesignated 407 General Reconnaissance Squadron on the 29th of January 1943 and thereafter protected friendly shipping from u-boat attacks. No 407 was disbanded on the 4th of June 1945.
Airfields
No. 407 Squadron
flew from:
- RAF Thorney Island, Hampshire from the 8th May 1941 (formed. Blenheim IV, Hudson I, Hudson III, Hudson V)
- RAF North Coates, Lincolnshire from July 1941 (Hudson III, V)
- RAF Thorney Island from February 1942
- RAF Bircham Newton, Norfolk from the 31st March 1942
- RAF St. Eval, Cornwall from September 1942
- RAF Docking, Norfolk from November 1942
- RAF Skitten, Caithness from February 1943 (Wellington XI)
- RAF Chivenor, Devon from March 1943 (Wellington XII, Wellington XIV)
- RAF St. Eval from September 1943
- RAF Chivenor from December 1943
- RAF Limavady, Londonderry from January 1944
- RAF Wick, Caithness from August 1944
- RAF Chivenor from November 1944
- disbanded the 4th June 1945
12th Feb 1942 Attack on the Scharnhorst
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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Logbooks
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Those known to have served with No. 407 (Demon) Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War 1939-1945. - Abbott John Kimble H..
- Aikenhead Lloyd Lawrence. Sgt. (d.21st Jun 1942)
- Anderson William Boyd. F/O. (d.20th January 1943)
- Arner J/13745 Lawrence Andrew. F/O. (d.6th Feb 1944)
- Austin Justus Clifford. F/O. (d.26th September 1943)
- Belec Gilbert Gerard. Sgt. (d.3rd November 1942)
- Bennett Alfred Stephenson. Sgt. (d.21st June 1942)
- Beverly AFC. Edwin Paul. F/Lt.
- Bilodeau Rodrigue J.. F/O.
- Branter Donald Keith.
- Buxton Charles Carr. Major
- Clancy James Harold. WO1. (d.20th August 1943)
- Clark Fred Maurice. Cpl.
- Coleman Cyril George Joseph. LAC
- Coleman Cyril G.J.. Cpl.
- Collins Hamish Gordon. W/O. (d.31st May 1943 )
- Collins Hamish Gordon. WO1. (d.31st May 1943)
- Cowperthwaite Lonsdale C.. F/O. (d.12th Feb 1942)
- Duckworth Ernest Verdon. F/Lt. (d.7th Mar 1945)
- Duffy Thomas Michael. (d.21st Jun 1942)
- Eakins Harold Gray.
- Farley Arthur Rodolphe Roland. P/O. (d.15th May 1942)
- Farrugia Donald. F/O.
- Fowlie Robert Grant. Pilot Officer (d.31st May 1943)
- Grandy George Edward.
- Haliburton William Alfred. P/O. (d.15th May 1942)
- Hampshire . Sgt.
- Harrison Joseph Charles. WO1. (d.31st May 1943)
- Hebden Charles Chancellor. F/O. (d.30th June 1943)
- Hegarty Hugh Francis. P/O. (d.10th Oct 1941)
- Huddleston Leslie Eric. Sgt. (d.3rd November 1942)
- Jarvis George Kitchener. WOII. (d.24th Mar 1944)
- Mattison Frederick Thomas. WO/2 (d.20th Jan 1943)
- McLean Eric Docra. F/L
- O'Donoghue Michael. Sgt. (d.13th Feb 1945)
- Page Donald Frederick. Flt/Sgt (d.3rd November 1942)
- Pearson Gordon John. Flt.Sgt. (d.13th Jun 1942)
- Renwick John Whitfield. F/O. (d.10th October 1941)
- Shilling Donald. LAC.
- Shilling Donald Hugh. LAC
- Smithson Ivor Ernest. P/O. (d.11th Mar 1944)
- Thomson Harry Stuart. F/Lt.
- Tipping Eric.
- Weaver Bruce Wilbert. Flt.Sgt. (d.18th April 1942)
- Wilkes James Edward. P/O. (d.6th September 1942)
The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please Add a Name to this List
Records of No. 407 (Demon) Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force from other sources.
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Want to know more about No. 407 (Demon) Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force? There are:2006 items tagged No. 407 (Demon) Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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F/Lt. Ernest Verdon Duckworth 407 Squadron (d.7th Mar 1945) A plaque on Tarka Trail near Bideford, North Devon remembers Flight Lieutenant Ernest Verdon Duckworth who served with 407 Squadron RCAF Coastal Command during WW2 and was killed in action on the 7th March 1945 in the crash of Wellington Bomber P for Peter. He is buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey.
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John Kimble H. Abbott pilot 407 Sqd. My father served with 407 Squadron, his name is John Kimble H. Abbott and he was a bomber pilot. He has also written a book about the "Demon" squadron. The book is A Gathering of Demons.
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F/Lt. Harry Stuart "Doc" Thomson 407 (Demon) Squadron Harry Thomson was my father. Born in Canada, raised in England and returned to Canada just prior to the Second World War.
He joined the RCAF and trained in Calgary, Alberta, as a pilot and went back to England to fly for the RCAF.
My understanding is that he flew in the 407 Demon Squadron RCAF and flew Hudsons and Lancasters.
Postwar he was assigned to transport diplomats and VIPs to various countries.
He returned to Canada after the war and lived in British Columbia.
He died in1963.
I am interested in learning more about his service during World War II.
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F/O. Lawrence Andrew "Lou" Arner J/13745 407 Squadron (d.6th Feb 1944) According to his official RCAF service records, Lawrence Arner voluntarily enlisted in 1941, straight from school.
He was ultimately stationed in England, assigned to the 407 Demon squadron in February 1943, based at Chivenor in Devon from March 1943.
During a training exercise with the 6 (C) OTU on 6th of February 1944, the plane in which he was flying Wellington XII MP575, went missing.
He and the crew were all presumed dead.
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P/O. Hugh Francis Hegarty 407 Squadron (d.10th Oct 1941) Frank Hegarty was born in Culdaff, Ireland on 23rd of August 1917 in Donegal, Ireland.
He was the son of Hugh Hegarty (born in Carea Donagh) and Catherine (nee Greene,) born in Culdaffs Donegal Hegarty, both from Ireland.
Hugh had three sisters: Kathleen (born 1900), Mary Bridget (born 1906) and Margaret. He also had one brother, Mike, and two half brothers, Bernard and James Hegarty. Hugh came to Canada when he was just seven years old. He arrived at a port in Quebec in 1924, with his mother aboard the passenger ship Saturnia.
The Hegarty family resided at 417 Confederation Street, then 279 Rose Street, Sarnia during the war years.
Hugh was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Parish, Sarnia. Hugh went on to graduate from Sarnia Collegiate High School and was well known in Sarnia, having been a mechanic at Sarnia Sports’ Shop and later working at Keelans.
Single at the time, Hugh Hegarty enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force on 7th of September 1940 and was a member of RCAF No.407 Demon Squadron “To Hold On High”, flying a Hudson aircraft AN586 as a Pilot.
He and his squadron arrived overseas just one month prior to his death. Based out of a North Sea Coast bombing post, they were engaged in raiding German positions in the Netherlands.
On 10th of October 1941, on a wet and blustry night, he and his crew were flying a Hudson Bomber T for Tommy, for an anti-shipping patrol off the Dutch coast, carrying 4 X 250 lb. bombs. The plane failed to return and they were presumed killed during the flying operation.
Their plane and crew was the first loss sustained by the 407 Demon Squadron coastal command, and the first plane reported missing from an R.C.A.F. coastal command in Britain.
Perishing with Pilot Officer Hugh Hegarty were F/Sgt. Don S. Mather, Sgt. C.J. McCrum, Flying Officer J.W. Renwick (RAF) and Sgt. Billy Smith (RAF).
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F/O. Lonsdale C. Cowperthwaite 407 Squadron (d.12th Feb 1942)  Lonsdale Cowperthwaite served in the RCAF in 407 squadron, stationed at RAF North Coates in Lincolnshire, flying the Lockheed Hudson light bomber. On 12th of February 1942 he and his two man crew took part in Operation Fuller, attempting to stop the Channel Dash of the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. In the letter that Dale's mother received, his commanding officer, Wing Commander A C Brown, wrote:
"I can give you few details except that he took off at 13:15 yesterday afternoon with eight other aircraft and did not return. One of my other officers of whom you may have heard, Squadron Leader Anderson, is also missing.
Their operation to them into the centre of a great battle of the air. There was good cloud cover, but this was not sufficient to bring back either Dale or Andy safely.
All I know is that one pilot saw Dale leaving the cover of the cloud and going down of his own accord toward sea level. If he did do this then this probably accounts for any subsequent trouble he ran into.
Pilot Officer Lister and his two regular wireless operators were with him on the flight."
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Donald Keith Branter 407 (Demon) Squadron My father, Donald Branter completed 43 missions as a tail gunner. His pilot was Bob Mullin. He is mentioned a few times in the book Gathering of Demons.
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George Edward Grandy 407 Squadron George Grandy served with 407 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force.
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WO1. James Harold Clancy 407 (Demon) Squadron (d.20th August 1943) James Clancy served with the Royal Canadian Air Force in WW2. He flew with 407 Squadron. He died 20th of August 1943 age 25 years and is buried in Heanton Punchardon (St Augustine) Churchyard in the United Kingdom.
Son of Frederick J. Clancy and Lillie May Clancy of Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
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Harold Gray "Pat" Eakins 407 (Demon) Squadron My family history includes the following information about Grandpa Pat, Harold Eakins.
He erved in WWII in the Royal Canadian Air Force as an Air Instrument Technician in the 407 Demon Squadron.
He was stationed in the Orkney Islands and towards the end of the war on the English South East Coast with Anti Submarine Aircraft patrols.
He maintained a lifelong relationship with the Legion (Broadway & Dunbar Branch) which remained important to him until his death.
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