| No. 8 Squadron RCAF | |
|---|---|
 A RCAF World War II heraldic jacket patch for VIII (8) Squadron. | |
| Active | 14 Feb 1936 - 25 May 1945 |
| Country |  Canada |
| Allegiance | Canada |
| Branch | Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Role | Bomber Reconnaissance |
| Nickname | Musk Ox |
| Motto | "Determined to Defend" |
| Battle honours | North West Atlantic 1939-41[1] Pacific Coast 1941-45[2] Aleutians 1943 |
| Insignia | |
| Unit Codes | YO (Aug 1939 - May 1942), GA (May - Oct 1942) |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Bomber | Bristol Bolingbroke I and IV Lockheed Ventura GR.V |
| Patrol | Canadian Vickers Vedette Northrop Delta |
| Transport | Fairchild 71 Bellanca CH-300 Pacemaker |
No. 8 Squadron RCAF was a unit of theRoyal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) that was in operation from 1936 to 1945.
No. 8 Squadron was formed on the 14 February 1936 as a General Purpose (GP) squadron atWinnipeg, Manitoba. The squadron moved toOttawa/Rockcliffe Airport in February 1937, where it was tasked as a photographic unit, equipped withFairchild 71,Bellanca Pacemaker andCanadian Vickers Vedette.
Mobilized on the 10 September 1939 as No. 8 (GR) Squadron at Sydney, Nova Scotia, It was redesignated Bomber Reconnaissance (BR) at the end of October 1939. Equipped withNorthrop Deltas andBristol Bolingbrokes, the squadron was tasked with anti-submarine duty while serving withRCAF Eastern Air Command.[3]
In December 1941, after the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor the squadron was moved toRCAF Station Sea Island on the west coast of Canada as part ofRCAF Western Air Command. In June 1942 in response to the Japanese attack on the Aleutians, it was moved to Alaska flying the Bristol Bolingbroke V as part of RCAF X Wing, operating fromElmendorf Army Airfield (Anchorage), with small detachments stationed atNaval Air Station Kodiak andMarks Air Force Base (Nome).[4]
The squadron returned toRCAF Station Sea Island in March 1943. Having converted toLockheed Ventura GR.V in May 1943, the squadron continued with anti-submarine duty based fromRCAF Station Port Hardy andRCAF Station Patricia Bay. No. 8 Squadron was disbanded at Patricia Bay, B.C. 25 May 1945.[5]
Two letter Squadron code wasYO from Aug 39 - May 42,GA from May until the use of Squadron codes was discontinued in the RCAF HWE on the 16 Oct 1942, "for security reasons".[6]
| Aircrew and their aircraft of 8 (BR) Squadron Alaska 1942 | Bolingbroke and personnel of 8 (BR) Squadron Sea Island B.C. 1942' |
|---|---|
 |  |
RCAF Station Winnipeg Feb 1936–Feb 1937
RCAF Station Rockcliffe Feb 1937–Aug 1939
RCAF Aerodrome - Sydney, Nova Scotia Aug 1939–Dec 1941
RCAF Station Sea Island Dec 1941–Jun 1942
Elmendorf Army Airfield Jun 1942–Mar 1943
RCAF Station Sea Island Mar–May 1943
RCAF Station Patricia Bay May 1943–May 1945
Related lists
| Squadron numbers |
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| Squadron codes |
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1Aircraft administered and serviced by the RCAF but crewed by theRoyal Canadian Artillery. 2 Non-standard code as unit using OW added L. Letters normally denoted parent Command, aircraft type (LLiberator transport, DDakota etc), unit, and individual aircraft. 3 VC .svg) XXA where VC was the civil code used by the RCAF replacing CF-, XX was the unit code and A was the aircraft ID letter4 XX nnn where XX was the unit code and nnn was the last 3 digits of the serial number. Unit code was replaced with "RCAF" in 1958 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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