No. 6 Group RCAF

No. 6 Group RCAF was an organization of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) bomber squadrons which operated from airfields in Yorkshire, England during the Second World War. Although 6 Group was RCAF, it was controlled by the Royal Air Force as part of Bomber Command. No. 6 Group had been previously active in the RAF in 1918, from 1924 to 1926, and from 1936 to 1939. Before the war, 6 Group was an RAF training group; at the beginning of the war, the group was non-operational.

Formation
Canadian bomber squadrons began participating in the war effort in 1941 and were attached to RAF Bomber Command groups. Canada, however, wanted its own identifiable presence in Allied air operations overseas, and it did not want its air force to be merely a source of manpower for the Royal Air Force. To this end, 6 (RCAF) Group was formed on 25 October 1942 with eight squadrons. At the peak of its strength, 6 Group consisted of 14 squadrons. Fifteen squadrons would eventually serve with the group, which was almost every RCAF heavy bomber squadron. Headquarters for 6 Group was at Allerton Park near Knaresborough and Harrogate in North Yorkshire.

Operations
Significant operations involving 6 Group included raids on U-boat bases in Lorient and Saint-Nazaire, France and night bombing raids on industrial complexes and urban centres in Germany.

No. 6 Group flew 40,822 operational sorties. A total of 814 aircraft and approximately 5,700 airmen did not return from operations and 4,203 airmen lost their lives.

Bases
No. 6 Group was mainly formed from 4 Group, which was based primarily in Yorkshire. Once split, most of 6 group`s airfields were north of York and most of 4 Group`s were south and east of the city. Like most other groups within RAF Bomber Command, the "base" system was used for station organization. A base consisted of a main base station, or headquarters, and a number of sub-stations. No. 6 Group consisted of four bases which were made up of 11 stations. Late in 1943, Bomber Command bases were designated with a two-number identifier. The first number represented the group number, and the second number represented the base within that group. The first base within the group was the group's training base. No. 61 Base was therefore the training base for No. 6 Group. Each base was commanded by an Air Commodore and each station was commanded by a Group Captain.

Operational squadrons

 * No. 405 Squadron RCAF
 * No. 408 Squadron RCAF
 * No. 415 Squadron RCAF
 * No. 419 Squadron RCAF
 * No. 420 Squadron RCAF


 * No. 424 Squadron RCAF
 * No. 425 Squadron RCAF
 * No. 426 Squadron RCAF
 * No. 427 Squadron RCAF
 * No. 428 Squadron RCAF


 * No. 429 Squadron RCAF
 * No. 431 Squadron RCAF
 * No. 432 Squadron RCAF
 * No. 433 Squadron RCAF
 * No. 434 Squadron RCAF