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No.403 Sqn RCAF
Founded : 19th February 1941
Wolf Stalk and strike
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No.403 Sqn RCAF
| Aces for : No.403 Sqn RCAF | ||
| A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking the pilots name. | ||
| Name | Victories | Info |
| James Douglas Lindsay | 7.00 | The signature of James Douglas Lindsay features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Aircraft for : No.403 Sqn RCAF | |||
| A list of all aircraft known to have been flown by No.403 Sqn RCAF. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | |||
| Squadron | Info | ||
Manufacturer : Supermarine Production Began : 1936 Retired : 1948 Number Built : 20351 | Spitfire Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954. | ||
Manufacturer : Curtiss Number Built : 16802 | Tomahawk A total of sixteen Royal Air Force squadrons used the Tomahawk from British bases, and five more squadrons in the Middle East, as well as South African and Australian units. The Curtiss Tomahawk equipped the legendary Flying Tigers of the American Volunteer Group in China, in 1941, before the United States was officialy at war with Japan. In all, 16,802 Curtiss Tomahawks in a succession of improved models, were mainly built for the US Air Force. | ||
| Signatures for : No.403 Sqn RCAF | |||
| A list of all signatures from our database who are associated with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking their name. | |||
| Name | Info | ||
 Squadron Leader Hartland Finlay DFC Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Squadron Leader Hartland Finlay DFC
| Squadron Leader Hartland Finlay DFC Born in Montreal, 1920 and educated at McGill University. Former COTC and RCA. Hartland Finlay enlisted for the RAF in Montreal, on the 14th of September 1940 and trained at No.1 ITS, graduating on 21st December 1940. He then went to No.4 EFTS followed by further training at No.9 SFTS graduating on the 28th of May 1941. Commissioned from Warrant Officer to Pilot Officer in 1942 and Flight Officer in January 1943, he went to Britian in 1943. Posted to 1 Sqn in June 1943, he moved to 416 later in the month. On August 12th Flt Off. Hartland Finlay bailed out of a malfunctioning Spitfire and was rescued from the English Channel. Transferred to 443 Sqn in September 1944 and promoted to F/L in March 1944. Attended Fighter Leaders course in May-June 1944 and posted to 53 OTU in July as an instructor. In March 1945 he rejoined 403 Sqn and in April was posted to 443 Sq. Successfully bailed out at 200 ft when his Spitfire was set on fire by return fire from a Ju88 he was attacking. Returned to unit 3 days later and was awarded DFC on 24th July and promoted to S/L later that month. Joined RCAF HQ in September 1945 and returned to Canada in November1945. Squadron Leader Hartland Finlay DFC after leaving the air force flew for KLM from 1946 to 1948. Served with the Canadian Department of Transport. Sadly, Squadron Leader Hartland Finlay DFC passed away on January 22nd 2009. | ||
 Wing Commander Hugh Godefroy DSO DFC* Croix de Guerre Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Wing Commander Hugh Godefroy DSO DFC* Croix de Guerre | Wing Commander Hugh Godefroy DSO DFC* Croix de Guerre Born on the 28th of October 1919 in Java while his Dutch father worked there, Hugh Godefroy returned to Canada to be educated in Ontario. Hugh Godefroy enlisted in Toronto on 22nd June 1940 and trained at No.2 ITS, graduating on 27th July 1940, with further training at No.7 EFTS and No.1 SFTS, graduating on 30th January 1941. Hugh Godefroy was commissioned 21st January 1941 and arrived in the UK on 4th February 1941 going to No.56 Officer Training Unit a month later. He then joined No.401 Squadron,on 15th April 1941. Hugh Godefroy was promoted to Flying Officer on 23rd January 1942 and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on 4th March 1942. On 12th November 1942 Flt Lt Hugh Godefroy joined No.401 Squadron, and transferred to No.403 Squadron on 4th March 1943. On 13th June 1943 Godefroy was promoted to Squadron Leader and joined No.17 Wing on 16th August 1943. He was promoted to Wing Commander on 16th September 1943. On 1st May 1944 he went to the Royal Canadian Air Force Overseas HQ and returned to Canada on 17th August 1944. Between 10th September 1944 and 2nd January 1945 served on the War Staff in Toronto. | ||
 Wing Commander James Lindsay DFC Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Wing Commander James Lindsay DFC
| Wing Commander James Lindsay DFC Born in September 1922, James Doug Lindsay joined the RCAF in February 1941, training on Harvards. He was posted to the UK, arriving in March 1943 and joining 403 Sqn in October that year. In his first tour, he claimed 5 Me109s as well as 2 Fw190s, plus another damaged. Of the Me109s he shot down, three of these were in a single minute, earning him a DFC. For his second tour, he rejoined 403 Sqn in April 1945, claiming a probable Fw190 during his short time with this squadron before he moved to 416 squadron until the end of the war in Europe. After the war he stayed with the air force, and in 1952 served during the Korean war with the USAF. He flew F-86 Sabres with the 39th Fighter Squadron of the 51st Fighter Wing, claiming victories over two MiG-15s and damaging 3 others. In 1953, he returned to the UK with No.1 Fighter Wing leading Sabres in formation at the Queen's Coronation. He retired in 1972, having flown more than 30 different types of aircraft (excluding different Mks). These included, Harvard, Anson, Master, Spitfire, Typhoon, Tempest, Hurricane, Mustang, Beaufort, Beaufighter, Oxford, Dakota, Tiger Moth, Vampire and Sabre. | ||
 Wing Commander Andy Mackenzie DFC CD Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Wing Commander Andy Mackenzie DFC CD
| Wing Commander Andy Mackenzie DFC CD 421 Sqn RCAF, Flight Commander 403 Sqn RCAF. Born in Montreal, 10th August 1920 and enlisted there 6th June 1940. Attended No.1 Manning Depot, Toronto, 7-24 June 1940. Trained at No.1 ITS (24 June to 21 July 1940), No.4 EFTS (21 July to 6 October 1940) and No.31 SFTS (6 October 1940 to 8 January 1941). Central Flying School, Trenton (8 Jan. to 10 April 1941) on Flying Instructors Course No.30, 3 Feb. to 22 March 1941. Instructed at No.11 SFTS, 11 April to 30 July 1941, at CFS, Trenton, 31 July 1941 to 24 April 1942, and at No.16 SFTS, 25 April 1942 to 24 January 1943. Commissioned 31 March 1942. At Y Depot, Halifax, 25 January to 18 February 1943. No.421 Squadron, 10 August 1943 to 16 May 1943; No.403 Squadron, 16 May to 28 August 1944. Shot down by American AAA over Utah beach. Returned to Canada, flew Kittyhawks with No.133 Sq. (11 Dec 1944 to 28 Jan 1945) and No.135 Squadron (29 January to 7 September 1945). Transferred to Reserve, 1 October 1945; to Special Reserve (full employment), 3 April 1946; to Regular Force, October 1946. Flew in Korea. Shot down by another Sabre Pilot 5th December 1952. POW - not released until 5th dec 1954 - long after the 27 July 1953 cease fire. He was the RCAF's only POW in Korea. Retired in 1967. Home in Oxford Station, Ontario. Wing Commander Andy Mackenzie sadly passed away in 2009. Citation for the the Distinguished Flying Cross. Award effective 15 January 1944 as per London Gazette dated 25 January 1944 and AFRO 410/44 dated 25 February 1944. | ||
 Wing Commander Robert G Middlemiss DFC CD Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Wing Commander Robert G Middlemiss DFC CD | Wing Commander Robert G Middlemiss DFC CD Bob was born in Montreal in 1920 and was educated at Commercial High School of Montreal. After graduating from high school Bob Middlemiss accepted a track scholarship from an American College but war broke out and he volunteered to join the RCAF. He was told when an opening was available he would be called. In the interim, his Dad's Regiment, of which he was the RQSM, the 17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars was mobilized as the 3rd Canadian Motorcycle Regiment. Bob decided to join as a trooper but was called by the Air Force and a few months later joined the RCAF on September 14, 1940. He received his flying training at 13 EFTS, St. Eugene, ON and 9 SFTS, Summerside, PEI where he received his wings. He was posted overseas and trained on Spitfires at 57 OTU, Hawarden, Cheshire. He was posted to 145 Squadron and then later to 41 Squadron. They carried out operations consisting of air defence patrols against high level and low level fighter bomber attacks, convoy patrols in the English Channel, fighter sweeps, bomber escort and low level rhubarbs. In June 1942, he was selected to serve with a team of Spitfire pilots posted to Malta. They were taken to within 700 miles of Malta on the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle and then launched to hopefully make the island. During his tour with 249 Squadron on Malta Bob shot down and destroyed three enemy aircraft and damaged two others before he was shot down and wounded. After recuperating, he served as an Instructor at 52 OTU and then 53 OTU in England. From the OTU he was posted to 403 Squadron, part of the 127 Wing commanded by Johnnie Johnson, the highest scoring ace of WWII. Bob had the honour of flying as his number 2 on a number of sorties. After completing two tours of operations he returned to Canada and instructed on Hurricanes and Mosquitos. Colonel Middlemiss was decorated for his war effort with the Distinguished Flying Cross the citation read as follows: | ||
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