No. 460 Squadron RAAF
| No. 460 Squadron RAAF | |
|---|---|
Some of No. 460 Squadron RAAF's ground crew posing in front of the Avro Lancaster bomber G for George at RAF Binbrook, May 1944
|
|
| Active | 15 November 1941 – 10 October 1945 2 July 2010–current |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Allegiance |
 Australia
|
| Branch |
 Royal Australian Air Force
|
| Role | Bomber squadron (1941–45) Imagery and geographic intelligence (2010–current) |
| Part of |
No. 8 Group RAF, Bomber Command (Nov 41 – Dec 41) No. 1 Group RAF, Bomber Command (Jan 42 – Oct 45) Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation (July 2010–current) |
| Motto(s) | "Strike and Return" |
| Battle honours |
|
| Insignia | |
| Squadron badge heraldry | In front of a boomerang in base a kangaroo salient. The kangaroo is a fast and powerful animal indigenous to Australia, and the boomerang is a weapon peculiar to that country. |
| Squadron codes |
UV (Nov 1941 – Nov 1943) AR (Nov 1943 – Oct 1945) |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Bomber |
Vickers Wellington Avro Lancaster |
No. 460 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force intelligence unit active within the Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation (DIGO). It was first formed as a heavy bomber squadron during World War II on 15 November 1941 and disbanded on 10 October 1945 after seeing extensive combat over Europe. The squadron was a multinational unit, but most personnel were Australian. No. 460 Squadron was reformed on 2 July 2010 and is currently located in Canberra.
No. 460 Squadron RAAF was formed from 'C' Flight of No. 458 Squadron RAAF at RAF Molesworth, Huntingdonshire on 15 November 1941, as a bomber squadron equipped with Wellington Mk.IV aircraft. Originally part of No. 8 Group RAF, Bomber Command, the squadron moved to RAF Breighton, Yorkshire and joined No. 1 Group RAF. The squadron made its first raid, against the German city of Emden, on 12 March 1942. The following night, five crews from the squadron participated in a raid on harbour facilities around Dunkirk, during which the squadron suffered its first losses of the war when one Wellington was shot down. A six-week "apprenticeship" period followed until the end of April 1942, during which the squadron was assigned mainly to attack less heavily defended targets on the French Channel coast; nevertheless, the squadron also undertook several attacks against targets in Germany during this time also. The squadron's first three months of operations saw it carry out 34 raids. For each raid, at least two aircraft were contributed, with some raids seeing as many as 10 aircraft taking part; a 30 May 1942 raid on Cologne saw 18 aircraft from No. 460 Squadron assigned. A total of six crews were lost during these raids.
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