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No.443 Sqn RCAF Founded : 8th February 1944
Hornet Our sting is death
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No.443 Sqn RCAF
| Aircraft for : No.443 Sqn RCAF | |||
| A list of all aircraft known to have been flown by No.443 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. | ||
| Signatures for : No.443 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. | ||||||
  Flight Lieutenant Larry Robillard DFM CD Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Flight Lieutenant Larry Robillard DFM CD
| Flight Lieutenant Larry Robillard DFM CD Born in Ottawa, 17 November 1920, Canadian ace with 8 victories. Sgt. Joseph Guillame Laurent Robillard, During a sweep over the Lille area, less than a month after his first operational flight, Sergeant Robillard, a former member of the Ottawa Flying club, saw a fellow pilot parachuting. Believing it was his commanding officer who had been shot down, Robillard started to protect the descending pilot by escorting him down, but was himself attacked by nine enemy fighters. In the fierce fight which followed the daring Ottawan destroyed at least two of his attackers. Flight Leutnant Larry Robillard was one of Johnnie Johnsons keen and skillful Canadian pilots. He was shot down over France in 1943. However, with his fluent French and the help of the Resistance, he managed to get back to England, and received a heros welcome when he returned to France to continue the fight, leading a section of 443 Squadron of Johnnies 144 Wing following the Liberation. He flew with 145 Sqn RAF, 72 Sqn RAF, 402 Sqn RCAF, 443 Sqn RCAF. Larry Robillard died at his home in Montreal, Canada on 8th March 2006.
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