Talk:No. 666 Squadron RCAF

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There has been a good deal of confusion, with respect to the origins of 666 (AOP) Squadron. Canadians have mistakenly stated that the three 'Canadian' A.O.P. squadrons (with 664 (AOP) Squadron and 665 (AOP) Squadron) were Royal Air Force Squadrons, simply by virtue of being in the '600' series. Members of the British Forces have refused to believe that current Army Air Corps or R.A.F. Squadrons could have been founded by the R.C.A.F. Both schools of thought, however, are wrong.

The three Canadian Air Observation Post Squadrons of World War Two were, indeed, squadrons of the R.C.A.F., and not the R.A.F. The three squadron 'Operation Record Books' are currently held in the National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, under File

1. C12430, the day-to-day information included therein which pertains to the war history to 664 (RCAF)(AOP) Squadron, 665 (RCAF)

(AOP) Squadron, and 666 (RCAF)(AOP) Squadron, as listed.

Within the hundreds of pages of archive material pertaining to these three R.C.A.F. squadrons in Ottawa, there is a notation on practically every page, clearly identifying the squadron as being an R.C.A.F. squadron. No such record exists in any R.A.F. archive, anywhere, pertaining to the World War Two histories of these three Canadian squadrons, as 664, 665, and 666 were not approved for raising by the R.A.F., nor were the personnel paid by the R.A.F. The following is just one page of the Ottawa National Archive File pertaining to the R.C.A.F. (AOP) Squadrons:

                      S E C R E T

                                                            26th April 1945
              Officer Commanding
              No. 666 (RCAF) A.O.P. Squadron,
              R.A.F. Station
              Andover, Hants.

              Operations Record Book - March, 1945

              1.                  Your initial Operations Record Book was
              of comparatively high standard and it is hoped this interest
              in its compilation will be maintained.

              2.                  Your attention, however, is brought to
              the following points:

                  (a)  The name of the compiling officer should appear on the
                    first page of F.540 each month.
                  (b)  It is important that the original copy should be in
                    original typing throughout.
                  (c)  Where appropriate the following entries should appear
                    at the end of the month in addition to personnel strength -
                    (i) total flying time divided into operational and non-
                    operational, (ii) a/c strength by mark and type, (iii) total
                    operational sorties, (iv) postings in and out of aircrew
                    (only), (v) promotions of officers and commissioning of air-
                    men, (vi) honours, decorations and awards, (vii) e/a victories.

              3.                 As certain A.O.P. Squadrons in the past have not
              submitted a Form 541 as soon as they became operational, you are
              advised that it is imperative that a F.541 should be rendered when-
              ever operations are carried out.  All instructions necessary for its
              compilation are contained in AP.3040, which also covers the above
              points.


                                                            (signed)
                                                     (W.R. Thompson) W/C
                                               for A.O.C.-in-C., R.C.A.F., Overseas

              S/L Jenkins/WE
              DAS:His.II



   _________________________________________________________________________________________________

It should also be mentioned that the pilots in all three of these Canadian (R.C.A.F.) (AOP) squadrons were not R.C.A.F. personnel, but A.O.P.-trained officers of the Royal Canadian Artillery, assisted (in the initial organization of the three squadrons) by officers transferred to the Canadian squadrons from the Royal Artillery, on 'short-term' loan. Lt/Col. Dave Fromow's book entitled, 'Canada's Flying Gunners' (Ottawa: A.O.P. Pilot's Assiciation, 2002) provides a full, current history of the three (RCAF) (AOP) squadrons which operated overseas. A further 'yet unpublished' 400-page manuscript entitled 'Artillery Flyers At War - A History of the 664, 665, and 666 (AOP) Squadrons of the Royal Canadian Air Force' has also been completed at the University of Calgary, as of March, 2008. Other authoriative references in this regard may be found in: 'The Crucible of War 1939-1945 - The Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Volume III' (page 350), Col. Nicholson's 'Official History of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, Volume II,' and in 'Battery Flashes of WWII,' by D.W. Falconer.

Major Stewart, who was the O.C. of 666 (RCAF) (AOP) Squadron in 1945, was asked to write the introduction to 'Battle History 666' (Epe: 666 (RCAF)(AOP) Squadron, 1945), as follows:

                          ' As the Commanding Officer of No. 666 (RCAF) AOP Squadron
                          I have been asked by the compilers to write a fore-word to
                          this, our Unit History.
                            As all personnel if the Squadron know, our Unit was not
                          among those privileged to prove itself against the enemy,
                          however, in preparing for its allotted task and while filling
                          its role after the cessation of hostilities, an untold number
                          of incidents occurred within the Squadron which will long
                          live in the memory of us all.
                            In this History, therefore, an attempt has been made to
                          capture for all time the many human everyday occurrances
                          with (sic) moulded the daily life of the Squadron.
                            I take this opportunity in expressing my heartfelt thanks
                          to all ranks for the efforts you have put forth in making this
                          a successful and efficient Unit.'

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 137.186.207.2 (talk) 23:40, 30 April 2008 (UTC)