http://www.lancaster-archive.com/lanc_tigerforce.htm
Lancaster's Of Tiger Force
CANADA's Contribution to Tiger Force
Updated: June 2008
During the September 1944 Quebec Conference, Winston Churchill
proposed that once Germany was defeated and the Allied attention
turned towards the defeat of Japan. He proposed to transfer a large
portion of Bomber Command or some 500 to 1000 heavy bombers to the
Pacific theatre. The proposal was quickly accepted by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
By late 1944, victory was more a matter of time rather than a question
of being achieved and the decisions was made on 20 October 1944 to
form a very large bomber force code named "Tiger Force"
Initially consisting of twenty-two squadron's formed into three bomber
groups. One Royal Air Force (RAF), one Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)
and one contain squadrons from the Royal Air Force, Royal Australian
Air Force (RAAF), Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and South
African Air Force (SAAF). The force was reduced to ten bomber squadron
in two groups consisting of RAF and RCAF squadron's and was later
revised to include only eight squadron's.
Tiger Force was to the based on Okinawa and would use Avro
Lancaster's, the newly arriving Avro Lincoln's and Consolidated
Liberator's. Fighter escort duties were to be supplied by US Far East
Air Force units and the Australian First Tactical Air Force as well as
other Commonwealth units.
Aircraft marking for the Avro Lancaster and Lincoln's was to be white
upper-surfaces with black undersides. All Tiger Force was to be
cancelled before being deployed this colour scheme was used on many
RAF post-war Lancaster's and Lincolns.
With the American bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki using Atom Bombs,
Japan's surrender followed shortly afterwards on 2 September 1945. But
5 September 1945 the Canadian Tiger Force Units, who had yet to begin
training, received disbandment orders, while the RAF units were to
remained on standby until they too received disbandment orders on 31
October 1945.
Tiger Force proposed formation included nine Wings and 22 Squadron's:
The intended Order of Battle by 15 August 1945 stood as follows:
Air-Sea Rescue Squadron - 10 x Lancaster ASR III + 10 Catalina (not
yet established)
Communications Flight: 6 x Auster + 2 x Expediter CI + 1 x Expediter CI (VVIP)
Reserve Force:
No's 49 Squadron, RAF: 20 Lancaster/Lincoln
No. 189 Squadron, RAF: 20 x Lancaster/Lincoln
No. 5 Group, RAF
Communications Flight: 3 x Auster
No. 551 Wing, RAF (forming Coningsby) to be operational 1 Jan 1946
No. 83 Squadron, RAF: 20 x Lancaster BI (FE) / BVI (FE)
No. 97 Squadron, RAF: 20 x Lancaster BI (FE) / BVI (FE)
No. 627 Squadron, RAF: 30 x Mosquito B35(PF) (detached to Woodhall Spa)
No. 552 Wing, RAF (forming Metheringham) to be operational 1 Jan 1946
No. 106 Squadron, RAF: 20 x Lancaster BI (FE) / BVI (FE)
No. 467 Squadron, RAAF: 20 x Lancaster BI (FE) / BVI (FE)
No. 544 Squadron, RAF: 20 x Mosquito PR (Met) 34 (forming Benson)
No. 553 Wing, RAF (forming East Kirkby) to be deployed in build up 1946
No. 57 Squadron, RAF: 20 x Lincoln BII
No. 460 Squadron, RAAF: 20 x Lincoln BII
No. 554 Wing, RAF (forming Spilsby) to be operational 1 Jan 1946
No. 75 Squadron, RNZAF: 20 x Lancaster BI (FE) / BVI (FE)
No. 207 Squadron, RAF: 20 Lancaster BI (FE) / BVI (FE)
Special Missions Wing, RAF (forming Waddington) to be called forward late 1945
No. 9 Squadron, RAF: 20 x Lancaster BI (FE) / BI (Special)
No. 617 Squadron, RAF: 20 x Lancaster BI (FE) / BI (Special
No. 6 Group, RCAF
Communications Flight: 3 x Auster
No. 661 Wing, RCAF (forming Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada) to be
operational 1 Jan 1946
No. 431 Squadron, RCAF: 20 x Lancaster BI (FE) / BVII (FE)
No. 434 Squadron, RCAF: 20 x Lancaster BI (FE) / BVII (FE)
No. 662 Wing, RCAF (Force build-up at Wing) to be operational not specified
No. 419 Squadron, RCAF: 20 x Lincoln BII
No. 428 Squadron, RCAF: 20 x Lincoln BII
No. 663 Wing, RCAF (forming Debert, Nova Scotia, Canada) for
deployment early 1946
No. 420 Squadron, RCAF: 20 x Lincoln BII
No. 425 Squadron, RCAF: 20 x Lincoln BII
No. 664 Wing, RCAF (forming Scoudouc, New Brunswick, Canada) for
deployment early 1946
No. 405 Squadron, RCAF: 20 x Lincoln BII
No. 408 Squadron, RCAF: 20 x Lincoln BII
It is interesting to note that this initial list for No. 6 Group, RCAF
shows Lancaster's as Mk. BI (FE) and BVII (FE) and also included
Lincoln BII's. When in fact all units forming in Canada were made up
of Lancaster's that had been flown back to Canada and were in fact
Canadian made Lancaster Mk.X. (see below).
CANADA's Lancaster's contribution to Tiger Force
The Canadian group, contained No's 661, 662, 663 and 663 (Heavy
Bomber) Wings and was to be equipped with aircraft and personnel
coming directly from squadron's already operating in England within
No. 6 Group, RCAF.
As soon as formation orders had been issued, the Canadian squadrons
were re-equipped with Canadian built Lancaster Mk.X's from the FM and
KB serial number series. These aircraft, which had been built at the
Victory Aircraft Production in Malton, Ontario, had been steadily
arriving in England since mid 1944; and would allow all of the
squadron's to operate the same Lancaster variant.
The Wings formations were as follows:
No. 661 Wing, RCAF stationed at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
No. 419 Squadron, RCAF
FM126 (spare), FM128 (spare), FM136*, FM140*,
KB721 (spare), KB748, KB722, KB783, KB839, KB841, KB851, KB854, KB857,
KB860, KB881, KB892,
* = aircraft returned to Canada too late to be assigned.
No. 428 Squadron, RCAF
Lancaster's:
FM104,
KB739, KB744, KB747, KB757, KB771, KB794, KB820, KB838, KB843, KB867,
KB878, KB889, KB891,
No. 662 Wing, RCAF stationed at Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
No. 431 Squadron, RCAF
Lancaster's:
KB733, KB774, KB796, KB801, KB802, KB811, KB812, KB819, KB823, KB827,
KB837, KB847, KB847, KB856, KB861, KB868, KB872, KB888, KB895,
No. 434 Squadron, RCAF
Lancaster's:
KB789, KB824, KB825, KB829, KB830, KB833, KB836, KB840, KB844, KB849,
KB852, KB873, KB880, KB883, KB893,
No. 663 Wing, RCAF stationed at Debert, Nova Scotia, Canada
No. 420 Squadron, RCAF
Lancaster's:
KB885, KB886, KB898, KB908, KB909, KB910, KB914, KB923, KB927, KB928,
KB933, KB937, KB938, KB941, KB942, KB946,
No. 425 Squadron, RCAF
Lancaster's:
KB875, KB876, KB899, KB912, KB916, KB917, KB924, KB926, KB930, KB931,
KB932, KB934, KB944, KB954, KB962,
No. 664 Wing, RCAF stationed at Greenwood, Nova Scotia, Canada
No. 405 Squadron, RCAF
Lancaster's:
FM110, FM115, FM122, FM123,
KB943, KB945, KB949, KB950, KB952, KB955, KB956, KB957, KB959, KB961,
KB964, KB965, KB966, KB967, KB968, KB973, KB976, KB977, KB991, KB997,
KB999
No. 408 Squadron, RCAF
Lancaster's:
FM120, FM130,
KB877, KB905, KB907, KB913, KB919, KB925, KB929, KB939, KB947, KB948,
KB951, KB960, KB963, KB972, KB979, KB994, KB995, KB996, KB998,
In total 141 Lancaster Mk.X's were allocated to Tiger force, however
with the unforeseen disbandment Tiger Force the Canadian Government
was faced with an interesting problem. Since the original intention
was for the RCAF units to be re-equipped with Canadian built Avro
Lincolns as soon as these aircraft could be made available. The
Lancaster Mk.X's, although Canadian made, had been transferred to RAF
ownership and for several months after disbandment; Canadian built
aircraft were being operated in Canada, by the RCAF, but did not
belong to the Canadian government. The problem was resolved by late
1945 or early 1946 when ownership of the Canadian made Lancaster's
which had been returned to Canada were returned to the Canadian
Government ownership, Even so the Lancaster maintained their RAF
serial numbers.
With no requirement for a heavy bomber force the Canadian Government
decided to place hundreds of Lancaster aircraft into long-term
storage, in various disused air based in Eastern Canada. However after
several years it was realised that the damp weather environment was
not best suited for long term aircraft storage.
The decision was then made to relocate the stored Lancaster's a drier
climate which would be more indicative for aircraft storage. This so
called ideal location was determined to be in the Western Canada
prairie Province Alberta, where several closed British Commonwealth
Air Training Plan (BCATP) stations were allocated for this task. By
the late 1940, many of the Lancaster's had been flown out to Alberta
and were to remain there until the early 1950's
They force would likely have remained in storage, awaiting their final
date to be scrapped, if increasing international tensions between the
East and West had not reached point where the Canadian Government
ordered the RCAF to activate seventy Lancaster's and modify them for a
variety of roles including Maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine
warfare.
Canadian Lancaster's were also to be modified by the Canadian
Government for Aerial Reconnaissance, Air-Sea Rescue, Navigational
Training, Photo-Reconnaissance and civilian transport duties the later
as Avro Lancastrians.