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127 Wing RCAF

Name : 127 Wing RCAF Country : Canada

No. 127 Wing RCAF was a formation of the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. It comprised No. 403 Squadron RCAF, No. 416 Squadron RCAF and No. 443 Squadron RCAF. 127 Wing, or the 'Kenley Wing', based at RAF Kenley, was led by Wing Commander 'Johnnie' Johnson from Spring to September 1943, and he returned to command it during the Normandy Campaign During operation “Market-Garden� 127 Wing operated from the forward airbase Le Culot near Louvain in Belgium. Studying the operation record books of No. 83 Group only 416, 421 and 443 Squadrons were acting in this operation From 29th September until the end of October 1944, 127 Wing was based at airstrip KEENT (B-82) near Grave South of Nijmegen. Where on 1st October 403 Squadron also joined them On 2nd October six Messerschmitts 262 (jet-planes) attacked the strip with scrapnel-bombs killing P/O. D. E. Reiber (412 Squadron) and F/L O. Lee whilst 35 men personnel being wounded. On 6th October a German air-attack again, killing LACs D. M. Wesson and E. Cox and again an unknown number of wounded. Defending the Nijmegen bridges 127 Wing was involved in very fierce air battles on 27th and 29th of September ’44. 50+ German fighter-bombers escorted by fighters tried to destroy both bridges. During these battles the Wing lost 3 Spitfires but claimed 26 German planes (17 Me-109 and 9 FW-190) operating from airstrip Keent.

Pilots and Aircrew for : 127 Wing RCAF
A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking their name.
Name	Info
Edwards, James Click the name above to see a profile of Edwards, James	Edwards, James Stocky Edwards became a P40 Ace with 260 Sqn. 94 Sqn RAF, Flight Commander 260 Sqn RAF, 417 Sqn RCAF, Flight Commander 92 Sqn RAF, Squadron Commander 274 Sqn RAF, Wing Leader 127 Wing RCAF. His victory total was 15 with 3 shared.
Godefroy, Hugh Click the name above to see a profile of Godefroy, Hugh	Godefroy, Hugh 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.
Johnson, Johnnie Click the name above to see a profile of Johnson, Johnnie    Died : 30 / 1 / 2001	Johnson, Johnnie Johnnie Johnson joined 92 Spitfire squadron in August 1940, but it was with 616 squadron that he scored his first victory on June 26th 1941 while flying with Douglas Baders Tangmere Wing. He was squadron leader of 610 squadron in July 1942, but it was as Wing Commander of the Kenley Wing in 1943 that his scores really started to mount. He was W/C of 144 wing during D-Day and led 127 and 125 wings until the end of the war when we has the topscoring allied fighter pilot with 38 air victories. Inspired by the great British WW 1 aces like Bishop and Ball, Johnnie Johnson dreamed often as a child of becoming an R.A.F. pilot. The young Johnson enthusiastically joined the Volunteer Reserve at the first opportunity. After completing his initial flight training Johnson was posted to 616 Squadron at Kenley. However, this Squadron had been hit hard with the loss of six pilots and five wounded, and the unit was withdrawn to Coltishall prior to Johnson encountering combat. With only 12 hours of flight time in a Spitfire this was no doubt advantageous. In February 1941 Billy Burton moved the Squadron to Tangmere. Douglas Bader then arrived to take over the Tangmere Wing, and fly with the 616 Squadron. Johnnie, Alan Smith and Cocky Dundas were chosen to fly with Bader. During the summer of 1941 the Battle of Britain was at its peak. Bader took the time to instruct Johnson carefully in both the art of flying and the skills necessary to attain success in aerial combat. Bader's idea of an afternoon off duty, according to Johnson, was to take his section over the Channel in hopes of running into Adolph Galland and his Abbeyville Boys. On August 19, 1941 Bader failed to return from a mission when 616 Squadron was hit hard by a group of Messerschmitt 109s. Johnson flew on in Baders absence, and in the summer of 1942 he was promoted to command of the 610 Squadron. In 1943 he was promoted again to Wing Commander of the Canadian Spitfire Wing in Kenley. By that time Johnson had attained eight confirmed victories. During the spring and summer of 1943 Johnnie led the Canadian unit on more than 140 missions over Northwest Europe. Johnsons squadron attained more than 100 victories during this period, and Johnnies own personal score rose to 25. After a short leave, Johnson was posted to lead the 144 Canadian Spitfire Wing. On D-Day Johnson led his Wing on four missions in support of the Allied invasion. On June 8, Johnsons Wing was the first Spitfire group to land in newly liberated France. Johnson continued fighting in France through September 1944 when he achieved his 38th and final victory. Patrolling the Rhine Johnsons unit jumped nine 109s which were flying beneath them in the opposite direction. Five of the 109s were downed. Early in 1945 Johnson was promoted to Group Captain and put in command of the 125 Wing, which was equipped with the Spitfire XIV. Flying from former Luftwaffe airfields the 125 Wing assisted in the final Allied push to Berlin. Johnson attributed much of his aerial combat success to his ability to make tight turning maneuvers. Johnsons tightest call came on August 19, 1942 when he was unable to dislodge an Me-109 from his tail during the raid on Diepppe. Johnson raced his Spitfire flat out at a group of Royal Navy ships. The usual barrage of flak and tracer fire came right at him, and fortunately for the ace, missed his Spitfire but effectively eliminated the brave pilot on his tail. During the Korean War Johnson flew fighter-bombers with the USAF. Following his retirement from the R.A.F. in 1966 Johnson founded the Johnnie Johnson Housing Trust that has provided homes for more than 4000 disabled and elderly persons, and his sixth book Winged Victory was published in 1995. Johnson flew many of the Spitfire models. His favorite was the beautiful Mark IX, the best of them all. Johnnie passed away in 2001 at the age of 85, in Derbyshire, England.

Aircraft for : 127 Wing RCAF
A list of all aircraft associated with 127 Wing RCAF. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Spitfire Click the name above to see prints featuring Spitfire aircraft. 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.

Last edited : 11:38, March 16, 2017
Last editor : HMS

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