| No. 456 Squadron RAAF | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Members of No. 456 Squadron RAAF in front of a de Havilland Mosquito night fighter in 1943 | |
| Active | 30 June 1941 – 15 June 1945 |
| Country | Australia |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Australian Air Force |
| Role | Night fighter |
| Part of | RAF Fighter Command: |
| Battle honours[4] | Fortress Europe, 1940–1944 France and Germany, 1944–1945 Normandy, 1944 Biscay, 1940–1945 |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron codes | PZ (Jun 1941 – Sep 1941)[5][6] SA (Sep 1941 – Dec 1941)[7] RX (Dec 1941 – Jun 1945)[7][8] |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Fighter | Boulton Paul Defiant Bristol Beaufighter de Havilland Mosquito |
No. 456 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) night fighter squadron, operational over Europe during World War II. Formed in mid-1941, the squadron was the RAAF's only night fighter squadron.[9] It was also the first RAAF unit to use a roundel featuring a red kangaroo in a blue circle, on some parts of its aircraft. While this insignia was unofficial and the squadron's main markings conformed to the RAF roundels used by British and other Commonwealth units, it inspired the post-war roundel used by the RAAF.[10]
- ^ Delve 1994, p. 57.
- ^ Rawlings 1978, p. 526.
- ^ Rawlings 1978, p. 529.
- ^ "No. 456 Squadron". Second World War, 1939–1945 units. Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 84
- ^ Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 98
- ^ a b Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 105
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 91
- ^ Turner 1999, p. 118
- ^ Cowper, Bob (2007). "456 Squadron Night Fighters" (PDF). The Aussie Mossie (December, No. 50): 5, 11. Retrieved 6 June 2012.