No. 461 Squadron RAAF

No. 461 Squadron RAAF
A No. 461 Squadron Sunderland Mark V landing at Pembroke Dock, Wales in 1944
Active	25 April 1942 – 4 June 1945
Disbanded	4 June 1945
Country	Australia
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Australian Air Force
Role	Maritime patrol
Part of	No. 19 Group RAF, Coastal Command[1]
Motto(s)	"They shall not pass unseen"[2][3]
Battle honours	Atlantic, 1939–1945 English Channel and North Sea, 1939–1945 Biscay Ports, 1940–1945 Normandy, 1944 Biscay, 1940–1945 Arctic, 1940–1945
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry	A demi-shark couped, pierced by a harpoon[2][3]
Squadron Codes	UT (April 1942 – August 1943, July 1944 – June 1945)[4][5]
Aircraft flown
Patrol	Short Sunderland

No. 461 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force maritime patrol squadron during World War II which operated under Royal Air Force control flying in Europe and over the Atlantic. The squadron was formed in 1942 and was disbanded in mid-1945, just after the end of the war in Europe. Personnel were drawn from many countries of the British Empire, although the majority were Australians. Throughout the war, the squadron was credited with destroying a total of six German U-boats, and operated mainly in the Bay of Biscay and Atlantic.