Fly Past

WORLD WAR TWO CANADIAN BEAUFIGHTERS

70 FLYPAST September 2018

T

he Banff Strike Wing

became part of 18 Group in

early September 1944 – but

only after its constituent squadrons

concluded a busy summer of

anti-shipping activity from

English airfields.

From there, the strike wings in

16 and 19 Groups had contributed

to the overall success of Operation

Overlord, battling German naval

units that threatened the Allied

invasion of the Channel coast. The

retreat of the Germans across the

River Seine on August 30 marked

the conclusion of Overlord. As the

Kriegsmarine (German navy) began

to vacate Biscay ports (in France)

for Norway, 19 Group started to

wind down its activities in the south

of England.

The Germans continued to pass

as much cargo as possible along

the southwest Norwegian coast

from Narvik to Lindeses (otherwise

known as the Naze). Both military

and diplomatic actions had taken

their toll on the Reich’s ability to

move cargo
around. The
priority was to
supply raw materials to
industry (southbound traffic)
and to maintain a line to
‘garrison Norway’ (northbound
from ports in occupied Denmark
and Kiel, Germany).
The burden was further
complicated by the ongoing
requirement to keep goods moving
up and down the Norwegian coast
to support military and civilian
WORLD WAR TWO

CANADIAN BEAUFIGHTERS