No. 460 Squadron RAAF

Motto: In front of a boomerang in base a kangaroo salient. The kangaroo is a fast and powerful animal indigenous to Australia, and the boomerang is a weapon peculiar to that country.
Badge: "Strike and return".
Authority: King George VI, October 1944.

No. 460 Squadron was formed at Molesworth, Huntingdonshire, on 15th November 1941, as a bomber squadron equipped with Wellington aircraft. Originally part of No. 8 Group, it moved and transferred to Breighton, Yorkshire, and No. 1 Group early in January 1942, and began operations on 12/13th March. In September 1942, the squadron "stood down" to re-equip with Halifaxes, but in October it began to re-arm with Lancasters instead. It was the only Australian squadron in No. 1 Group in 1942. In mid-May 1943, it moved to Binbrook, Lincolnshire, where it remained based until July 1945.

During its operational career, No. 460 Squadron attacked many major targets, including Berlin and Peenemunde, and with Lancasters logged approximately 5,700 operational sorties. One of its Lancasters, a Mark I, serialled W4783 and known as "G for George", made 90 operational sorties between 6/7th December 1942 (when it "bombed believed Mannheim" - the primary target that night) and 2Oth/21st April 1944 (when it bombed Cologne) and was subsequently presented to the Australian War Museum. It remains there to this day.

Bomber Command WWII Bases:

• Molesworth : Nov 1941-Jan 1942
• Breighton : Jan 1942-May 1943
• Binbrook : May 1943 onwards

Bomber Command WWII Aircraft:

• Vickers Wellington IV : Nov 1941-Sep 1942
• Handley Page Halifax B.II : Aug-Oct 1942
• Avro Lancaster B.I and B.III : Oct 1942 onwards

Code Letters:

• Originally "UV", but later changed to "AR".

First Operational Mission in WWII:

• 12/13th March 1942 : 5 Wellingtons despatched to bomb Emden. 1 bombed "believed Emden"; 2 bombed "believed Oldenburgh"; 1 bombed a fully-lighted but unidentified airfield; & 1 FTR.

Last Operational Mission in WWII:

• 25th April 1945 : 20 Lancasters despatched to Berchtesgaden.

• 7th May 1945 : 25 Lancasters dropped supplies to Dutch in Rotterdam area.

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