433 Tactical Fighter Squadron

433 Squadron
Active	1943-1945 1954-1961 1968-2005 2015-
Country	Canada
Branch	Royal Canadian Air Force
Nickname(s)	Porcupine
Motto(s)	Qui s'y frotte s'y pique ("Who opposes it gets hurt")
Battle honours	English Channel & North Sea 1944-1945 Baltic 1944-1945 Fortress Europe 1944 France & Germany 1944-1945 Biscay Ports 1944 Ruhr 1944-1945 Berlin 1944 German Ports 1944-1945 Normandy 1944 Rhine Biscay 1944

433 Squadron is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. It operates CF-18 Hornet fighter jets from CFB Bagotville in Quebec, Canada. As of 2024, its Commanding Officer is Lieutenant Colonel Aaron "Slumdog" Dhillon.

No. 433 Squadron formed at RAF Skipton-on-Swale on 25 September 1943, but was without aircraft for nearly two months. When these arrived they were the latest version of the Handley Page Halifax, the Mk III, and No. 433 worked up on them to begin operations on 2 January 1944. For the next year the squadron was continuously operational on Halifaxes over the Continent by night. In January 1945 the Halifaxes were replaced by Avro Lancaster Mk Is, and No. 433 used these for three months, by which time the war in Europe had come to an end. No. 433 was not disbanded but, as part of No. 1 Group, flew trooping flights from Germany and Italy, bringing back troops and POWs. This continued until 15 October 1945, when the squadron disbanded at Skipton-on-Swale.^{[citation needed]}

No. 433 Squadron reformed as an All-Weather (Fighter) unit at CFB Cold Lake, Alberta, on 15 November 1954, and moved to CFB North Bay, Ontario, in October 1955, the squadron flew CF-100 Canuck aircraft on North American air defence until disbanded on 1 August 1961.^{[citation needed]}

Reformed post-unification No. 433 Escadrille tactique de combat (ETAC) was a French language squadron of Mobile Command based at CFB Bagotville, Quebec. No. 433 Escadrille flew the CF-5 Freedom Fighter in the tactical and reconnaissance role until conversion to the CF-188 Hornet fighter jets in 1984.^{[citation needed]}

The squadron was deactivated in 2005, and its assets and personnel amalgamated into 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron.^[1]

The squadron was reactivated on 9 June 2015.^[2]

The squadron celebrated its 75th anniversary on 15 September 2018.

• 
  Monument dedicated to 433rd Squadron in Freudstein
• 
  Pucelle du 433rd Squadron
• 
  "On this mountainside of the Riesenkopf in the night of the 2nd and 3rd december 1944 crashed coming back from a mission in the Ruhr the bomber HALIFAX - MZ 807 from the 433rd Squadron "Porcupine""

• 433 Tactical Fighter Squadron history