Airfields, operating dates and aircraft types for no. This is a welcome reissue of a book which has been described as one of the best accounts about life in bomber command during world war ii. Raf scampton was destined, later, to become part of the folklore of bomber command through the exploits of another squadron. Having passed i was sent to bomber command 4 group york and subsequently taken to 78 squadron breighton, one of the groups many active halifax bomber squadrons. With its new orders, bomber command attempted to disrupt the production of uboats. The squadron reformed on 15 october 1957 as part of raf bomber commands v bomber force maintaining the uks strategic nuclear deterrent, equipped with avro vulcan b1s from raf finningley, and in 1961 the squadron moved from finningley to raf waddington where it remained until disbandment in. A slightly larger photograph of the crashed squadron raf lancaster at mepal.
A typical description of a bomber crew at the time was provided by an air ministry publication entitled bomber command, which was issued by the ministry of aviation in 1941. It was the first v bomber squadron of the raf, flying the vickers valiant between 1955 and 1962. Flight journal aviation books war books military books. Entire crews or individual airman pasted through the squadron on a regularly basis. Lancaster target is the classic story of one crews fight to survive a full tour of operations in the night skies of wartime europe. It was also operative during world war ii and in the post war period until 1963. Raf bomber command was created in 1936 and comprised the rafs light and heavy bomber squadrons. Every raf bomber command base in england mapped during the second world war bomber command flew more than 389,000 individual sorties. Bomber command s air offensive against the cities of nazi germany was one of the most epic campaigns of world war ii. In june 1943 the squadron moved to raf ludford magna and then flew specially equipped lancasters fitted with airborne cigar ecm.
Bomber command created a card for each aircraft that failed to return from an operational flight. At the outbreak of war in 1939, collard joined the advanced air striking force which was based in france. Carried out the fourth highest number of bombing raids of all heavy bomber squadrons. These include royal flying corps rfc and royal naval air service rnas squadrons incorporated into the raf when it was formed on 1 april 1918, during the first world war. It received a major slice of britains economic and technological resources, and many of its brightest and best. The back of the photograph says it is but the date does not tally with any of the ops the. They belonged to 4 group, raf bomber command and were based at dishforth, middletonstgeorge, croft, lintononouse and breighton at various times. Ps geordie criab was a lad from my home town vernon bc canada whose crew was the only recorded bomber rammed after hitler ordered his fighters in 1945 to kamikaze themselves after running out of ammunition. Hamburg, bremen and berlin were attacked by a total of 257 aircraft during the night of 12thth march. Believed to have dropped the third highest bomb tonnage 21,600 tons in bomber command. We specialise in publishing and selling books about raf bomber command in the second world war and related topics. Raf rank structure varied according to the branch of the command.
Bomber command training 19423 part of the training needed to fly the lanasters bombers during ww2 before flying lancasters on operation at 460 squadron, our crew were required to train on other bombers which included the vickers wellington and the handley page halifax ii. After the withdrawal from france, he transferred to bomber command for a while, and then to the middle east in command of no. Their life is not that of other men not that even of those in the other branches of the service. In some cases, information on the route taken, the equipment on board, the bomb load and feedback from survivors is. By july 1941 the strength of bomber command stood at 45 raf squadrons with a theoretical deployment of 1,000 aircraft.
Special duties squadrons were approximately of twoflight size. List of royal air force aircraft squadrons wikipedia. As a result the tally of sorties over germany in the last five months of 1941 seldom averaged more than 60 per night. Other squadrons of the raf include those from commonwealth air forces which have served within the raf structure and squadrons of the fleet air arm. Bomber command suffered heavier casualties than any other raf command during the battle of britain, with a total of 718 personnel lost. These two statements would greatly influence future bomber command thinking. A brilliant study of the rafs bomber command and their campaign in world war ii. Soon after air marshal harris took over as commander of bomber command in february 1942, the whitley was withdrawn from use as a night bomber. The first and only new zealand squadron in bomber command. A return to lincolnshireexploring a ww2 bomber command. Noteworthy are the intelligence failures of both bomber command and the u. More than 56,000 british and commonwealth aircrew and 600,000 germans died in the course of the rafs attempt to win the war by bombing. The men of bomber command are appointed to fulfill a special mission. The group also famously included an elite, multinational unit.
The future leader of that squadron, 617, had joined 83 squadron in 1937 in the rank of pilot officer, and, at the outbreak of war, had not progressed a single step up the commission totem pole. Family history, raf, raaf, bomber command 467 squadron. During the second world war no 101 squadron served with bomber command, equipped initially with bristol blenheims, then vickers wellingtons and from september 1942 with the avro lancaster. Photo courtesy and of nz bomber command association photo archives, from the collection of joe tomlin.
It transferred to raf burn, north yorkshire in february, and was disbanded there on 15 april 1945. The following is reproduced from the 101 squadron history with the kind permission of raf brize norton the 101 squadron raf website has lots more information about the squadron and a searchable crew database world war 2. Bomber commands air offensive against the cities of nazi germany was one of the most epic campaigns of world war ii. Bomber command, 4 group york, 78 squadron breighton, 1943. Bomber command books is the sales site for mention the war ltd. Three halifax squadrons from bomber command, 10 squadron at leeming, 35 squadron at lintononouse and 76 squadron at middleton st george were sent orders to move to advanced air bases in the north east of scotland. Bomber command books is a community site from mention the war publications, a specialist in publishing and selling. Squadrons are the main form of flying unit of the royal air force raf.
Bomber command, through fits and starts, grew into an effective fighting force. It was also known as no 218 gold coast squadron after the governor of the gold coast modernday ghana and people of the gold coast officially adopted the squadron. It would later play its own role in that expansion when c flight was used to form no. Suffered second highest casualties rate in bomber command. In practice, only 37 squadrons could be considered for active operations and not all of these were fullytrained. We visit the spire memorial at the international bomber command centre as.
Bomber command books from mention the war publications, merthyr tydfil. Raf bc rudder recognition markings rafcommands archive. Below are a selection of photographs of crews or airman who served with no. This reflects the number of men in the unit and the various levels of responsibility. This is an archived page from the older dcboard forum of raf commands. The amount of data recorded on the cards varied, but normally included the names of the crew and their fate. The two bomber squadrons departed at the end of september and the role of raf thornaby was again changed, this time to no 16 reconnaissance group, coastal command. Amongst them are three classics, miles tripps eight passanger is recognised as one of the great books on bomber command aircrew. Raf bomber commands offensive against the cities of germany was one of the epic campaigns of the second world war. Bomber command books from mention the war publications. Listed below are a number of biographies and autobiographies of airman who at one time operated and served with no. Posted on december 16, 2014 by robert smith posted in history, lancaster, types tagged 218 squadron, 35 squadron, bomber command, cecil butler, george klenner, lancaster, miles tripp, the eighth passenger leave a comment. It continued to carry out this role until it merged with no.
We explore part of the abandoned ww2 airfield of former raf woodhall spa. An raf bomber command squadron commander was a wing commander, and in path finder force pff, where ranks were one higher than regular bomber command, a group captain. This is closely followed by bill jacksons three stripes and four brownings and. Our growing list of titles focuses on the aircraft, squadrons and above all the men and women who shaped the legend that endures to this day. The squadron carried out 2,721 operational sorties with the halifax for a loss 40. Raf bomber command during the second world war imperial. Alternatively you can leave a comment on this page using facebook in the comments box at the bottom of the page. Im currently researching my family history and have found that my great uncle ernie flew lancasters with 467 squadron in the later stages of ww2 and for a while after the war mainly returning pows to england. For example, the germans could have been dealt a crushing blow had the schwinefurt ballbearing raid with another immediate raid. Every raf bomber command base in england mapped telegraph.
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