102 Ceylon Squadron Raf Bomber Command Squadron Profiles
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102 Ceylon Squadron Raf Bomber Command Squadron Profiles
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Author : Chris Ward
language : en
Publisher: Mention the War Limited
Release Date : 2022-10-25
102 Ceylon Squadron Raf Bomber Command Squadron Profiles written by Chris Ward and has been published by Mention the War Limited this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2022-10-25 with History categories.
102 (Ceylon) Squadron was a mainstay of 4 Group from the outbreak of war to the end of hostilities, operating for the first time on the day after war was declared. 4 Group was equipped with the twin-engine Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, a slow but immensely reliable aircraft capable of remaining aloft for more than twelve hours. The Whitley was employed initially in a pioneering role to deliver propaganda leaflets to populations as far away as Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. Such sorties exposed the crews to extremes of cold in unheated aircraft but taught them also how to navigate over a blacked-out Europe at night at a time when the rest of Bomber Command was trained only for daylight operations. The squadron was attached to 18 Group of Coastal Command for a short period during the autumn of 1940 and undertook convoy protection duties. It was during this period that P/O Leonard Cheshire joined the squadron to begin an illustrious operational career that would see him progress through the ranks to command 76 Squadron and, later, the famous 617 Squadron (Dambusters), and to earn the award of a Victoria Cross. A contemporary of Cheshire was P/O Henry "Dinghy" Young, who would be selected as a flight commander under W/C Guy Gibson for Operation Chastise, the epic attack on the Ruhr Dams, from which he would fail to return. At the end of 1941 the squadron converted to the four-engine Handley Page Halifax, an aircraft with a troubled gestation period, which saw it withdrawn from operations for modifications on a number of occasions. The type was not suited to retrospective modifications, and this meant that 4 Group squadrons were constantly exchanging one variant for another. The Mk II/V Halifax underwent many design changes in an attempt to improve its performance and shed its questionable reputation. However it saw 102 Squadron through the campaigns of 1943 against the Ruhr, Hamburg and Berlin, the last-mentioned extending through the winter of 1943/44. Late in 1943, 4 Group began to re-equip with the much-improved Hercules-powered Mk III Halifax. It would be some time before the type reached 102 (Ceylon) Squadron. At the time, the squadron was among those operating the Merlin-powered variants which, following the disaster of Leipzig in February 1944, was withdrawn from operations over Germany. Finally, in May 1944, the squadron returned to the forefront of operations with Mk IIIs and later Mk IVs. In the autumn of 1944, the squadron was among a number from 42 Base employed to ferry petrol to Europe to fuel the advance into Germany. During the course of its wartime career, the squadron suffered the third highest operational losses in Bomber Command, the highest losses in 4 Group and the highest Whitley losses. At the war's end 102 (Ceylon) Squadron was transferred to the newly formed Transport Command.
617 Squadron
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Author : Chris Ward (Military historian)
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2019
617 Squadron written by Chris Ward (Military historian) and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2019 with World War, 1939-1945 categories.
49 Squadron Raf Bomber Command Squadron Profiles
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Author : Chris Ward
language : en
Publisher: Bomber Command Squadron Profil
Release Date : 2023-01-17
49 Squadron Raf Bomber Command Squadron Profiles written by Chris Ward and has been published by Bomber Command Squadron Profil this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2023-01-17 with History categories.
Chris Ward's Bomber Command Squadron Profiles series continues with this volume, focussing on 49 Squadron. Lavishly illustrated and with comprehensive operational details, this is a 'must read' for anyone interested in the wartime history of the squadron and its personnel. 49 Squadron was one of six front-line Hampden units serving with 5 Group at the outbreak of war. It was in action against the enemy on the day that war was declared, and apart from a brief spell on attachment to Coastal Command between the 26th of January and 19th of March 1940, spent its entire career in Bomber Command operating under the banner of 5 Group. Operations during the first two years and nine months of WWII were carried out in the trusty but increasingly obsolete twin-engine Hampden, a type which rendered magnificent service and in which 49 Squadron crews took part in the first mining operations in April 1940, the first strategic bombing operations over Germany in May and the attacks on invasion barges assembling in ports along the occupied coast as the Battle of Britain drew to a close in the late summer and autumn. At the limit of its range, the Hampden took 49 squadron crews to Berlin on many occasions, often arriving back over England flying on little more than fumes. The squadron took part in the infamous "Channel Dash" episode on the 12th of February 1942, during which the German fleet escaped from its long-time lodgings at Brest and passed under the noses of the British defences, through the English Channel and on to German ports. A massive daylight commitment of aircraft by Bomber and Coastal Commands and the Fleet Air Arm failed to halt the vessels' progress and four 49 Squadron Hampdens were among fifteen aircraft lost. The great hope was the Avro Manchester, the type intended to replace the Hampden, but its engine design was fatally flawed and the type was approaching the end of its brief operational career by the time that 49 Squadron converted in the early summer of 1942. It was not a happy two months of operations, which included the three "Thousand Bomber Raids on Cologne, Essen and Bremen, the last-mentioned bringing down the curtain on the Manchester's ill-fated career. Thereafter, 49 Squadron went to war in Lancasters and played a major role in the campaigns of 1943 against the Ruhr, Hamburg and Berlin, the last mentioned continuing until the spring of 1944. 5 Group gained independence from Bomber Command's main force in April 1944 and remained at the forefront of operations. pre-invasion against railways and coastal defences and post-invasion in tactical support of ground forces and in on-going campaigns against railways, V-Weapons and oil. The squadron suffered its heaviest loss on Midsummer's Night 1944, when losing six crews, including that of its commanding officer, in an attack on a synthetic oil refinery at Wesseling near Cologne. From late summer onwards, the squadron was involved in a second Ruhr campaign and in 1945 took part in frequent attacks on the Dortmund-Ems and Mittelland canals, which resulted in their destruction. 49 Squadron sustained consistently fewer casualties than most squadrons and set an example of excellence that few other squadrons matched and, certainly, none surpassed.
101 Squadron
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Author : CHRIS. WARD
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2017-09-12
101 Squadron written by CHRIS. WARD and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2017-09-12 with categories.
101 Squadron has a long and glorious history, having been formed within the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. Transferred into the new Royal Air Force, the squadron disbanded after the Armistice. It was reformed in March 1928 and has remained in existence almost continuously ever since. Amongst numerous types, the squadron flew the Boulton-Paul Overstrand, introducing into RAF service the first powered gun turret. This achievement is commemorated in the squadron's official badge. Just before the outbreak of the Second World War, 101 Squadron re-equipped with the Bristol Blenheim, initially as a training and conversion unit. The war became real for the squadron after the fall of France, and it played a full part in the Battle of Britain, attacking enemy invasion barges and airfields, before moving into an anti-shipping role. The intensifying bombing war then occupied the squadron for the duration of hostilities. After eighteen months with the Wellington bomber, 101 Squadron found its weapon of choice, the mighty Lancaster. With this iconic aircraft, the unit became legendary. The Luftwaffe's night fighters were, by this time, becoming a lethal adversary and counter-measures were urgently needed if the bomber streams were to get through to their targets. 101 Squadron found its ultimate niche in the use of the highly-secret 'Airborne Cigar' (ABC) radio equipment, which allowed each aircraft so equipped to jam three German radio channels simultaneously. This had a very significant effect in reducing the capability of the defenders. 101 Squadron and its crews took part in every major campaign by Bomber Command, though this was inevitably at a high cost, with seven Lancasters out of twenty-six lost in a single night. The unit flew on more bombing raids than any other squadron in Bomber Command, but suffered the highest casualties, with 1176 airmen killed in action. Chris Ward's profile of 101 Squadron is a comprehensive history of the unit through World War Two and contains details of every aircraft operated between 1939 and 1945. The operational records are set in the context of the bombing campaign and leavened with personal stories. It is illustrated throughout with some 200 photographs, many never previously published, these having been provided by the 101 Squadron Association archives and private individuals, including the personal collection of Flight Lieutenant Rusty Waughman, DFC. This book is the definitive history of one of the RAF's most illustrious squadrons.
Raf Bomber Command Profiles
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Author : Chris Ward (Military historian)
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2020
Raf Bomber Command Profiles written by Chris Ward (Military historian) and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2020 with categories.
Raf Bomber Command Profiles
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Author : Chris Ward (Military historian)
language : en
Publisher: Bomber Command Books
Release Date : 2020
Raf Bomber Command Profiles written by Chris Ward (Military historian) and has been published by Bomber Command Books this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2020 with categories.
75 Nz Squadron
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Author : Chris Ward
language : en
Publisher: Mention the War Limited
Release Date : 2018
75 Nz Squadron written by Chris Ward and has been published by Mention the War Limited this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2018 with World War, 1939-1945 categories.
Chris Ward's Profile of 75(NZ) Squadron is the long-awaited, definitive and comprehensive wartime account of this well-known and highly-regarded Bomber Command outfit. Produced with the full support and assistance of squadron veterans, the Royal New Zealand Air Force Association and the New Zealand Bomber Command Association, it is a testament to the duty and sacrifice of all those who served with this famous unit throughout the Second World War. Chris Ward's detailed narrative, based on the squadron's Second World War Operations Record Book, is complemented by several hundred photographs, many published for the first time. In 1938, the New Zealand government had ordered thirty Vickers Wellington Mk1 bombers. RNZAF aircrew were despatched to train on the new aircraft at RAF Marham, and then take them to their new home in the Southern Hemisphere. When war broke out, the New Zealand Government placed the aircraft and their crews at the disposal of the RAF to help fight the new enemy. Already known as 'The New Zealand Squadron', the unit was given the number 75 on 4 April 1940, the previous unit so numbered having been disbanded. This meant that the original nucleus of personnel remained together as an operational unit of the RAF. On 4 April 1940, The New Zealand Squadron was renamed 75(NZ) Squadron. Although often referred to as an RNZAF unit, it was wholly equipped and controlled by the RAF until the end of the conflict. It was a key component of No. 3 Group, Bomber Command, and was based initially at RAF Feltwell, then RAF Mildenhall, RAF Newmarket and RAF Mepal, in Cambridgeshire. The unit saw action over France, Norway, Belgium, Italy, Sweden and Germany, distinguishing itself in the process. The squadron operated with a strength of three Flights after receiving Short Stirling bombers. In line with the rest of No. 3 Group, the squadron re-equipped with the Avro Lancaster in 1944, the type seeing the unit through to August 1945. 75(NZ) Sqn operated against the Germans from 1940 to VE Day, flying more sorties than any other allied heavy bomber squadron, suffering the second highest number of casualties. A Victoria Cross was awarded to Sgt J A Ward for climbing out onto the wing of his Wellington on an operation over Europe, in an attempt to put out an engine fire. Although badly damaged by enemy fighters' cannon shells, the aircraft managed to return to its base.
Raf Bomber Command Profiles
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Author : Chris Ward (Military historian)
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2021
Raf Bomber Command Profiles written by Chris Ward (Military historian) and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2021 with categories.
Raf Bomber Command Profiles
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Author : Chris Ward (Military historian)
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 2020
Raf Bomber Command Profiles written by Chris Ward (Military historian) and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2020 with categories.
Strike And Return
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Author : Peter C. Firkins
language : en
Publisher: Perth, Australia, Paterson Brokensha Pty. [1964]
Release Date : 1964
Strike And Return written by Peter C. Firkins and has been published by Perth, Australia, Paterson Brokensha Pty. [1964] this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1964 with World War, 1939-1945 categories.