No. 89 Squadron RAF

No. 89 Squadron RAF
No. 89 Squadron RAF
Active 1 Sep 1917 - 4 Jul 1918
25 Sep 1941 - 1 May 1946
15 Sep 1955 - 30 Nov 1958
Country United Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg Royal Air Force
Motto Latin: Dei Auxilio Telis Meis
("By the help of God with my own weapons")[1]
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry A wyvern pierced by a flash of lightning[2]
Squadron Codes WP (May 1942 - Jun 1942)[3]

No. 89 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron, mainly active in the fighter role during its existence.

Contents

History

Formation and World War I

No. 89 squadron was formed on 1 September 1917 as a training unit at Netheravon. The squadron was not used for operations and remained a training unit. It was disbanded on 4 July 1918.

Reformation and World War II

The squadron was formed again on 25 September 1941 at RAF Colerne. The squadron was equipped with the Bristol Beaufighter night fighters. The squadron moved out to Middle East to defend the Nile delta and the Suez Canal. On 3 March 1942 the squadron scored its first victory when it shot down a German Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111. The squadron was active in the Mediterranean area and sent aircraft to Malta and Algiers and in 1943 sought targets over Crete and later Sicily. With the withdrawal further north of the German night fighter units the squadron moved to Ceylon. A further move in the summer of 1944 to Burma on intruder missions. The aircraft withdrew from operations to convert to the de Havilland Mosquito. Apart from leaflet dropping from Singapore there was little for the squadron to do and it was disbanded on 1 May 1946 when it was re-numbered as 22 Squadron.

On jets

With the expansion of RAF Fighter Command in the mid-1950s the squadron was reformed on 15 September 1955 at RAF Stradishall equipped with the de Havilland Venom night fighter. Two years later these were replaced with the Gloster Javelin. It only flew for a year as an all-weather fighter squadron and was disbanded on 30 November 1957 when it was re-numbered as 85 Squadron.

Aircraft operated

From To Aircraft Variant
Sep 1917 Jul 1918 Various, including Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5
Sep 1941 Oct 1944 Bristol Beaufighter Mk.If
Jul 1942 Apr 1945 Bristol Beaufighter Mk.VIf]
Feb 1945 Apr 1945 de Havilland Mosquito Mk.VI
Apr 1945 Mar 1946 de Havilland Mosquito Mk.XIX
Mar 1946 Apr 1946 Supermarine Walrus Mk.II
Dec 1955 Nov 1957 de Havilland Venom NF.3
Oct 1957 Nov 1958 Gloster Javelin FAW.2
Oct 1957 Nov 1958 Gloster Javelin FAW.6

[4][5][6]

Commanding officers

From To Name
Oct 1941 Sep 1942 Wg Cdr G H Stainforth, AFC
Sep 1942 Jun 1943 Wg Cdr J A Leathart, DSO
Jun 1943 Mar 1944 Wg Cdr W D David, DFC, AFC
Mar 1944 Nov 1944 Wg Cdr A F McGhie
Nov 1944 Jul 1945 Wg Cdr F Collingridge
Jul 1945 Sep 1945 Sqn Ldr A E Browne
Sep 1945 May 1946 Sqn Ldr A G A Good
1957 Nov 1958 Wg Cdr G A Martin, DFC, AFC

[4]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Rawlings 1978, p. 214.
  2. ^ Halley 1988, p. 161.
  3. ^ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 117.
  4. ^ a b Rawlings 1978, p. 216.
  5. ^ Halley 1988, p. 162.
  6. ^ Jefford 2001, p. 54.

Bibliography

  • Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. Combat Codes: A full explanation and listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied air force unit codes since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-84037-281-8.
  • Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
  • Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE, BA, RAF(Retd.). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
  • Rawlings, John D.R. Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald & Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (2nd edition 1976, reprinted 1978). ISBN 0-354-01028-X.

Related content


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Squadron RAF No. 298 — Le Squadron RAF No. 298 fut un squadron de la Royal Air Force pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, de 1942 à 1946. Sa devise était Silent We Strike (en français : Nous frappons en silence) Histoire 1942. Le 24 août, le squadron No. 298 est… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Squadron RAF No. 138 — Le Squadron RAF No. 138 fut un squadron[1] de la Royal Air Force, consacré à des missions aériennes de chasse, d’opérations spéciales et de bombardement, créé en 1918 et définitivement démantelé en 1962. Sa devise était : ‘’For freedom’’.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Squadron RAF No. 299 — Le Squadron RAF No. 299 fut un squadron de la Royal Air Force, pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, à partir de novembre 1943.. Histoire 1943. Le 4 novembre, le squadron RAF No. 299 est formé au terrain RAF de Stoney Cross, Angleterre, en tant que …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Squadron RAF No. 90 — Le Squadron RAF No. 90 (aussi connu sous l appellation Escadron XC) est d abord un escadron de chasse de la Royal Flying Corps, lors de sa création le 17 octobre 1917, bien qu il n ait jamais participé aux opérations militaires. Il est dissous en …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Squadron RAF No. 161 — Le Squadron RAF No. 161 fut pendant la Première Guerre mondiale une unité de bombardement de jour de la Royal Air Force, et fut utilisé pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale pour acheminer dans les pays d Europe occupée, à partir du terrain RAF de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • No. 144 Squadron RAF — Squadron 144 RAF crest No. 144 Squadron, RAF, was a British aviation and missle squadron during World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. Contents 1 World War I …   Wikipedia

  • No. 16 Squadron RAF — Active 10 February 1915 – Present Role Elementary Flying Training …   Wikipedia

  • No. 41 Squadron RAF — Official Squadron Badge of No. 41 Squadron RAF Active 14 July 1916 Country …   Wikipedia

  • No. 46 Squadron RAF — No. 46 Squadron Active 19 April 1916 31 August 1975 Country United Kingdom Branch Royal Air Force Size squadron No. 46 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps …   Wikipedia

  • No. 233 Squadron RAF — Active 31 August 1918 15 May 1919 18 May 1937 – 15 December 1945 1952 1957 1 September 1960 – 31 January 1964 Country …   Wikipedia

  • No. 269 Squadron RAF — The official No. 269 Squadron badge Active 6 October 1918 – 15 November 1919 7 December 1936 – 10 March 1946 1 January 1952 – 24 M …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”