No. 255 Squadron RAF

No. 255 Squadron RAF
Photograph of a hand-painted metallic casting by Rogarn, made circa 1950, depicting the Squadron's official crest.
Active	6 July 1918 – 14 January 1919 23 November 1940 – 30 April 1946
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Motto(s)	Latin: Ad Auroram (To the break of dawn)
Insignia
Squadron Badge	A panther's face, the full Heraldic description of which is discussed in the section Badge and Motto below.
Squadron Codes	YD (Nov 1940 – Apr 1946)

No. 255 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as an anti-submarine unit in World War I and a night-fighter unit in World War II.

History

Formation and World War I

Squadron numbering

When the Royal Air Force (RAF) was created on 1 April 1918, squadrons formerly part of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) were distinguished from former units of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) with the same number by having 200 added to their previous RNAS designations. Thus, for example, No.3 Squadron RFC became No.3 Squadron RAF, whilst No.3 (Naval) Squadron RNAS became No.203 Squadron RAF.

Prior to the formation of the RAF, the RNAS had a large number of additional flying units that were smaller than whole squadrons, some stationed in the UK and others overseas. After being taken over by the RAF, some of these units were initially identified as numbered Flights. These Flights were subsequently grouped into new squadrons also numbered in the 200-series.

No.255 Squadron is an example of such a grouping of Flights, being formed from Flights 519 through 524.

Place of formation

Jefford (2001) suggests that No.255 Squadron was formed 25 July 1918 at Pembroke. The reference to Pembroke means RAF Pembroke (X0PK), not to be confused with RAF Pembroke Dock (X7PD). RAF Pembroke closed after the First World War but the site was subsequently re-opened as RAF Carew Cheriton (also unofficially known as Milton, at some risk of confusion with RAF Milton near Banbury, Oxfordshire, which was the home of No.3 Maintenance Unit).

Uncertain date of formation

Documents discovered in 2014 at The National Archives (TNA) suggest that, whilst the location given by Jefford (2001) is correct, the formation date was earlier than 25 July 1918. Within the Patrol Reports of No.14 Group (prior to the formation of the RAF this was the Milford Haven Anti-Submarine Group of the Royal Naval Air Service) there exists a record of daily sorties by aircraft of No.255 Squadron. The series commences on 6 July 1918. On a purely administrative basis, the squadron must have formed no later than 8 May 1918. That date appears in the RNAS service record of Reginald Rhys SOAR as the date when he was posted to the squadron.

Aircraft

An Airco DH.6 similar to those flown by No.255 Squadron in 1918.

The squadron was equipped with Airco DH.6 aircraft. These single-engine biplanes could carry either a 100 lb bomb or an Observer in addition to the Pilot, but not both. This accounts for the imbalance in crew numbers evident in the Squadron Roll Call; the number of Pilots far exceeded the number of Observers.

Strategic purpose

The sole function of No.255 Squadron during WWI was anti-submarine warfare, initially within a zone defined as "10m NW Fishguard to 10m S of Caldey Island". Within days this was extended to 15 miles South of Caldey Island.

Airborne anti-submarine warfare in the Bristol Channel, St.George's Channel and southern Irish Sea was conducted by three distinct classes of flying machine. Patrol reports archived at TNA in AIR1/485 indicate that long duration patrols and convoy escort duties were carried out by Class SSZ Airships. The Airship Station at Pembroke maintained a Detachment at Wexford, Ireland, so as to extend No.14 Group's reconnaissance capability further into the Western Approaches. The airships were fitted with Wireless Telegraphy apparatus (known as "W/T", meaning radio communication using morse code), enabling rapid dissemination of information concerning the whereabouts of any U-boats sighted.

Shorter range patrols were conducted both by Short Type 184 and, on rare occasions, Hamble Baby seaplanes. Like the airships, Short Type 184s were also fitted with Wireless Telegraphy apparatus, giving them a distinct advantage over smaller aircraft in terms of rapid reporting of U-boat sightings.

Inshore patrols were conducted by the DH.6 aeroplanes of No.255 Squadron. The unit appears to have been very much the junior partner in this tripartite reconnaissance/attack arrangement, on account of the DH.6 aircraft's lack of radio communication facilities.

Officer Commanding

The Officer Commanding "A" and "B" Flights was Hon. Captain Reginald Rhys SOAR, DSC.

The squadron's senior administrator was Major Robert Gordon GOULD, MC. Wounded whilst serving in No.10 Squadron RFC, Gould was posted to "14 Group for 255 Squadron" on 10 May 1918. He is only named once in the squadron's sortie records, possibly indicating an ongoing disability preventing this keen pilot from participating more regularly in front-line service. Three years previously he had funded his own tuition as a pilot, qualifying for his Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate on 24 April 1915. Once on active service with the RFC, he claimed the cost of his tuition against expenses!

The Officer Commanding the whole of No.14 Group (which included airships, seaplanes and land-based aircraft) was Robert Cholerton HAYES. His rank "WSE" (whilst so employed) was Lt.Col., his role being described as "Group Commander". A navy Dirigible Officer by background, he would later be awarded the OBE, Gazetted 6 January 1919, in recognition of his wartime work in respect of the military applications of lighter-than-air craft at both Kingsnorth and Pembroke.

The modern rank structure of the RAF was not introduced until after the squadron had been disbanded in 1919. An overview of AIR1/485 and AIR1/486 suggests that these three officers performed roles equivalent in modern terms to Squadron Leader, Wing Commander and Group Captain respectively.

WWI Officers and Aircrew

The following table lists Officers and Aircrew known to have served with (or to have been in command of) No.255 Squadron at any time between the formation of the squadron and the Armistice on 11 November 1918. Rank shown is that held on Armistice Day. Leonard Andrews' commission as a 2nd Lieutenant was confirmed and Geoffrey Chetwynd-Stapylton was promoted to Acting Captain before the squadron was disbanded.

Surname	Forenames	Date of Birth	Rank	Role	Domicile	Service record
Andrews	Leonard Christopher	15 May 1899	Temp 2/Lt.	Observer	Britain	AIR76/8/184
Arcand	Louis Georges	31 Aug 1897	Lieutenant	Pilot	Canada	AIR76/10/4
Birkbeck	Paul William	03 May 1899	Lieutenant	Pilot	Britain	AIR76/40/6
Chaffe	Redvers Sydney S.	‡ 06 Apr 1900	2nd Lieut.	Pilot	Canada	AIR76/81/3
Chetwynd-Stapylton	Geoffrey	27 Dec 1893	Lieutenant	Admin	Britain	AIR 76/480/178
Garnett	Walter Hugh S.	26 Jun 1891	Acting Major	Staff Officer	Britain	AIR76/177/67
Gillingham	Hubert Henry	14 Nov 1894	Lieutenant	Pilot	Britain	AIR76/183/87
Godden	William John G.	28 May 1899	2nd Lieut.	Observer	Britain	AIR76/185/90
Gould	Robert Gordon	26 Feb 1885	Acting Major	Pilot	Britain	AIR76/189/125
Hamilton	Ralph Nigel	07 Nov 1895	Hon. Lieut.	Pilot	Britain	AIR76/206/33
Hayes	Robert Cholerton	30 Nov 1884	Acting Lt.Col	Dir. Officer	Britain	ADM 273/1/57
Hunter	Richard Charles A.	‡ Dec.Qr.1891	2nd Lieut.	Pilot	Britain	AIR76/245/123
Leguen-de-Lacroix	Aleth Thomas S.	France, 1894	Lieutenant	Pilot	Britain	WO372/11/217664
Montgomery-Moore	Robert John	?	Lieutenant	Admin	Britain	WO339/18127
Nicholson	Leyster	09 Oct 1892	Lieutenant	Pilot	Britain	AIR76/373/40
Peebles	Arthur John D.	12 Jun 1898	Lieutenant	Pilot	Britain	AIR76/396/168
Soar	Reginald Rhys	24 Aug 1893	Hon. Capt.	Pilot	Britain	ADM273/7/9
Stallibrass	Trevor Lawrie W.	20 Jun 1888	Lieutenant	Pilot	Britain	AIR76/479/131
Tamplin	Harold Llewelyn	03 Jan 1899	Lieutenant	Pilot	Canada	AIR76/494/144

NOTES to accompany the table above:

Dir. Officer = Dirigible Officer, qualified to operate an Airship but not fixed-wing aircraft.

‡  Data derived from standard genealogical sources, missing from known military records.

The Lieutenant Montgomery-Moore listed here is not the same person as the author of the book "That's My Bloody Plane!", but may have been a relative.

Harold TAMPLIN's middle forename is consistently spelled as above in both British and Canadian records, except on his birth registration. Reference to the original document (not merely the General Register Office indexes) shows that the original birth registration used the more conventional spelling Llewellyn.

As at 2014, some RAF service records from WWI have not been declassified, in most cases because the person remained in the Royal Air Force after the war. Such records are normally declassified 90 years after service in the armed forces ceased. However, pre-1918 RNAS, RFC or Army records in respect of the same individuals have not been similarly withheld. These substitute sources are listed in the table where appropriate. Most entries in the column "Service record" are available on online via The National Archives website.

255 Squadron Association gratefully acknowledges the help given by the Royal Canadian Air Force archives and the staff of the London Borough of Wandsworth in the preparation of this table.

Signalling codes

A short code was used to report latitude and longitude of a target or other location, comprising a 5-character group of two numbers followed by three letters. Example: 67ABC.

The numerical component represents a grid square measuring 25 Nautical Miles along each side. This refers to the old definition of the Nautical Mile, also known as a "Sea Mile". The fixing of the Nautical Mile as a distance of 1,852.00 metres did not happen until 1929, some eleven years later. At the time of the First World War, a Nautical Mile was defined as being the distance at sea level which, if viewed from the centre of the earth, would subtend an angle of one sixtieth of one degree of arc. Given that the Earth is not a perfect sphere, this means that the length of a pre-1929 Nautical Mile varies from place to place, being largest at the equator and smallest at the poles.

An example of a "Squared Chart", annotated to show the location of the Squadron's attack on a U-Boat on 14 August 1918.

The algorithm for decoding the numerical component is mathematically complex, because repetition of any number is excluded. Thus squares 00, 11, 22, 33 and so on up to 99 simply do not exist, in effect creating a system that is non-linear. Additional complexity arises because nine (the mathematical "base" or radix in this quasi-nonal system) is not a factor of sixty, the number of Nautical Miles in one degree of latitude. Nor is 5 a factor of 9, five being the number of sub-squares forming one side of the master square. In practice the decode was not calculated, but physically plotted on a chart using a crib, examples of which survive in The National Archives.

Each letter in the 5-character group represents successive subdivision of the main square into 25 smaller squares using a 5x5 grid labelled A through Z omitting X. With three such subdivisions, the resolution of the coded location statement is good enough to pinpoint any position within No.14 Group's area to an accuracy of one fifth of a Nautical Mile, which is approximately 370 metres.

At the level of the second subdivision, the minor squares had sides of 1 Nautical Mile. Possibly to avoid confusion between Nautical Miles and Statute Miles, these were known as "2,000 Yard Squares" rather than "One Mile Squares". The discrepancy introduced by this nomenclature is slightly over 1%, the exact magnitude of the error depending (under the old definition of the Nautical Mile) on the Latitude of the observer.

This whole mapping system, called "Squared Charts", created a highly simplified method for exchanging position information either in writing, by Semaphore, or using Morse Code sent by wireless or signal lamp. Use of the Squared Charts system for reporting positions is almost universal within the WWI records of the squadron.

First reported sighting of a U-boat

On 10 July 1918 a patrol by an aircraft of No.255 Squadron reported sighting a hostile periscope at location 64LYK. The following day a target in the same area was attacked by Short seaplanes from another squadron.

First reported engagement with a U-boat

No.255 Squadron's first claimed strike against the enemy occurred on 14 August 1918, when Lieutenant PEEBLES (Arthur John Douglas Peebles, born 12 June 1898) piloting DH.6 serial C.9439, reported finding a submarine at periscope depth at position 67ISC. He attacked the target at 09:35 with a 100 lb bomb. This resulted in air bubbles and an oil slick. There being no surface vessels in the area that he might have redirected to the scene using visual signals, Lieutenant Peebles landed at a Look-Out Station at position 65OGV, but he found it "uninhabited". He therefore flew on to RAF Pembroke. At 12:20 another attack was mounted against the same target by Lieutenant Peebles and Captain Soar and further oil was brought to the surface.

Admiralty assessment at the time classified the result of the strike as "U-boat possibly damaged", giving the decoded position as 51°17'N, 05°04'W. No U-boat is unaccounted for in this area, such that the target might have been sunk and never identified. Analysis of the incident by independent researchers associated with the website U-boat.net, conducted in May 2014, show the following submarines of the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) to have been on patrol in the general area: U52, U94, U96, UB86 and UB92. Of these, U52 of II Flotilla was closest to 51°17'N, 05°04'W, under the command of Kapitänleutnant d.R. Franz KRAPOHL.

U52's known positions in the period 12–15 August 1918 were all in St.George's Channel. The submarine's KTB (Kriegstagebuch, in translation "War Diary") reportedly makes no mention of the vessel coming under attack on 14 August 1918.

Errors and omissions in records

Numerous errors, omissions and potentially confusing instances of now-obsolete terminology exist in The National Archives records of No.14 Group. These are noted here for the benefit of other researchers studying the same source:

Generally:

There is endless confusion between Knots (a measure of speed) and Nautical Miles (a measure of distance).

Nautical Miles are inadequately distinguished from Statute Miles.

Reference to an airship is often abbreviated to "ship". This gave rise to some apparently nonsensical reports of ships cruising at altitudes of several hundred feet.

Bearings are sometimes given using the antiquated system of Compass Points.

On occasions, no distinction is made between True North and Magnetic North. When the difference is mentioned, the traditional UK terminology "Magnetic Variation" is used in line with the nomenclature used on Admiralty Charts. Note that modern US terminology differs. Magnetic Variation in the squadron's patrol area was considerable, Magnetic North in 1918 being 17°45' W of True North.

The initials RNAS can stand for Royal Naval Air Service (abolished 1 April 1918) or Royal Naval Airship Station. Given that the airships themselves remained in Admiralty ownership after 1 April 1918 and were not transferred to the Air Ministry during the course of the war, use of the term Royal Naval Airship Station validly persisted after the formation of the RAF.

Documents in the relevant files were not accurately placed in date order before Folio numbers were backstamped onto them.

With specific reference to No.255 Squadron:

The squadron was mis-described as "No.225" on the Daily Patrol Report for 7 July 1918.

Pilots' names do not routinely appear in the squadron's sortie records prior to 9 August 1918. Thereafter, only current rank and surname are noted, not forenames or initials.

Disbanding

Jefford (2001) gives the date of disbanding as 14 January 1919, but it seems that flying activity ceased considerably earlier. The records of No.14 Group include a Nil return of Patrols for the whole of the week ending 30 November 1918 and the record itself ceases at that date.

Reformation in World War II

Overview of WWII deployments

The squadron reformed on 23 November 1940 at what was then called RAF Kirton Lindsey but has more recently become known as RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey. In May 1941 it moved to Hibaldstow, followed by a spell at Coltishall with a detachment at West Malling, thereafter High Ercall and Honiley. Almost exclusively, the squadron was throughout this time period involved in night-time air defence.

In November 1942, within days of the Operation Torch landings, the squadron moved in part by air and in part by sea from England to Algeria, soon establishing a forward operating base in Tunisia. In Africa their role expanded somewhat. Night-time air defence predominated but, additionally, daylight defence of Mediterranean convoys and a few air-sea rescue searches also took place. Experimentally, there were a small number of night intruder missions into Sardinia. Following the final defeat of the Afrika Korps, the squadron consolidated at a single location at La Sebala II, Tunisia.

Operation Husky saw Allied forces invade Sicily, encountering minimal resistance because of the successful deception perpetrated by Operation Mincemeat. No.255 Squadron was not in the vanguard but soon followed, setting up its base at Bo Rizzo and reverting for a while to a near-exclusive night air defence role.

Next came Italy, a deployment that gave rise to numerous detachments and a major series of fighter-intruder and fighter-bomber missions. Some were in support of Tito's Partisans in the Balkans, some flew on into the Danube basin with the objective of destroying oil barges supplying fuel to Germany from the Romanian Oil Fields and some, during the autumn of 1944, headed south-east over the southern Aegean Sea with the objective of harassing the Wehrmacht's eventual retreat from the Dodecanese. Also, very successfully, the squadron provided air cover for Allied ground troops in the vicinity of Ancona, Italy, where Junkers Ju 87 (Stuka) dive bombers operating without fighter escort proved to be easy pickings for the squadron's Beaufighters.

VE Day saw the squadron still in Italy, as the lone night-time guardian of virtually the whole of Italian airspace.

Detail - 255 at Kirton Lindsey

The squadron re-formed on 23 November 1940. Unlike the WWI situation, this date is precisely recorded in an Operations Record Book (ORB) but there is some uncertainty about the correct description of the location. Kirton Lindsey or Kirton-in-Lindsey?

It appears to have been an RAF habit (inherited from the RFC) to name its bases after the nearest railway station, possibly to simplify the process of issuing Rail Warrants to personnel posted there. By that token, 255 was re-born at RAF Kirton Lindsey, Kirton Lindsey being the name of the nearby railway station constructed in 1849. The squadron's Operations Record Book consistently uses that version of the name. So does the airfield's separate ORB, from the date of the site's first WWII occupation (15 May 1940) through to May 1941. After mid-1941, use of RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey begins to appear – eventually dominating.

Given that all No.255 Squadron records refer to "Kirton Lindsey", that name is used here. By the time the "-in-" version was adopted on the airfield, No.255 Squadron had moved on to their next home.

A Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.I. It is believed that all such aircraft used by No.255 Squadron were painted black, at the time the preferred night fighter camouflage.

The squadron became operational as a night fighter unit, part of No.12 Group, on 5 Jan 1941, but due to snow no flying took place until 8 Jan 1941. They were flying Bolton Paul Defiant Mk.I aircraft without on-board radar. Ground-Controlled Interception, called "GCI", was used to guide a single fighter aircraft towards its target, using a procedure called "vectoring". In effect, the GCI Station did the work of a navigator, calculating the course to steer and altitude to achieve in order to intercept the moving target. The ground station then transmitted this information to the fighter pilot by radio. Only if the guidance was accurate enough to bring the fighter within visual range of the target did an interception result. Perhaps surprisingly often, despite the darkness, it did!

An entry in the Form 541 appendix to the ORB, dated 8 January 1941 sees the squadron's only documented use of "Pip-squeak", fitted to Defiant Mk.I serial N.3378. Pip-squeak was a direction-finding system that auto-keyed a spare channel on the transmitter of the aircraft's HF radio telephone, enabling a network of "HF/DF" (High Frequency Direction Finding) ground stations to obtain a rapid "fix" on the aircraft whether or not the voice communication facility was in use. A change to VHF radios, already under way and accompanied by the contemporaneous installation of IFF, rendered the whole Pip-Squeak system redundant.

On 2 February the squadron suffered its first fatality when Defiant Mk.I serial N.3306 stalled on final approach. The pilot, 748209 Sergeant Alan R. JACOBS was killed instantly. His Air Gunner, 935568 Sgt. P.V.THORNTON escaped with minor head injuries. The ORB attributes the crash to Pilot Error.

The night of 10-11 February 1941 saw the first combat successes, the squadron claiming two Heinkel He.111's "Probably Destroyed". On the same night a Defiant of No.255 Squadron was damaged when a Spitfire of another squadron taxied into it. Two further on-the-ground incidents followed on the 16th.

17 February saw the completion of the fitting of VHF radios to the squadron's aircraft, a process that had taken nearly two months.

At 02:48 on 14 March 1941, Sgt. A.R.SMITH (Pilot) and Sgt. H.A.McKENZIE (Air Gunner) had the un-nerving experience of having an enemy aircraft - presumed to be a Ju.88 - rake them with machine-gun fire as they landed, the Hun having followed them in. They and their Defiant escaped unscathed but a parked Spitfire of No.65 Squadron suffered minor damage.

During their time at Kirton Lindsey, the Defiants were supplemented with five Hawker Hurricane single-seat fighters, which achieved two combat victories. These arrived over the period 21-23 March, but not all were in serviceable condition on receipt.

On the night of 16-17 April 1941 the airfield was bombed; there was no significant damage.

The ORB entry for 1 May 1941, written up at the end of the month, makes reference to the activities throughout May 1941 in the following terms:

This moonlit period (till 17/5/41) was one of intense enemy 'blitzing' of target areas in N.E. and Central England and in consequence a considerable strain was thrown on the Squadron. Each night one flight was at 'readiness' with the other 'available', and on some occasions during the peak moonlit period as many as sixteen planes have been at 'readiness'. From the assumption of dusk state on 2/5/41 till the end of dusk state on 17/5/41 (15 nights) a total of one hundred and thirty-two operational night patrols were flown. In fact a total of eighty-eight were flown in the 6 nights from midnight on 10/5/41, an average of more than 14½ patrols per night. The squadron had its most successful period since its formation, as will be seen from the victories set out infra. The most satisfactory aspect of these combats is that the losses inflicted on the enemy were all achieved at the loss of only one Defiant both the occupants of which landed safely by baling out of their burning machine.

The highlight came in the early hours of the ninth of May, when the squadron shot down 6 enemy bombers and damaged a seventh within the space of half an hour, all achieved without loss to the squadron's personnel or planes. This produced a deluge of congratulations, headed by a personal message from the Rt. Hon. Sir Archibald Sinclair, Bt., CMG, MP, the Secretary of State for Air.

It was a magnificant finale to the squadron's time at RAF Kirton Lindsey, which the aircraft and aircrews left on the 15th. Due to some facilities at RAF Hibaldstow not being complete, the squadron's administrative HQ and some maintenance activities remained at Kirton Lindsey. The split of administrative location continued until 9th June.

Detail - 255 at Hibaldstow

What might have proved to be a busy and productive period in the squadron's history turned out not to be. Much of the Luftwaffe bomber force that had been ranged against the East Coast ports of Hull and Grimsby during the squadron's time at RAF Kirton Lindsey had, in May 1941, been moved to the Russian Front ready to support Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of Eastern Europe. In local terms at least, the Blitz was over. Apart from some token raids probably designed to create the pretence of ongoing strategic bombing, the night fighters guarding the ports of the Humber Estuary were left short of targets.

On 16 June 1941 the squadron took delivery of its first Blenheim I light bomber, for the purposes of training on twin engined aircraft prior to being re-equipped with Beaufighters. A second Bleinhim (L.1223) was collected from No.18 Maintenance Unit on 06 July and a third (known to have been L.8660) was delivered on 19 July.

On night 10-11 July, at about 02:00, Air Gunner Sgt. H.D.F. FITZSIMMONS, a New Zealander, was hit by a tracer bullet fired from an enemy aircraft believed to be a Heinkel He.111. Fitzsimmons nevertheless continued to fire at the enemy bomber, which was claimed as "damaged". Pilot Sgt.COX returned to base and his Air Gunner was taken to Scunthorpe War Memorial Hospital.

YD-G (R.2402) Beaufighter Mk.II night fighter of No. 255 Squadron photographed at RAF Hibaldstow on 5 September 1941. Note the flat tailplane (no dihedral). [Photo: IWM.]

Official notification was received on 13 July of the upcoming re-equipment with Beaufighters. The first two of these much heavier fighter aircraft (R.2370 and R.2377), nominally similar in handling characteristics to the Blenheims used for training, arrived on 22 July. More following on the 24th and the 27th making eight in all, a ninth arriving the following day and a tenth by the end of the month. The total reached the full compliment of 18 on 6 August.

The Mk.II Beau was under-powered compared with the Mk.I. The Beaufighter airframe was designed around the Bristol Hercules engine, the Mk.VI version of which, on take-off, delivered 1615 BHP (1204 kW). Rolls-Royce Merlin XX's, however, only managed 1280 BHP (954 kW), a shortfall of approximately 21%. The decision to fit Merlin XX engines to Beaufighters came about because of an anticipated shortage of Hercules engines. As the Squadron's experience over the next few months was to show, the airframe/engine combination was not a particularly successful one.

The squadron's next move, from Hibaldstow to Coltishall, commenced on 16 August 1941. Tragically it resulted in the deaths of 81449 Flying Officer James Howard EMMERSON (known as Jimmy) and 748529 Sergeant Donald Crosby FOWLER when Blenheim L.1223 crashed on approach to RAF Coltishall, hitting trees about ¾ mile from the airfield. This incident was eventually attributed to loose spark plugs in the port engine, occasioned by slack maintenance procedures. It marked the start of a grim period in the squadron's history. The transition from single to twin-engined aircraft did not go smoothly and it would take over a year, diagnosis of the cause of multiple engine supercharger failures on the Beaufighter Mk.II's Merlin XX engines, re-equipment with Mk.VI Beaufighters (which had Bristol Hercules engines) and a move to North Africa before combat victories resumed in numbers that exceeded the Squadron's aircrew losses to causes other than enemy action.

The Squadron was deemed non-operational from 18:00 on 23 August 1941, so as to "complete conversion to and training on Beaufighters". All but two aircraft were ordered back to RAF Hibaldstow, the two remaining at Coltishall being attached to No.604 Squadron. 604 was a unit with greater experience of flying Beaufighters equipped with AI and the application of that aircraft/radar combination to the business of delivering an effective night fighter defence role. Evidently only two of 255's crews were deemed to be combat ready in their new aircraft.

Cut-away drawing of a Beaufighter Mk.II. Click on this image to enlarge. Adapted by a member of 255 Squadron Association from the Frontispiece of Pilot's Notes, A.P. 1721B Vol.1. As reproduced here, the original drawing omitted the Mk.IV AI radar aerials – probably for security reasons. The transmit aerial was on the nose of the fuselage and the receive aerials were on the leading edge of each wing, roughly in line with the RAF rondels. They are just visible in photo ATP 10603B linked above.

Some of the Squadron's paperwork from September 1941 appears to be missing, specifically Forms 541 relating to the period from the 1st to the 25th of the month. However, enhanced detail entered on Form 540 may indicate that the 541s were never created in the first place.

The second attempt to move to Coltishall happened 19–21 September, leaving unsolved the mystery of 45843 Pilot Officer James CRAIG's disappearance on a flight from Turnhouse (Edinburgh) to Hibaldstow on 29 August in Defiant Mk.I serial N.3378.

Detail - 255 at Coltishall

On 23 September the squadron was informed that a crashed aircraft had been found near the Woodhead Tunnel, high in the Pennines, and that two bodies had been taken to Glossop Police Station mortuary. These casualties, found close to Near Bleaklow Stones, subsequently proved to be the remains of Pilot Officer Craig and a passenger, 1103778 Aircraftman 1st Class George Daniel HEMPSTEAD, whose presence on board had not at first been known to the squadron. Craig's aircraft had been reported missing/overdue on a flight from Turnhouse (Edinburgh) to Hibaldstow since 29 August. A subsequent report received 27 September 1941 from No.10 Balloon Centre stated that Pilot Officer Craig's aircraft had many bullet holes in it, suggesting enemy action. For some years the aircraft's radiator cowling remained at the crash site, showing clear evidence of such damage. However, it was removed by persons unknown some time prior to 1979.

Fatal accidents involving Beaufighter flights into or out of Coltishall itself cost the lives of two successive Commanding Officers, amongst others. On 22 August 1941 a crash on landing killed 34037 Wing Commander John Stuart BARTLETT, DFC, and an incident on 08 December 1941, shortly after take-off, killed his successor 26193 Wing Commander Charles Mervyn WINDSOR. Both these men were career officers (not RAFVR wartime recruits) and both were experienced pilots.

The ORB entry for 26 December 1941 acknowledges that a series of adverse events suffered since conversion to Beaufighter Mk.II aircraft had seriously dented morale. In what was obviously an attempt to restore faith in the Beaufighters, 33041 Wing Commander Peter Stanley SALTER, AFC, of the RAF Handling Squadron, then an offshoot of the Central Flying School, visited and demonstrated the Beaufighter II in flight. A further demonstration was given by the same officer three days later.

The general tone of the squadron's records at this time, along with squadron pilot 89625 Pilot Officer Michael F. WYNNE-WILLSON's comments in his autobiography, suggest deep disillusionment with their equipment. Regarding the Beaufighter II crash that killed Johnny Bartlett and Tom SALKELD on 22 August 1941, Michael wrote...

It was then that we all learned for the first time that these aircraft were un-flyable on one engine with wheels and flaps down.

Michael's description of the practical consequences of asymmetric power in a Beaufighter Mk.II seem fully justified when one takes into consideration some tests done at RAE Farnborough in April 1945, during which one engine was deliberately shut down in flight:

At speeds below 140 mph the aeroplane appeared to roll immediately the engine was cut... Recovery was effected by throttling back the live engine... Since recovery necessarily entails an appreciable loss of height, the manoeuvre would be very dangerous at low altitudes (e.g. after take-off).

The RAE experiments took place more than three years after No.255 Squadron's problems with the Mk.II Beaufighter, but the October 1941 edition of Pilot's Notes validate Michael's comments about the type being un-flyable in certain low-airspeed conditions. As here, the original official publication is in Block Capitals:

NO ATTEMPT MUST EVER BE MADE TO FLY LEVEL ON
ONE ENGINE WHEN THE FLAPS ARE FULLY DOWN.

Interestingly the same document recommends that flaps should not be used at all for take-off. The aircraft evidently had a very strange set of handling characteristics, brought about by aerodynamic issues the consequences of which were made all the more prominent by frequent engine failures.

In his autobiography, Michael Wynne-Willson went on to consider the effect of a supercharger failure during take-off...

[The loss of power on one side] ...caused the wing to drop and the plane to stall... and... dive into the ground. Nothing the pilot could do could possibly save him, his radar operator or his aircraft... The consequences of this happening were always terminal and, thank God, instantaneous.

Other activities carried on against this unhappy background. Christmas Eve 1941 saw 42503 Flight Lieutenant Gilbert McLean HAYTON (Senior pilot of "A" Flight; the Air Force List gives his rank as Flying Officer apparently in error) and 45844 Pilot Officer N.H.JOSLING (Radio Operator) chosen as volunteer crew to fly a Beaufighter to the Middle East.

On New Year's Day 1942, 89594 Pilot Officer J.D. WRIGHT collected Miles Magister BB.665 from St.Athan. It is unclear whether this aircraft, nominally a basic trainer, was subsequently used other than as an air taxi, but it does appear in Wing Commander Kelly's flying log book for January 1942 in that role.

Come the third of January, five Beaufighter aircraft were moved on detachment to RAF West Malling. 255 Squadron in effect became twinned with No.29 Squadron in order to provide crew rotation out of territory still documented in the ORB as "Hell Fire Corner". On 14 January, 255 Squadron crews on this rotation did score one combat victory, a Dornier Do.217 shot down off Ostend, but successes remained elusive. The rotation arrangement continued until 16 February 1942.

The 'atmosphere' at Coltishall presented the Squadron's new CO, ex-Battle of Britain pilot 33168 Wing Commander Piers KELLY, with a major man-management challenge. Nor could things have been easy for 45393 Flight Lieutenant P.C. ("Wilbur") WRIGHT, the squadron's Engineering Officer. Why were so many aircraft suffering engine failure in non-combat incidents? Was the problem a design fault, pilot error, or another maintenance issue akin to the one that had resulted in the deaths of Jimmy Emerson and Donald Fowler back in August 1941?

Supercharger gearbox failures, especially in the moments of maximum power demand at take-off, were suspected. On 9 January 1942 a conference took place at RAF Coltishall, four representatives of Rolls-Royce attending in order to address the specific matter of "MS and FS failures".

On 14 January 1942, Sgt E.L. VINCE (Pilot) and Sgt R.L. MILLER (Radio Operator) proceeded to RAF Honeybourne to ferry a Beaufighter to the Middle East – not the first crew to have volunteered for an overseas adventure.

28 January 1942 saw the first indication that the squadron was to be re-equipped with either Beaufighter Mk.VI or Mosquito aircraft, a change also involving a move from RAF Coltishall to RAF High Ercall in No.9 Group's area. That relocation commenced 2 March 1942, again taking the squadron out of the front line. Once the root causes of the high accident rate amongst experienced pilots had been identified, the Air Ministry listened and took action just as soon as the aircraft supply situation permitted. But the diagnosis and consequent decision to re-equip came too late to save the lives of a number of brave and experienced men and the whole débâcle cast a very long shadow over squadron morale.

The problem with the Merlin XX engines was eventually traced to the gears and clutch of the two-speed supercharger gearbox, some parts of which were manufactured under licence by Rolls-Royce to a pre-war design by the French company Farman. The minutes of a meeting of the Directorate of Engine Development (a division of the Ministry of Aircraft Production, a wartime offshoot of the Air Ministry) held on 18 March 1942 state that the meeting heard a report of "95 failures... in 12 months and No.255 Beaufighter squadron in particular had suffered".

Unfortunately, the squadron's Form 765C archive has not survived, precluding a full analysis of the supercharger failures via that route. What can be said, on the basis of such records as do survive elsewhere, is that the Squadron suffered 20 non-combat incidents whilst at Coltishall. An "incident" in this context is taken as being an event resulting in death, injury, damage to an aircraft or a forced landing away from home base. Of the 20 such recorded incidents, 7 involved fatalities. Of those 7, six involved Beaufighter Mk.II aircraft and of those six, four arose primarily because of Merlin XX engine failure. Those four incidents resulted in eight deaths.

Maybe the last word about No.255 Squadron's unhappy time at RAF Coltishall should be left to the unidentified scribe who penned the Form 1180 relating to the crash of T.3023 on 25 February 1942. That incident, an engine failure in flight, resulted in the deaths of 32242 Acting Squadron Leader Geoffrey James Ian CLENNELL (Pilot) and 102185 Pilot Officer Harold Nigel VINCENT (Passenger), the sole survivor being 112517 Pilot Officer Ronnie WYNZAR (Radio Operator). The Accident Card reads as follows (abbreviations have been expanded to make the quote more intelligible):

Group Engineering Officer considers (1) Superchargers of Merlin XX of unsatisfactory design. (2) Aircraft under-powered. Thus extreme boost used in chasing enemy. +12lb boost always used on take-off. Every effort should be made to re-equip Beaufighter II squadron with Beaufighter VI. Hercules engines more reliable.

He got his wish. The squadron did re-equip and all subsequent variants of the Beaufighter reverted to Bristol Hercules engines, the anticipated shortage of which failed to materialise.

Detail - 255 at High Ercall

The advance party left Coltishall in part by air and in part by train on 1 March 1942. Most of the squadron followed the next day, leaving at 07:15 in a road convoy transporting 290 other ranks and Bruce, the mascot. This substantial convoy, under the direction of the Squadron Adjutant Flight Lieutenant D.H. MILLS, arrived at RAF High Ercall, apparently without incident, the same evening.

Air transport and aircrew were unable to make the journey due to unsuitable weather conditions. Many took the opportunity to attend the funeral at Scottow of Geoff Clennell, who had been killed in the crash on the night of 25/26 February.

All serviceable aircraft followed on 8 March, leaving three Mk.II Beaufighters at Coltishall one of which had been damaged by "friendly fire" from H.M. Ships, possibly having been mistaken for a Junkers Ju.88 which, when seen from below, presented a silhouette remarkably similar to a Mk.II Beaufighter. A rear party arrived the following day.

The ORB summary for March 1942 tells the whole story of the first few weeks at High Ercall:

The first three weeks after the Squadron's arrival here to re-equip with Beaufighter VI's the weather was almost consistently bad with the result that the Squadron, instead of carrying out between 140–215 hours of night flying as was the practice on operations at Coltishall, only accomplished a total of 55 hours of night flying, all of which was non-operational. All ranks look forward to the day when the Squadron is operational again.

Someone, somewhere, was already thinking of re-deploying the squadron into a more hostile situation. On 29 March the squadron undertook "Defence Exercises" to test the defence of the aerodrome. The imminent threat of a German invasion of Britain having faded by this date, something else was going on – but there is no known record of anybody rumbling what it was.

On the same day the first Mk.VI Beau's arrived. The last reached the squadron on 24 April along with a Miles Master collected from 61 OTU at RAF Rednal. As with the Miles Magisters, this single-engine aircraft seems to have been used only as an air taxi. There is no indication that it was either flown or shipped to Africa when that move eventually came about.

It was during the squadron's stay at RAF High Ercall that Freddie LAMMER, Senior Radio Observer, acquired his nickname of "The Masterly Manipulator". Freddie was in charge of a piece of kit best described as a Flight Simulator for AI operators. This equipment honed the skills of the Radio Observers (soon to be re-designated "Navigators Radio" or N/R's), especially in terms of interpreting the way in which the display on a Mk.IV AI set apparently flipped if the Beaufighter banked hard whilst giving chase. Standing the fighter aircraft on one wingtip resulted in the azimuth and elevation displays of the two-CRT system exchanging places. Allowance had to be made for this by the second crew member and navigational instructions amended accordingly, otherwise the target would be lost. The information presented to the radar operator was clear enough when the Beaufighter was in straight and level flight, but things were very different if the aircraft was being thrown around the sky in close-quarters combat.

Freddie, who manipulated the instructor's controls of this kit in masterly fashion, excelled as a tutor. His apparently innate skill as a teacher was to remain with him through and beyond his time in the RAF.

Operational night flying resumed using a Mk.VI aircraft (X.7931) on the night of 7-8 April 1942, the sortie being a "Precautionary night patrol". No enemy aircraft obliged by presenting themselves as targets. Possibly a good thing; the Form 541 records "weapon bent" – code for a defective radar set.

On the night of 25-26 April the squadron's luck changed. Flying Officer H. WYRILL (Pilot) and Sgt. J. WILLINS (Navigator Radio mis-described in the ORB as Radio Observer) flying X.7933 were on a non-operational night patrol when "trade" appeared unexpectedly. Control was passed to Comberton (a GCI station located near the village of Wick, Worcestershire) and the Beau was vectored towards a lone hostile aircraft in the vicinity of Hereford. The intruder, a Junkers Ju.88 of Kampfgeschwader 3, was duly shot down, one open parachute being observed before the enemy aircraft hit the ground and exploded. It crashed just over the Welsh border, on Gwaunceste Hill near Glascwm. Two of the four crew (Oberfeldwebel Walter Kreinenbrock, the navigator, and Obergefreiter Paul Kochon, the wireless operator) survived to become PoWs; the pilot Oberleutnant Guenter Brixius and the gunner Feldwebel Adolf Leibig were killed.

The ORB records that...

This success brought much encouragement to all members of the Squadron, as well as to the Station, and congratulatory messages, both by telephone and telegram, came from Group, Sector and various sections of the Station.

Maybe the aircrew had been given an uplift by the receipt, on the 23rd, of 5,000 cigarettes donated by the Overseas League? Be that is it may, the fillip to morale generated by Wyrill and Willins' success appears to have enabled the Squadron to shrug off an adverse incident that soon followed... the forced landing three nights later of a nearly-new Beau Mk.VI (X.7934) following a Hercules engine failure. No crash this time though; the better single-engine handling characteristics of the Mk.VI aircraft may well have played their part. A successful return to base on one engine, in the dark, was achieved by Pilot Officer WOOLLEY. The solemn days of the Beau II and its Merlin engines were well and truly over.

Effective 28 April, in consequence of new Standing Operational Instructions issued by No.9 Group, two aircraft were placed on 30 minute availability throughout the daytime in order to deal with enemy aircraft operating in conditions unsuitable for day fighters. This kept everybody on their toes during what proved to be a well-forecast spell of bad weather, but the air war over England had gone quiet. Night after night the ORB recorded "No operational night flying. No enemy aircraft in the Sector." The comment was often suffixed by "...and weather u/s".

An incident on 19 May exposed a design flaw in the Beaufighter Mk.VI's undercarriage. X.7931 "bumped" on take-off, just at the point when the hydraulic rams were down but the selector lever was in the 'up' position. This caused a lock-up of the whole mechanism, preventing the undercarriage from being either raised or lowered. Neither aircrew suffered injury in the inevitable crash-landing, which was effected on grass beside the main runway.

On 6 June 1942 the Squadron moved from RAF High Ercall to RAF Honiley, changing places with No.257 Squadron, No.3010 Echelon and No.1456 Flight. The move was completed in a single day. Bruce, of course, went too.

Detail - 255 at Honiley

The ORB entry for 11 June records that 33168 Wing Commander DPDG Kelly, 45393 Flight Lieutenant PC Wright and 1150232 Corporal (since promoted F/Sgt) J Cunningham were Mentioned in Despatches in the King's Birthday Honours List. Regrettably no copies of the Mentions have been traced. The simultaneous appearance of Kelly's and Wright's names hints at a connection with the Merlin XX engine issue at Coltishall, but this has not been substantiated.

The dearth of targets experienced at High Ercall continued, the ORB repeatedly recording "No enemy aircraft in the vicinity". An encounter with what was probably a Ju.88 on the night of 24/25 June was unproductive.

On 12 July, 656980 Sergeant Alan Richard PARKER (Pilot) and 1254048 Sergeant Alexander GUTHRIE were killed on a non-operational flight, their Beaufighter X.7945 crashing near Hatton Mental Hospital. Documented radio traffic suggests that the aircraft suffered an engine problem.

Later the same month, on the 27th, X.8021 crashed at Preston Field, Henley-in-Arden, at 15:50. 1162810 Sergeant Douglas Charles PENWARDEN was killed, the pilot 108608 Pilot Officer Anthony Sheldon KENCH and 1078136 AC1 LEWIS, B.L. were both severely burned. P/O Kench made commendable but unsuccessful efforts to extricate his Observer from the wreckage, himself eventually being dragged clear by a civilian witness, a Mr. JENKINS of 76 Bristol Road, Edgbaston. The cause of the incident was a forced landing consequential upon failure of the port engine.

The AOC of No.9 Group, after investigating this incident, subsequently wrote to Wing Commander Kelly in the following terms:

You are requested to commend P/O A.S. Kench for his gallant conduct after the accident on the 27th July, 1942. It is clear that he returned several times to the burning aircraft in an attempt to rescue his Radio Observer, Sgt. D.C. Penwarden, regardless of his own safety and at risk of exploding ammunition. Such conduct is in accordance with the best tradition of the Service. The investigation has also made it clear that he did all that was possible from the moment his engine failed and that the judgement which he showed resulted in two out of three lives being saved.

At 02:07 on the night of 27-28 July, Flight Sgt. Kendall and Pilot Officer Hill flying X.7931 were vectored onto a He.111 by GCI Comberton as a diversion from a CGI exercise. In the ensuing chase, each aircraft fired and scored hits, but neither conclusively destroyed the other. 255's Beau broke off the engagement having expended all ammunition. Another 255 Beau airborne at the time, crewed by P/O Winton and F/Sgt Wall, reported seeing an aircraft dropping in flames to the north of Birmingham, but this has never been proved to have been the He.111 attacked by Kendall and Hill. Therefore their claim remains listed as 'damaged'.

On the night of the 30-31 July, Wyrill and Willins (the crew who had shot down the Ju.88 over the Welsh border whilst the Squadron was at High Ercall) had an encounter with an He.111. The result was inconclusive, but the Beaufighter was found to have sustained some thirty impacts from pieces of the Heinkel that had been shot away. Surviving records of KG3, the likely German unit involved, are patchy. This makes it impossible to determine with any certainty whether such damaged Luftwaffe bombers ever actually made it home or whether they should be added to No.255 Squadron's list of 'kills'. A note at the end of the ORB monthly summary for July 1942 merits quoting in full:

This month the Squadron has, for the first time since leaving No.12 Group, had the opportunity of meeting hostile aircraft in any quantity. The results, from the Squardon's point of view, have, however, been disappointing and have naturally caused a certain amount of discussion amongst the pilots in the Squadron and this has led to the following conclusions.

(i) When hostile aircraft have attacked the Coventry/Birmingham area the Squadron, by virtue of its position being almost on the 12 Group boundary, has had little, or no, opportunity for using a GCI Station capable of affecting interception of raids from the east or South East.

(ii) The inability of the Squadron to go out and meet the raids some distance from the target owing to infringing another Group boundary has necessitated pilots attempting difficult interceptions on the fringe of the target, or actually in the target area itself, at a time when hostile aircraft are circling prior to dropping their bombs. Owing to this there is also the possibility of pilots going over gun defended areas in the excitement of the chase.

(iii) On moonlit nights the black camouflage of the Beaufighter aircraft shows up very clearly at considerable distance and has enabled several hostile aircraft to take evasive action before our pilots managed to come within firing range.

(iv) The large concentration of friendly aircraft in such a small area led to mutual AI interference, and constant AI contacts on our own Beaufighter aircraft.

(v) Owing to the difficulty experienced by the ROC in plotting the E/A inland the first warning has on occasions been received just prior to the E/A bombing the target.

It is hoped that, if authority can be obtained to operate in another Group areas and to use their GCI stations, the Squadron will meet with greater success in the future.

(Document signed D.P. Kelly,Wing Commander, Commanding No.255 Squadron RAF)

This must have had some effect; the following month's records show 255's aircraft ranging as far as Watford and Ipswich, both well into No.11 Group's territory.

On 6 August 1942 the Squadron received a visit from representatives of the Press in the Midlands, overseen by a Colonel P.L. VINING of the Ministry of Information. Not all the newspapers chose to report their visit and those that did wrote pieces ranging from the jingoistic to the scathingly critical. AI radar was still secret, so attention seems to have been concentrated on the dark goggles worn by aircrew in the Ops Room (to preserve night vision), nicknames and mascots. Bruce, of course, managed to steal the show as regards permitted photographs and his image takes pride of place on Page 3 of the Birmingham Post's AM edition of Wednesday 12 August 1942.

September opened on a sour note; 754519 Warrant Officer Stanley Joseph JOHNSON and 1394363 Sergeant Roy Fairmead ELLIS being killed in the unexplained crash of X.7943 on the night of 01-02 September. Their aircraft came down near Snitterfield, Warwickshire. Then, just days later, pilot 655801 Sergeant John William PERRY was killed whilst practising single-engine flying. His navigator, Pilot Officer W. PALFREYMAN somehow jumped from the aircraft as it crashed and escaped with minor injuries.

Occasionally, despite best efforts to maintain standards as regards use of English, the ORB contains a howler. It records that, on 07 September, the Squadron doctor, 104983 Flying Officer T.N.N. BRENNAN, attended a "Pathological Course" at RAF Halton. Maybe, just maybe, that should have said "Pathology Course"?

On 19 September the Squadron ceased to maintain any Operational State, day or night and by the 22nd of the month 18 new Beaufighter MkVI's had arrived. One of the new aircraft (X.8433) was belly-landed on 27 October, without injury to the crew. The rest were the subject of cleaning, stripping, rubbing down and re-camouflaging.

The first part of November saw the whole squadron, from the CO down to the newest AC2, toughening up for service in the front line... somewhere. But the majority knew not where. Interspersed with dreaded innoculations from Doc Brennan and joys such as Embarkation Leave, almost all personnel went on an Army Battle Course held near Warwick - there experiencing being on the receiving end of live firing by army sharpshooters and returning fire with blanks whilst hiding in slit trenches. The exercise ended with their positions being driven over – literally – by Bren Gun Carriers. The ORB records that the "Baptême du Feu" brought forth a change of outlook, a realisation that as well as their specialist job each might soon have to demonstrate prowess with a lethal weapon.

On 13 November, at 12:45, the Beaufighters of No.255 Squadron took off from RAF Honiley for the last time, knowing only that their next stop was RAF Portreath in Cornwall. The Union Jack flew from the Control Tower and a "small pyrotechnic display" sent them on their way.

Detail - The move to North Africa

The Aircrew

The official record in AIR27/1518 would have the reader believe that all eighteen aircraft made an uneventful hop from RAF Honiley to RAF Portreath, but the unofficial diary notes otherwise:

Portreath is safely reached after a flight of about 1 hour 10 minutes – by all, that is, except Phil Kendall and Charlie Hill whose combined navigational skills had enabled them to visit the Scilly Isles and Portsmouth before joining the others at Portreath after 2 hours 40 minutes flying.

The official record then briefly states that the next stop was to be Gibraltar and naval charts were issued, accompanied by a brief revision of the difference between Nautical Miles and Statute Miles. But the unofficial record is again more revealing, emphasising the fact that both Spain and Portugal, whilst nominally neutral, were deemed hostile in terms of both political sympathy and intelligence-sharing.

An American officer dished out some pukka gen on what to do or not to do when taken prisioner or in the event of a forced landing in Portugal or Spain and we also learned how to outstare any Arab who might show himself reluctant to continue the friendly conversation which we hoped would follow our introductory "Salām alaïkum". (Peace be upon you.)

On the long leg between the Scillies and Cap Finisterre the cloud base varied from 1000' to 3000' but instead of deteriorating as had been predicted, the weather steadily improved as we went southward and a good time was had by all. Rumour has it that S/Ldr Player and P/O Phillips espied some Arado seaplanes en route but considered it beneath their dignity to join battle with such inferior prey.

At Gibraltar they learned that their next stop would be Maison Blanche near Algiers. Seventeen of the eighteen Beaufighters made that 'hop' on the 15th, Flying Officer Gloster (Pilot) and Pilot Officer Oswald (Navigator/Radio) being delayed by water in the fuel they took on at Gibraltar.

The flight from Gibraltar to Maison Blanche was in formations of three, unlike the journey from Portreath to Gibraltar when each aircraft had flown solo. The unofficial diary records...

The formation flying might have been uneventful had it not been for a the Führer's last minute decision (before leaving Honiley) to carry Aldis lamps. Having waggled his dihedral tailplane in the most cunning manner, thereby attempting to induce Nos.2 and 3 of his section to form Line Astern, Line Abreast, Vic, Echelon Port or Echelon Starboard according to the violence of the wiggling or some other mysterious code, and having failed to produce the desired result, the Führer called upon his stooge and bade him to work the miracle with the aid of the above mentioned blinking instrument. A gallant attempt at signalling ensued, causing even greater confusion than before. On receiving "IMI" from Charlie Hill's position for the 33 and ⅓rd time the Masterly Manipulator – urged on in no uncertain manner by the commanding voice in front – did his level best to convey the message "Line Abreast" by sending one letter at a time.... However, when at the end of this procedure the resulting formation turned out to be Line Astern the Aldis lamp was finally discarded in disgust.

Maison Blanche was reached before lunch. 255 had arrived in Africa – minus all ground crew, minus their radar sets and minus one Beaufighter. But, for now, all safe and well!

The ground crew

Meantime, back in Blighty, the bulk of the Squadron's personnel (some 400 in number) were on standby to move at short notice, but most knew not when, where or by what means of transport. At midnight 25/26 November 1942, they marched out of RAF Honiley to join a special train at Berkswell Station, which pulled out on schedule at 02:40, proceeded through the blackout and arrived at Liverpool, again on schedule, at 06:05. By 08:00 all had embarked on the Troopship Maloja, a requisitioned P&O liner of 1920s vintage. The vessel sailed for the Mediterranean at 13:00 on 27 November 1942, having taken on board many more troops from a wide variety of units.

The voyage was uneventful, encountering no enemy action of any kind and little by way of rough weather. The ORB notes with some pride the Captain's favourable remarks about the standard of behaviour of the Squadron's personnel whilst aboard.

The Maloja anchored off Algiers early on 06 December but disembarkation there was cancelled and the vessel proceeded eastwards towards Bône, arriving at 11:00 hours the next day. There, the Squadron disembarked and took up residence in a cavernous tobacco warehouse belonging to "La Tabacoop de Bône et de Mondovi", a marketing cooperative of tobacco planters established in 1921.

After VE Day

The squadron moved from Italy to RAF Hal Far, Malta, in September 1945 and to Gianaclis in Egypt in January 1946. (Note: This refers to the airfield RAF Gianaclis, formerly LG227, not to the suburb of Alexandria of the same name. The site is now known as Jiyanklis Air Base, Airport Code HEGS, Lat/Long: 30° 49' N, 30° 11' E.)

The squadron was officially disbanded at RAF Gianaclis on 30 April 1946, never having returned to the UK.

Badge and Motto

There is no known record of the squadron having either a badge or a motto during World War One, and the unit did not immediately acquire these during World War Two either.

The earliest surviving record of a provisional badge design is in a letter dated 12 August 1942 sent by John Dunamace Heaton-Armstrong, MVO, Chester Herald and Inspector of Royal Air Force Badges, addressed to an Air Ministry administrator, Wing Commander V. Gibbs DSC. That correspondence proposes both the Panther's Face (as an image appropriate to a night prowler) and the Motto Ad Auroram.

The final approval of His Majesty the King was notified to Eastern Air Command on 7 January 1943.

At this point in time, the historical record diverges. TNA file AIR2/6466 would have the reader believe that the "Royal painting" (the copy of the artwork personally signed by the Monarch) remained with the College of Arms in perpetuity. That is not so; the Air Ministry records contained in TNA's file have, at some time in the past, been weeded in a way that obscures the true outcome. The records of Garter King of Arms contain additional documents showing that custody of the Royal painting was requested by the Squadron and that the request for possession was granted. When the Squadron was disbanded in April 1946 the artwork somehow found its way to the Air Historical Branch of the RAF. What isn't clear is where the Royal painting went in the years 1943–1946. On tour around the Mediterranean, perhaps? That mystery remains unsolved.

In the years following the disbanding of the squadron, and particularly with the advent of the Internet, the strict form of the panther's face as defined by the Royal painting was too often replaced by a more stylised Heraldic panther, grey in colour with just three whiskers and a red mouth rather than pink. That is incorrect, even though it tallies with the somewhat abbreviated blazon originally set down in 1942/43 which simply read "A Panther's face". The fullest Heraldic description might be "On a field Argent, a Panther's head cabossed Sable eyed and tongued proper." However, it is conventional when setting down the blazon for RAF badges to omit at least the Field (because almost all are the same). Correspondence with Garter gives rise to the following: "A Panther’s face Sable eyed and tongued proper".

A depiction of the whole Crest is to be found, carved in Welsh Slate, set into the floor of the aisle of St Clement Danes Church in London.

Mascot

Artist's Impression of Bruce, based on a photograph that appeared in the morning edition of the Birmingham Post, 12 August 1942.

For much of 1942, the Squadron's mascot was a much-loved Bull Mastiff dog called Bruce.

Bruce was originally owned by 102157 Pilot Officer Michael John MORTIMER, who was killed on 15 January 1942. His brother the Rev. J.L. Mortimer, who attended the funeral, gave the dog to Wing Commander Kelly, as Squadron mascot.

Evidently Bruce did not appreciate being moved from RAF Coltishall to RAF High Ercall. On arrival, having travelled with the road party rather than by air, he wandered away from Dispersals and left the station.

The ORB entry for 3 March 1942 notes:

"Great efforts were made to find him. Through the kindness of the Station Commander, the Station personnel were informed through D.R.O's [Daily Routine Orders] and through the local Defence Commander, the Military and the Home Guard were informed. Information was also sent to the police at Shrewsbury and Wellington, etc., and an advertisement was inserted in the newspapers.

Thereafter, daily entries in the ORB take on increasingly desperate wording. Then, on the eighth...

"News was received from the police at Wellington that a dog answering to the name of 'Bruce' had been found at Shifnall, 17 miles away. P/O Kench [108608 Kench A.S.] immediately went to Shifnall and identified Bruce, who was [back] on the Station to greet the aircrews when they arrived [by air from Coltishall].

Getting from High Ercall to Shifnall all by himself was a pretty good bit of doggie navigation, not far off track for a beeline return to Coltishall – the place he probably regarded as 'home'. In recognition of his prowess, 'Pilot Officer Bruce' was made an honorary member of the Officers Mess.

Come the move to North Africa in November 1942, it became necessary to re-home Pilot Officer Bruce. His posting is well documented in The National Archives, where it is recorded that one Bull Mastiff was to move from No.255 Squadron to No.488 Squadron, a unit not taking part in Operation Torch. 488 wasn't any old squadron happening to want a mascot, but one whose Commanding Officer - Richard Trousdale - was a former member of 255's Officers Mess. Dog knew man and man knew dog.

A photograph exists in The Reg Mitchell Collection showing Bruce still with No.488 Squadron in January 1944, by then located at RAF Bradwell Bay in Essex. There he enjoyed the company of another dog, a petite Spaniel bitch called Becky. Sometime before No.488 Squadron went to France in November 1944, Bruce was reportedly "retired to a local Radar Station", but it is not clear when this happened or exactly where Bruce went.

Aircraft operated

Tabulated by type

Aircraft operated by No.255 Squadron RAF, with details of usage, fitting of Pip-Squeak, Airborne Interception Radar and IFF

From	To	Aircraft	Variant	Role	Pip-Squeak	AI Radar	IFF
Jul 1918	Jan 1919	Airco DH.6	-	Patrol	None	None	None
Nov 1940	Sep 1941	Boulton Paul Defiant	I	Combat	Transitional	No	Transitional
Mar 1941	Aug 1941	Hawker Hurricane	I	Combat	No	No	Yes
Jun 1941	?	Bristol Blenheim	I	Training	?	No	?
Jul 1941	May 1942	Bristol Beaufighter	II F	Combat	No	Mk.IV	Yes
Jan 1942	Apr 1942	Miles Magister	-	Transport	No	No	?
Mar 1942	Aug 1943	Bristol Beaufighter	VI F	Combat	No	Mk.IV	Yes
Apr 1942	Nov 1942	Miles Master	?	Transport	No	No	?
Jul 1943	Feb 1945	Bristol Beaufighter	VI F	Combat	No	Mk.VIII	Mk.III.G
Circa...	Jan 1945	Hawker Hurricane	II C	Transport	No	No	Yes
Jan 1945	Jan 1946	de Havilland Mosquito	XIX	Combat	No	Mk.X	Yes
Jan 1946	Apr 1946	de Havilland Mosquito	XXX	Combat	No	Mk.X	Yes

NOTES to accompany the table above:

Pip-Squeak was removed and IFF installed as part of the change-over from HF to VHF radios. Hence the entries "Transitional" above. The whole Pip-Squeak system was obsolescent by 1941.

All AI equipment was removed from the Squadron's aircraft in November 1942, before travel to Africa. Some was re-installed later the same month in Algeria and the remainder in December 1942.

New aircraft equipped with Mk.VIII AI started arriving 03 Jul 1943 at La Sebala II. The change-over continued until about 05 August; the exact date is unclear from the ORB.

Mosquito XIX aircraft were not normally fitted with Mk.X AI; this is a rare example.

  

Known serials

The following Airco DH6 aircraft are believed to have been flown by the squadron during the period 6 July 1918 to 11 November 1918. Possible errors arise in part because the prefix letter was not always recorded in the Sortie Report and in part because some of the entries were written in minute handwriting, hard to read from a carbon copy nearly 100 years old. The squadron did eventually acquire a typewriter, but it was not accompanied by a proficient typist! Many errors were simply over-typed, creating ambiguity, but the following list is believed to be reasonably accurate:

B.2771, B.2789, B.3038, B.3039, C.2067, C.5521, C.5524, C.7346 and/or C.7436, C.9412, C.9413, C.9415, C.9418, C.9423, C.9428, C.9430, C.9438, C.9439, C.9440, F.3349, F.3350, F.3351, F.3353, F.3354, F.3367, F.9340.

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Bolton Paul Defiant Mk.I aircraft flown whilst the squadron was at Kirton Lindsey and Hibaldstow. This list is believed to be complete:

N.1581, N.1617, N.1649, N.1727, N.1740, N.1765, N.1770, N.1810, N.3309, N.3310, N.3306, N.3312, N.3316, N.3318, N.3319, N.3321, N.3323, N.3324, N.3328, N.3329, N.3333, N.3334, N.3335, N.3340, N.3364, N.3378, N.3398, N.3422, N.3442, N.3458, N.3472, N.3481, N.3511, N.3739, N.3998, T.3920, T.3995, T.3998, T.4003, T.4005, T.4045.

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Hurricane Mk.I aircraft used at various times by the Squadron in the UK. This list is believed to be complete:

V.6793, V.6796, V.6955, V.7222, V.7286, V.7304.

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Blenheim Mk.I aircraft were initially used by the squadron for the purpose of basic training on twin-engined machines, prior to flying Mk.II Beaufighters, and thereafter for transport. This list may be incomplete:

L.1223, L.1301, L.8660.

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Beaufighter Mk.II.F aircraft used at various times by the Squadron in the UK. This list is believed to be complete:

R.2276, R.2304, R.2308, R.2309, R.2310, R.2313, R.2333, R.2340, R.2370, R.2377, R.2397, R.2398, R.2399, R.2400, R.2401, R.2402, R.2403, R.2404, R.2430, R.2431, R.2432, R.2433, R.2436, R.2448, R.2460, R.2461, R.2470, R.2480, R.2481, R.2488, T.3011, T.3013, T.3016, T.3018, T.3023, T.3061, T.3073, T.3143.

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Miles Magister aircraft used by the Squadron in the UK. This list may not be complete:

BB.650, BB.665

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Miles Master aircraft used by the Squadron in the UK:

At least one, no serial(s) known.

Tales from the Dispersal Hut

Dispersal Huts were, by their very nature, remote from the main buildings of any airfield. They afforded aircrew not only a place to relax whilst awaiting a "Scramble!", but also a considerable degree of informality. Ideal for exchanging gossip, as well as tales of both daring do and misfortune. This section of the squadron's Wikipedia page is a compendium of such yarns known to have at least some basis in fact...

The Broken Leg

On 2 April 1942 Pilot Officer DAVISON (Pilot) and Sergeant BLACKBURN (Radio Operator) of No.255 Squadron became obliged to abort a take-off from RAF Shawbury. The aircraft involved was R.2460, a Beaufighter II, which veered off the runway and crashed into a hut occupied by a civilian watchkeeper. The elderly man went into severe shock... "this no doubt due to the grave disability he suffered when he realised that his wooden leg had been broken".

The bemused Naval gunner

14 Dec 1942 : Squadron Leader PLAYER [Pilot] and Freddie LAMMER [Navigator/Radio] went off on a dawn patrol and thought what fun it would be to do an A.I. sweep out to sea at nought feet. This they did, and fun it was until they made an uncomfortably close acquaintance with several 4.5" shells from a cruiser lurking in the vicinity. Being blissfully in ignorance of the correct letter and colours of the day (after all, they were roughing it at Souk and can't be expected to provide all the latest, pansy conveniences) a quick conversation was held (bang!) between Johnnie and Freddie and it was decided (bang!!) to fire off a "red red" which had for simplicity's sake been appointed our permanent colour of the day (bang!!!) just for luck. The firing miraculously stopped at once and our crew departed from the scene of action in perfect peace.

The statement made on landing by our pilot and navigator i.e. that on firing the "red red" signal cartridges they distinctly saw the gunner on board the cruiser scratch his head and then fidget with several printed sheets of paper in a file, looking lost and bewildered all the while, was not given due credence by their fellow aircrews. Some ignorant fellows who did not shrink from going to ridiculous extremes in their injustice, actually called it "shooting a line".

Farmer and Quack's Concert

"Farmer" Giles and "Quack" Drake flew together on night sorties as members of 255 Squadron. On one particular night in 1943, flying over the Adriatic, the patrol was uneventful and dull. Farmer and Maurice had been up all night and were both desperate to sleep but had another hour and a half of flying before they could return to base. Farmer decided the only way to stave off sleep was if they both sang for a while. Half an hour and a multitude of songs later, both were wide awake and up to facing the rest of the sortie. They thought that was the end of that, but about a year later an RAF Intelligence Officer who was reading through German Intelligence reports found transcripts from a plane that Farmer and Maurice had been flying. He was astonished to find not sensitive military information but page upon page of extremely bawdy songs and one in particular that caught his eye – Bang away, bang away Lulu, Bang away good and strong. One thing led to another and before long Giles and Drake were summoned to face the music. The Group Captain pointed out that they could both have been court-martialled for negligence in leaving the intercom on Transmit if they had been discussing the secrets of radar or squadron movements. As it was, however, he decided highly to commend the pair of them since German Intelligence had clearly spent hour upon hour trying to discover what new code was involved in all those four-letter words that had been filling the airwaves!

Follow that kitbag!

18 August 1944 at Foggia Main, Italy... Around 16:00 hours the weather became overcast and many miniature whirlwinds sprung up. One of these increased in intensity and went through "C" Flight dispersal, wrecking all the tents and blowing about stationary aircraft. [A Beaufighter, empty, weighed around 7 tonnes.] It continued, with a great roar and much clattering of tins (collected in its spiral) towards the officers quarters where it completely demolished one tent, flinging a kitbag as far away as 150 yards. Shortly after the whirlwind's disappearance the clouds burst and a great deluge started. There were hailstones as big as golf balls, and a fierce storm developed which flooded the camp.

Miscellany

WWII Phonetic Alphabet

The phonetic alphabet as used by both British and American forces at the time of WWII was: ABLE, BAKER, CHARLIE, DOG, EASY, FOX, GEORGE, HOW, ITEM, JIG, KING, LOVE, MIKE, NAN, OBOE, PETER, QUEEN, ROGER, SUGAR, TARE, UNCLE, VICTOR, WILLIAM, XRAY, YOKE, ZEBRA.

Acronyms, Abbreviations and Slang

Readers consulting this wikipedia page or the original documentation used to compile it will encounter numerous instances of possibly unfamiliar terminology. The following may help with interpretation:

AC1, AC2 : Aircraftman first/second class. See also "Erk".

Ack-Ack : WWII term for anti-aircraft artillery, in modern parlance "Triple A".

AI : Literally, "Airborne Interception" - true meaning: Aircraft-mounted Radar.

AMES : Air Ministry Experimental Station - true meaning: A site equipped with Radar.

AOC : Air Officer Commanding.

AP : Air Publication (number....).

ASR : Air Sea Rescue.

AWOL : Absent WithOut Leave.

BHP : Brake Horsepower

Bogey : A radar detection not yet labelled as either friendly or hostile.

CAT : Damage Category.

CHL : Chain Home Low. Ground-based radar in the UK, able to detect low-flying aircraft.

C/O : Commanding Officer.

COL : Chain Overseas Low. As CHL, but located overseas and nominally comprising "portable" equipment.

CRT : Cathode Ray Tube, used as a visual display of radar echoes.

DAK : The German term for Rommel's forces in North Africa. Acronym expands as Deutsches Afrikakorps, properly written in the German language as two words rather than three.

DED : Directorate of Engine Development.

De Wilde : Incendiary ammunition comprising .303 machine-gun bullets containing the self-igniting material White Phosphorus.

DI's : Daily Inspections (of aircraft, especially).

EA or E/A : Enemy Aircraft.

EAC : Eastern Air Command.

E/F : Engine failure.

Erk : A somewhat derogatory term for a person in the junior ranks in the RAF. Very few records survive in the public domain regarding WWII "Erks", hence the regrettable lack of detail here regarding the huge contribution such personnel made to the overall functioning of the Squadron.

Flap : Two meanings... EITHER a component of an aircraft's wing that shortens take-off and landing distances by lowering the stall speed and increasing the drag, OR slang for a panic.

FME : Field Maintenance Equipment.

Form 441A : Standard report of a sortie, even if uneventful. For an example of a rare surviving Form 441A relating to No.255 Squadron, see AIR50/98/14.

Form 449 : Monthly return of Officers and Airman Pilots. In effect, a roll call of officers and aircrew. Few of these survive for No.255 Squadron, but a similar list (usually minus Identity Disc numbers) often appears as the last entry in the month's Form 540.

Form 540 : The standard printed form used to compile the Operations Record Book.

Form 541 : Appendix to Form 540, detailing Active Service sorties but not (usually) training or engineering test flights – unless something went wrong.

Form 765C : Report of an incident involving equipment failure.

Form 1180 : Card index system abbreviating accident reports, to aid analysis of causes.

Form F : Aircrew report of combat.

f.p. : Flare Path.

Freelancing : A fighter aircraft, usually one fitted with AI, operating without the benefit of guidance from a CGI Station.

FS : Fast Speed (a gear setting on the Merlin XX engine's supercharger).

GCI : Ground-Controlled Interception.

Gubbins : One of several slang names for AI radar equipment.

Huff-Duff : A corruption of HF/DF, meaning High Frequency Direction Finding. In Squadron terms this was typically but not exclusively associated with the Pip-Squeak fighter tracking system fitted to the Squadron's early Bolton Paul Defiant I aircraft. Do not confuse with Sir Hugh Pughe Lloyd's nickname Huff-Puff.

Hun : Derogatory reference to a German person or a German aircraft.

IAS : Indicated Air Speed.

IMI : A question mark in Morse Code. Dit-Dit-Dah-Dah-Dit-Dit, like the individual Morse Code letters IMI, but run together.

ITI : (Pronounced "Eye-tie"). Derogatory reference to an Italian person or an Italian aircraft.

Jinkbox : One of several slang names for AI radar equipment.

KR&ACI : King's Regulations and Air Council Instructions – the Air Force "law", Code of Conduct and procedural Rule Book.

MAC : Mediterranean Air Command.

MAFOG : Mediterranean Area Fighter Operations Grid. Introduced at 00:01Z, 20 May 1943, this was a coded grid reference system common to all Allied air forces in the region, simplifying and expediting exchange of Latitude/Longitude positions. The smallest division printed on charts identified an area ten minutes of latitude by ten minutes of longitude; finer resolution was estimated by eye.

M/Cs : Megacycles per second. Same meaning as MHz (Megahertz) in modern terminology.

MiD : Mentioned in Despatches. A "Mention" rates as the most minor form of recognition of exemplary service. At the time of 255's existence, no medal or clasp accompanied a Mention. No citations appear to have survived.

Monica : Active tail warning radar, alerting aircrew to possible imminent attack.

Mother : A working piece of kit assembled from fragments salvaged from crashed aircraft or similar sources.

MS : Medium Speed (a gear setting on the Merlin XX engine's supercharger).

NACAF : Northwest African Coastal Air Force.

NATAF : Northwest African Tactical Air Force.

NFT : Night Flying Test.

OADU : Overseas Aircraft Delivery Unit.

Octane : A measure of the energy content of petrol (US English - "Gas" or "Gasoline").

ORB : Operations Record Book. The master pages of the unit's record-keeping (be the "unit" a squadron, an airfield, a radar station or whatever). Usually compiled on a Form 540, but sometimes supplies of these ran out – forcing units to improvise.

OTU : Operational Training Unit. Final training location before being posted to a squadron.

PE : Permanent echo; a 'blip' on the radar screen that's always there, caused by reflection of the radar transmission from a fixed natural or man-made object.

PPI : Plan position indicator. The modern form of radar display, where the observer's position is in the middle of the screen and targets appear as slow-to-fade blips. Increasing distance from the centre equates to increasing range. Before the development of PPI, the trace on the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) was a horizontal line, with targets appearing as spikes on it, range represented by distance (usually left-to-right) on the display.

PRO : The Public Record Office, former custodians of the squadron's historical records and forerunner of The National Archives.

RADAR : RAdio Direction And Ranging.

RAE : The Royal Aircraft Establishment. At the time of WWII, the RAE had only one site, at Farnborough.

RAFVR : Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.

Railings : Deliberate interference ("jamming") of a radio or radar signal, generally by means of an amplitude modulated transmission on the same frequency. In the case of radar of WWII era, it appeared on the GCI Controller's screen as a series of very sharp spikes.

RDF : Literally, Radio Direction Finding, but the expression was used as a cover name for Radar rather than literally.

ROC : Royal Observer Corps.

R/T : Radio Telephone.

RX : Radar or Radio Receiver.

SNAFU : Situation Normal, All F....d Up (insert your own choice of expletive beginning with the letter F).

Sommerfeld : Sommerfeld Tracking, a metallic mesh laid as a temporary runway surface. Often mis-spelled 'Summerfield' or 'Sommerfield'.

Squitters : Diahorrea.

TNA : The National Archives (successor to the Public Record Office).

Trade : Something for a fighter patrol to investigate at the behest of the GCI operator. Could be a 'Bogey', or a known hostile aircraft.

TX : Radar or Radio Transmitter.

U/C : Undercarriage.

under [Codename] : Identifies by Callsign which GCI/AMES station was acting as an aircraft's Ground Controller.

u/s : Unserviceable.

Weapon bent : Code for defective radar equipment aboard the aircraft.

WSE : Whilst so employed (usually found in respect of a temporary promotion).

Z : Time zone, same as GMT/UTC.

Nickname Decoder 1940–1946

The following nicknames, not all flattering, appear in a number of sources. Many will have been duplicated elsewhere in the Royal Air Force. Therefore this Decoder should be regarded as applicable only to No.255 Squadron and those in the immediate chain of command, plus the Radar/GCI (AMES) units acting as the squadron's Controllers. Ranks are those appearing in the official record at the approximate time that the nickname was in use. Subsequent promotions are not listed - for example, both Bing and Huff-Puff rose to the rank of Air Chief Marshall before retiring. Awards (DFC, MBE and so on) are omitted for brevity and to avoid apparent inaccuracies arising from frequent changes.

Nickname	Real ID	Function
Andy	106674 Walter Thomas CUNNINGHAM	Senior Navigator
Bing	29065 Air Commodore Kenneth Brian Boyd CROSS	AOC No.242 Group
Blondie	66570 Flying Officer Geoffrey HUMES	Pilot
Cobber	116694 Flying Officer R.H. KANE	Navigator
Donald Duck	Flight Lieutenant ROEBUCK	GCI Controller
Farmer	121291 Flying Officer D. GILES	Pilot
Führer, The	33168 Wing Commander D.P.D.G. (Piers) KELLY	Squadron Leader
Grandad/Kneebone(s)	136496 Flight Lieutenant George W. ELEY	Navigator
Hickie	109497 Flying Officer E.S. HICKMORE	Navigator
Huff-Puff	04113 Air Vice Marshall Sir Hugh Pughe LLOYD	AOC NACAF
Mary	Air Marshall Sir Arthur CONINGHAM	AOC NATAF
Master Scrounger, The	112517 Flying Officer Ronnie WYNZAR	Navigator
Masterly Manipulator, The	81940 Flight Lieutenant Freddie LAMMER	Navigator
Quack	171081 Pilot Officer Frederick Maurice DRAKE	Navigator
Sandy	111977 Flying Officer L.H. SANDOW	Navigator
Sultan of Sopley, The	74440 Squadron Leader John Laurence BROWN	GCI Controller
Titch	65559 Flying Officer M.J. GLOSTER	Pilot
Wilbur	45393 Flight Lieutenant P.C. WRIGHT	Engineering Officer

Bibliography

Aarons, N. (2011). "The Aristocrat and the Balkan Communists." Series 1, Episode 13 of Secret War. 50 minute video, Acorn Media, 29 Jun 2011. The background story explaining No.255 Squadron's involvement in the Balkans.

Admiralty, The (1919). C.B.1515(22) Technical History and Index, Vol.3 Part 22 of THE WAR WORK OF THE HYDROGRAPHIC DEPARTMENT(1914–1918). London:Technical History Section, Admiralty. This lengthy work, originally secret and for internal use only but now declassified, includes details of the cartographic theory, production, coverage and use of Squared Charts. Short title "TH.22". Available as a .pdf file from the archivist of the UK Hydrographic Office, Taunton.

Beale, N. (2001). Ghost Bombers : The Moonlight War of NSG 9, Crowborough : Classic Publications. ISBN 1-903223-15-6. The background to No.255 Squadron's involvement in the Battle of Ancona, Italy, July 1944, analysed primarily from the Luftwaffe perspective.

Bingham, V. (1994). Bristol Beaufighter. Shrewsbury : Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-122-2.

Brock, D. (1989, 2008). Wings Over Carew, Milford Haven:Forrest Print. A 36-page collection of photographs of RNAS/RAF Pembroke (1915–1920) and RAF Carew Cheriton (1939–1945) plus, in the second edition, details of the restoration of the control tower ("Watch Office") in the years 2000–2008.

Cross, Sir K. and Orange, V. (1993). Straight and Level, London:Grub Street. This account of the RAF career of Kenneth 'Bing' Cross does not specifically mention No.255 Squadron, but does provide an insight into the Senior Officers' view of the Tunisian campaign and NACAF (North-west African Coastal Air Force), Bing holding the rank of Air Commodore at the time. Relevant part commences at p.229. ISBN 0-948817-72-0.

Cunningham, A. (1953). Tumult in the Clouds, London:Peter Davies. An authorised reprint of articles that originally appeared during WWII in the Royal Air Force Quarterly. Andrew Cunningham was a nom-de-plume; the author's true identity being Walter Thomas Cunningham (1911–1979), one time Senior Navigator of No.255 Squadron. The content is not quite as fictitious as the Author’s Note in the preface might suggest. For example, compare pp.166–167 of Tumult with the bibliographic reference Eley, G.W. (1944) below.

Eley, G.W. (1944). Night Fighting : Five hours of a navigator's life. Originally written as a private diary record, this account of one No.255 Squadron intruder mission was published by the BBC in 2005 and is archived on The People's War website.

Horlings, H. (2008–2010). "Controlling Multi-Engine Airplanes after Engine Failure" A mathematical approach to describing the asymmetrical forces at work when a multi-engined aircraft suffers an engine failure.

Pretz, B. (1983). A Dictionary of Military and Technological Abbreviations & Acronyms, London, Boston, Melbourne and Henley : Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 0-7100-9274-1.

Skybrary (2013). "Engine failure after takeoff – light twin engine aircraft." A non-mathematical approach to describing the essentials of retaining control during such an emergency. Page edition date: 13 June 2013.

Wisdom, T.H. (1944). Triumph over Tunisia. London:George Allen & Unwin. The author, a Wing Commander and member of the Press Corps, was writing subject to wartime censorship. In consequence, not all squadrons are identified but the first part of Chapter 14, "Hunters of the Night Sky", can be linked to No.255 Squadron through the many genuine names of both people and places appearing on pages 110–118.

Wynne-Willson, M.F. (1996, 2003). Before I Forget! Bloomington:1stBooks. Volume One of the autobiography of No.255 Squadron pilot Michael F. Wynne-Willson (1919–2013). His very revealing account of squadron life begins at page 148 and, at page 163, identifies supercharger failures as a relevant factor in many take-off accidents involving Mk.II Beaufighters (Page numbers refer to the 10 May 2001 revision).

External links

• Squadron history (and more) on RafWeb
• Squadron history on the official RAF website