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No. 692 Squadron RAF

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No. 692 (Fellowship of the Bellows) Squadron RAF
Active1 January 1944 – 20 September 1945
CountryUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
RoleLight Bomber Squadron
Part ofNo. 8 Group RAF, Bomber Command
Nickname(s)Fellowship of the Bellows
Motto(s)Latin: Polus Dum Sidera Pascet
(Translation: "So long as the sky shall feed the stars")[1][2]
Commanders
Notable
commanders		S/Ldr. (then) S.D. Watts, the first pilot to drop a 4,000 lbs "Cookie".[1]
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldryIn front of a pair of wings conjoined in base, a dagger, point downwards[1][2]
Squadron CodesP3 (Jan 1944 – Jun 1945)[3][4][5]
Aircraft flown
Bomberde Havilland Mosquito

No. 692 Squadron RAF was a light bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

History

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Loading a 4,000-lb "Cookie" onto a Mosquito B Mk IV at RAF Graveley

The squadron was formed on 1 January 1944 at RAF Graveley, Huntingdonshire as a light bomber unit,[2] equipped with Mosquito Mk.IV bombers, as part of the Light Night Striking Force of No. 8 Group RAF in Bomber Command. It re-equipped with Mosquito Mk.XVI bombers from March 1944 and by June 1944 the squadron had completely switched over to the newer variant.[2][6]

It was the first squadron to carry 4,000 lb bombs in Mosquitos,[1] used in an attack on Düsseldorf.[7] The squadron was also the first Mosquito unit to carry out minelaying operations.[7] Most operations were at low level, including one mission when the squadron dropped 4,000 lb bombs into the mouth of tunnels in the Ardennes.[1] At the end of the war the squadron was disbanded on 20 September 1945 at RAF Gransden Lodge, Cambridgeshire.[2][8] The squadron had carried out 3,237 operational sorties (though one source claims a far lower number of sorties, 1,457[9]) for the loss of 17 aircraft.[10]

Aircraft operated

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Aircraft operated by no. 692 Squadron RAF, data from[2][6][8]
From To Aircraft Variant
January 1944 June 1944 de Havilland Mosquito Mk.IV
March 1944 September 1945 de Havilland Mosquito Mk.XVI

Commanding officers

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Though bearing the squadron markings of 571 Squadron here, this aircraft, Mosquito Mk.XVI ML963, was first issued to 109 Squadron on 9 March 1944, going on to 692 squadron on the 24 of the same month.
Officers commanding no. 692 Squadron RAF, data from[9]
From To Name
January 1944 March 1944 W/Cdr. W.G. Lockhart, DSO, DFC
March 1944 July 1944 W/Cdr. S.D. Watts, DFC (RNZAF)
July 1944 September 1945 W/Cdr. J. Northrop, DFC, AFC

Squadron Airfields

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Stations and airfields used by No. 692 Squadron RAF, data from[2][6][8]
From To Name Remark
1 January 1944 4 June 1944 RAF Graveley, Huntingdonshire Formed here
4 June 1944 20 September 1945 RAF Gransden Lodge, Cambridgeshire Disbanded here

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e Moyes 1976, p. 291.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Halley 1988, p. 457.
  3. ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 84.
  4. ^ Bowyer 1984, p. 142.
  5. ^ Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 96.
  6. ^ a b c Moyes 1976, p. 292.
  7. ^ a b Bowyer 1984, p. 132.
  8. ^ a b c Jefford 2001, p. 106.
  9. ^ a b Bowyer 1984, p. 135.
  10. ^ Falconer 2003, p. 257.

Bibliography

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  • Bowman, Martin (1997). Mosquito Bomber/Fighter-Bomber Units, 1942–45. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-85532-690-3.
  • Bowyer, Chaz (1984). Mosquito Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-1425-6.
  • Bowyer, Michael J.F.; Rawlings, John D.R. (1979). Squadron Codes, 1937–56. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
  • Falconer, Jonathan (2003). Bomber Command Handbook, 1939–1945. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3171-X.
  • Flintham, Vic; Thomas, Andrew (2003). Combat Codes: A Full Explanation and Listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied Air Force Unit Codes since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84037-281-8.
  • Halley, James J. (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
  • Jefford, C.G. (2001). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912 (2nd ed.). Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
  • Moyes, Philip J.R. (1976). Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
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