No. 619 Squadron RAF
No. 619 Squadron RAF | |
---|---|
Active | 18 April 1943 – 18 July 1945 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Inactive |
Role | Heavy Bomber Squadron |
Part of | No. 5 Group, RAF Bomber Command[1] |
Motto(s) | Latin: Ad Altoria (Translation: "To higher things")[2] |
Insignia | |
Squadron Badge heraldry | A heron vigilant, holding before him a battle axe with its right paw (unofficial)[3] |
Squadron Codes | KV (Apr 1939 - Sep 1939 allocated, but never used)[4] PG (Apr 1943 - Jul 1945)[5][6] |
Aircraft flown | |
Bomber | Avro Lancaster Four-engined heavy bomber |
Trainer | Airspeed Oxford Twin-engined trainer[7] |
No. 619 Squadron RAF was a heavy bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, flying Lancaster bombers from bases in Lincolnshire.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/Lancaster_navigator_WWII_IWM_CH_12288.jpg/220px-Lancaster_navigator_WWII_IWM_CH_12288.jpg)
The squadron was formed out of elements of 97 Squadron[7][8] at RAF Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire on 18 April 1943, equipped with Lancaster Mk.III bombers, as part of 5 Group in Bomber Command. It also briefly flew Lancaster Mk.I bombers in the first month of operation. Their first mission was flown in the night of 11 June 1943, when 12 Lancasters were sent to bomb targets in Düsseldorf, and the last bombing mission was flown on 25 April 1945, when 6 Lancasters tried to bomb SS barracks at Berchtesgaden. The last operational mission was flown a day later, when 2 Lancasters laid mines in the Oslo Fjord near Horten. After that mission the squadron ferried ex-prisoners of war back to the United Kingdom from Belgium (Operation Exodus).[9] The squadron operated out of various Lincolnshire stations, before being disbanded at RAF Skellingthorpe on 18 July 1945.
Members of the squadron were awarded 1 DSO, 76 DFCs and 37 DFMs. The squadron was mentioned 10 times in despatches.[10]
Aircraft operated
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/64/Avro_Lancaster_Mk_1_ExCC.jpg/300px-Avro_Lancaster_Mk_1_ExCC.jpg)
From | To | Aircraft | Version |
---|---|---|---|
18 April 1943 | 18 September 1943 | Airspeed Oxford | Mks.I, II |
18 April 1943 | 18 July 1945 | Avro Lancaster | Mks.I, III |
Squadron bases
From | To | Base |
---|---|---|
18 April 1943 | 9 January 1944 | RAF Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire |
9 January 1944 | 17 April 1944 | RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire |
17 April 1944 | 28 September 1944 | RAF Dunholme Lodge, Lincolnshire |
28 September 1944 | 30 June 1945 | RAF Strubby, Lincolnshire |
30 June 1945 | 18 July 1945 | RAF Skellingthorpe, Lincolnshire |
Commanding officers
From | To | Name |
---|---|---|
20 April 1943 | 17 August 1943 | W/Cdr. I.J. McGhie, DFC |
20 August 1943 | 4 December 1943 | W/Cdr. W. Abercromby, DFC |
4 December 1943 | 23 May 1944 | W/Cdr. J.R. Jeudwine, OBE, DFC |
23 May 1944 | 26 July 1944 | W/Cdr. J.R. Maling, AFC |
28 July 1944 | 21 February 1945 | W/Cdr. A.R. Millward, DFC |
21 February 1945 | 14 June 1945 | W/Cdr. S.G. Birch, DFC |
14 June 1945 | 18 July 1945 | W/Cdr. Flett |
See also
References
- Notes
- ^ Delve 1994, pp. 69, 77.
- ^ a b c Moyes 1976, p. 285.
- ^ Rew 1988, pp. coverpage.
- ^ Squadron Codes on RafWeb Archived 14 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 82.
- ^ Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 97.
- ^ a b Lake 1999, p. 272.
- ^ a b c Jefford 2001, p. 102.
- ^ Moyes 1976, p. 286.
- ^ Rew 1988, pp. 62–63.
- ^ a b Halley 1988, p. 436.
- ^ Hamlin 2001, p. 56.
- ^ Rew 1988, p. 64.
- Bibliography
- Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. Squadron Codes, 1937-56. Bar Hill, Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
- Charpentier, Alain; Lionel Lacey-Johnson and Geoffrey Jeudwine. Global Warrior. Southport: Lionel Lacey-Johnson, 1999. ISBN 0-9536418-0-5.
- Clark, Bryan. 619: The History of a Forgotten Squadron. Bognor Regis, West Sussex, UK: Woodfield Publishing Ltd., 2004. ISBN 1-903953-51-0.
- Clarke, Charles. Squadron 619, Royal Air Force: "Ad Altiora". UK: Privately Printed, 1988.
- Delve, Ken. The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
- Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. Combat Codes: A Full Explanation and Listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied Air Force Unit Codes since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-84037-281-8.
- Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
- Hamlin, John F. The Oxford, Consul & Envoy File. Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2001. ISBN 0-85130-289-0.
- Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE,BA,RAF (Retd). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
- Lake, Alan. Flying Units of the RAF: The ancestry, formation and disbandment of all flying units from 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.
- Moyes, Philip J.R. Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1964 (new edition 1976). ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
- Rew, Steve. 619 Squadron History. Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK; Self-published manuscript, 2nd edition, 1988.
- Ward, Chris. Royal Air Force Bomber Command Squadron Profiles no. 117: 619 Squadron. Sudbury, Suffolk, UK: Ward Publishing, 1996.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- No. 619 Squadron history
- No. 619 Squadron RAF movement and equipment history
- No. 619 Squadron bases
- Nos. 611 - 620 Squadron Histories