Summary
No. 621 Squadron RAF was a reconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II, flying from Somaliland and Aden. It was after the war stationed in Egypt and Palestine and tasked with air-sea rescue and was also active in Operation Sunburn, looking for illegal immigrants.
| No. 621 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 12 Sep 1943 – 1 Sep 1946 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Role | Reconnaissance Air-sea rescue |
| Part of | British Forces Aden[1] |
| Motto(s) | Ever Ready to Strike |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | A hooded cobra[2] |
History edit
No. 621 Squadron RAF was formed at Port Reitz, Kenya, on 12 September 1943[3] as a general reconnaissance unit equipped with 16 Wellington XIIIs, with a role of carrying out maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine duties over the western Indian Ocean and the coasts of East Africa.[4][5] In October 1943, the squadron moved to Mogadishu, Somalia, and in November, supplemented its normal duties by being tasked to look for four thousand stolen camels on behalf of the army.[5] In December 1943, the squadron moved to RAF Khormaksar, Aden.[2]
In a more serious series of sorties, the squadron managed to knock out the U-852, but at the beginning of 1945 activities had dropped so low that the squadron was reduced from 16 to 8 aircraft. In November the squadron converted to Warwicks and started in Operation Sunburn, looking for illegal immigrants into Palestine. In April to squadron moved to Palestine and converted to Lancasters. Shortly after it had completed that conversion the squadron was disbanded at RAF Ein Shemer by being re-numbered to No. 18 Squadron RAF on 1 September 1946.[2][3][6]
The present 621 Volunteer Gliding Squadron has no links with 621 Squadron, and in fact traces its lines back to No. 87 Glider School RAF.[7][8]
Aircraft operated edit
| From | To | Aircraft | Variant |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 1943 | January 1945 | Vickers Wellington | Mk.XIII |
| January 1945 | December 1945 | Vickers Wellington | Mk.XIV |
| March 1945 | November 1945 | Vickers Warwick | GR.5 |
| April 1946 | September 1946 | Avro Lancaster | ASR.3 (special air-sea rescue version) |
Squadron bases edit
| From | To | Base | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 September 1943 | 4 November 1943 | Port Reitz, Kenya | Detachment at Mogadishu, Italian Somaliland |
| 4 November 1943 | 5 December 1943 | Mogadishu, Italian Somaliland | Detachments at Scusciuban, Italian Somaliland; Bandar Kassim, Italian Somaliland and RAF Riyan, Aden Protectorate |
| 5 December 1943 | 12 November 1945 | RAF Khormaksar, Aden | Detachments at Scuscuiban, Italian Somaliland; Bandar Kassim, Italian Somaliland; Riyan, Aden Protectorate; RAF Socotra, Aden Protectorate and Mogadishu, Italian Somaliland |
| 12 November 1945 | 20 April 1946 | RAF Mersa Matruh, Egypt | Detachments at RAF Aqir, Palestine and RAF Benina, Libya |
| 20 April 1946 | 6 June 1946 | RAF Aqir, Palestine | |
| 6 June 1946 | 1 September 1946 | RAF Ein Shemer, Palestine |
Commanding officers edit
| From | To | Name |
|---|---|---|
| September 1943 | December 1944 | W/Cdr. P. Green, OBE, AFC |
| December 1944 | November 1945 | W/Cdr. F.T. Gardiner, DFC |
| November 1945 | February 1946 | S/Ldr. G. Schofield |
| February 1946 | September 1946 | W/Cdr. B.E. Peck, DFC |
References edit
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Delve, Ken (1994). The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
- 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.
- Lake, Alan (1999). Flying units of the RAF. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.
- Rawlings, John D.R. (1982). Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.
- Thomas, Andrew (4–17 April 1986). "Guardians of the Aden Gulf: No.621 (GR) Squadron, Royal Air Force". Aviation News. Vol. 14, no. 23. pp. 1178–1180.
External links edit
- History of 621 Squadron on RAF website
- Airfields, operating dates and aircraft types for No.621 Squadron RAF, 1939–45
- History of No.'s 621–650 Squadrons at RAF Web