No. 131 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit | |
---|---|
Active | 20 July 1942 - 28 June 1945 [1] |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Air Force |
Type | Operational Training Unit |
Role | Aircrew Training |
Part of | RAF Coastal Command *No. 15 Group RAF (1942) *No. 17 Group RAF (1942 - 1945) |
No. 131 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF, was a training unit of the Royal Air Force, initially within No. 15 Group RAF, then transferring to No. 17 Group RAF, both were part of RAF Coastal Command. The unit was established during July 1942 and disbanded during June 1945. [1]
No. 131 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF was formed on 20 July 1942 at RAF Killadeas, located near Killadeas, County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. [1] RAF St Angelo, located near the village of Trory on the southern tip of Lower Lough Erne, also initially acted as parent HQ and was still used by support aircraft once the HQ moved to RAF Killadeas. The unit was tasked with training aircrew to use Consolidated Catalina, a US flying boat and amphibious aircraft. When formed it started out in No. 15 Group RAF, but in December 1942 the unit transferred to No. 17 Group RAF. [2] In October 1943 the unit received No 4 (C) OTU‘s Consolidated Catalina flying boats and took over the units aircrew training on Catalina aircraft. [3] Short Sunderland, a British flying boat patrol bomber, were added to the unit’s inventory during May 1944. They remained with No 131 (C) OTU for around nine months and were then transferred to No 4 (C) OTU on 13 February 1945. The Consolidated Catalina was withdrawn from RAF service, [2] and the unit was disbanded on 28 June 1945. [1]
No. 131 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF was equipped with numerous types and variants of aircraft: [1]
Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, or CFB Greenwood, is a Canadian Forces Base located 1.5 nautical miles east of Greenwood, Nova Scotia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the CP-140 Aurora and CP-140A Arcturus anti-submarine/maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft. Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 14 Wing, commonly referred to as 14 Wing Greenwood.
No. 461 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force maritime patrol squadron during World War II which operated under Royal Air Force control flying in Europe and over the Atlantic. The squadron was formed in 1942 and was disbanded in mid-1945, just after the end of the war in Europe. Personnel were drawn from many countries of the British Empire, although the majority were Australians. Throughout the war, the squadron was credited with destroying a total of six German U-boats, and operated mainly in the Bay of Biscay and Atlantic.
Royal Air Force Castle Archdale or more simply RAF Castle Archdale, also known for a while as RAF Lough Erne is a former Royal Air Force station used for flying boats by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.
Royal Air Force St Angelo or more simply RAF St Angelo is a former Royal Air Force station during the Second World War, located near the village of Trory on the southern tip of Lower Lough Erne, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland; also used by the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm. The name St Angelo is believed to be taken from the nearby Bishop's house, which was commandeered during the war as the Station Commander's residence; the name also became attached to the airfield.
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The Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force was the Royal Air Force organisation which provided around-the-clock aeronautical search and rescue cover in the United Kingdom, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands, from 1986 until 2016.
Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). Founded in 1936, it was to act as the RAF maritime arm, after the Fleet Air Arm became part of the Royal Navy in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive the resources it needed to develop properly or efficiently. This continued until the outbreak of the Second World War, during which it came to prominence. Owing to the Air Ministry's concentration on Fighter Command and Bomber Command, Coastal Command was often referred to as the "Cinderella Service", a phrase first used by the First Lord of the Admiralty at the time A. V. Alexander.
No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF, was a training unit of the Royal Air Force, within No. 17 Group RAF, which was part of RAF Coastal Command. The unit was established during April 1940 by the redesignating of an existing RAF Coastal Command unit, and disbanded during October 1943.
No. 2 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF, was a training unit of the Royal Air Force, within No. 17 Group RAF, which was part of RAF Coastal Command. The unit started operating from late 1940 and disbanded during early 1944.
No. 3 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF, was a training unit of the Royal Air Force, within No. 17 Group RAF, which was part of RAF Coastal Command. The unit started operating from late 1940 and disbanded at the start of 1944, being absorbed into No. 6 OTU.
No. 17 Group RAF was a group of the Royal Air Force which was operational in the last year of the First World War, and throughout the Second World War.
Flying Boat Training Squadron RAF is a former Squadron of the Royal Air Force which was operational between 1931 and 1956 through various names.
Coastal Command Anti U-Boat Devices School RAF was a training unit of the Royal Air Force and part of RAF Coastal Command. The unit was established during April 1945 by the redesignating of an existing RAF Coastal Command unit. The unit had several different identities beforehand. It began as the short lived No. 7 Operational Training Unit which only existed during 1940, before reforming in 1942 as No. 7 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit. It disbanded and was redesignated a few more times before becoming the Coastal Command Anti U-Boat Devices School.
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No. 9 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF, was a training unit of the Royal Air Force, within No. 17 Group RAF, which was part of RAF Coastal Command. The unit was established during June 1942 and disbanded during August 1944.
No. 111 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF, was a training unit of the Royal Air Force, within No. 17 Group RAF, which was part of RAF Coastal Command. The unit was established during August 1942 and disbanded during May 1946.
No. 132 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF, was a training unit of the Royal Air Force, within No. 17 Group RAF, part of RAF Coastal Command. The unit was established during November 1942 and disbanded during May 1946.
Air-Sea Warfare Development Unit RAF (ASWDU) was a research and development unit of the Royal Air Force, within RAF Coastal Command, it was operational from December 1940 and disbanded in April 1970.