No. 1586 (Polish Special Duties) Flight

Last updated
No. 1586 Flight RAF
Halifax II 35 Sqn RAF in flight c1942.jpg
A Halifax similar to those flown by 1586 Flt.
Active4 November 1943 – 7 November 1944 [1]
Allegiance Flag of Poland.svg Polish Government in exile
RoleSpecial Duties
Garrison/HQ RAF Derna
RAF Brindisi [1]
Equipment Handley Page Halifax II
Consolidated Liberator III
Consolidated Liberator IV HAR.10
Hawker Hurricane IID [1]
Insignia
Identification
symbol		GR

No. 1586 (Polish Special Duties) Flight was first formed at RAF Derna, in Libya on 4 November 1943, equipped with Handley Page Halifax II configured as transports for special operation missions.

The origin of 1586 flight was the remnants of 301 (Polish) Squadron after disbandment on 31 March 1943 by the Polish HQ due to lack of staff and trained crews. Volunteer crews and aircraft formed C Flight of 138 Squadron, on 1 April 1943. Temporarily renamed as 301 Squadron Special Duties Flight RAF it had seven crews and operated three Handley Page Halifax and three Consolidated Liberator special transport bombers.

On 4 November 1943, Flight became No. 1586 (Polish Special Duties) Flight at RAF Derna Libya. It was still named locally by their ex 301 crews and Polish authorities as No. 301 Squadron Land of Pomerania. On 22 December 1943, the Polish flight was transferred to Campo Cassale near Brindisi, Italy, from where it flew above the occupied Europe with special duties. Missions flown by the flight included partisan supply drops and agent insertion. [1]

A special effort was undertaken to supply Polish insurgents after an outbreak of Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. Flights to central Poland were especially difficult, lasting up to eleven hours. A memorial to a crashed Halifax of the squadron is located in Szentes, Hungary. The machine was flying in support of the supply effort. Both pilots, Lewandowski and Szejnowski, were killed. The tail gunner was known to have survived. The flight was reorganized on 7 November 1944 at RAF Brindisi Italy and reformed as the No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron. [1]


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handley Page Halifax</span> Royal Air Force four-engine heavy bomber of WWII

The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 10 Squadron RAF</span> Flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

Number 10 Squadron is a Royal Air Force squadron. The squadron has served in a variety of roles over its 90-year history. It currently flies the Airbus Voyager KC2/KC3 in the transport/tanker role from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Leconfield</span> Royal Air Force base in Yorkshire, England

Royal Air Force Leconfield or more simply RAF Leconfield is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leconfield, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Syerston</span> Royal Air Force training station in Nottinghamshire, England

Royal Air Force Syerston, commonly known as merely RAF Syerston, is a Royal Air Force station in the parish of Flintham, near Newark, Nottinghamshire, England. Opened in 1940, it was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a bomber base during the Second World War, operating Vickers Wellingtons, Avro Manchesters, and the Avro Lancaster heavy bombers. Post-war, it became home to Jet Provosts of the 2 Flying Training School. It is now home to the Royal Air Force Central Gliding School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 78 Squadron RAF</span> Squadron of the Royal Air Force

No. 78 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, is the squadron number plate of RAF (Unit) Swanwick based at London Area Control Centre, Swanwick, Hampshire. The squadron was allocated the role in early 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 47 Squadron RAF</span> Flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

No. 47 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Lockheed C-130 Hercules from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polish Air Forces in France and Great Britain</span> Military unit

The Polish Air Forces was the name of the Polish Air Forces formed in France and the United Kingdom during World War II. The core of the Polish air units fighting alongside the Allies were experienced veterans of the 1939 invasion of Poland. They contributed to the Allied victory in the Battle of Britain and Allied air operations during the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 300 Polish Bomber Squadron</span> Polish World War II bomber unit

No. 300 (Polish) "Land of Masovia" Bomber Squadron was one of several Polish squadrons in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. It was formed as part of an agreement between the Polish Government in Exile and the United Kingdom in 1940. 300 Squadron is now represented by 300 Squadron of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets, which made the alliance with the Polish Air Force is 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 148 Squadron RAF</span> Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

No. 148 Squadron of the Royal Air Force has been part of the RAF since the First World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Tempsford</span> Former RAF airfield in England

RAF Tempsford is a former Royal Air Force station located 2.3 miles (3.7 km) north east of Sandy, Bedfordshire, England and 4.4 miles (7.1 km) south of St. Neots, Cambridgeshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron</span> Military unit

No. 301 Polish Bomber Squadron "Land of Pomerania" was a Polish World War II bomber (1940-1943) and special duties squadron (1944-1946), belonging to Polish Air Forces in Great Britain. It fought alongside the Royal Air Force and operated from RAF airfields in the United Kingdom and Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 304 Polish Bomber Squadron</span> Military unit

No. 304 Polish Bomber Squadron was a Polish World War II bomber unit. It fought alongside the Royal Air Force under their operational Command and operated from airfields in the United Kingdom, serving from April 1941 as a bomber unit in RAF Bomber Command, from May 1942 as an anti-submarine unit in RAF Coastal Command and from June 1945 as a transport unit in RAF Transport Command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 161 Squadron RAF</span> Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

No. 161 Squadron was a highly secretive unit of the Royal Air Force, performing missions as part of the Royal Air Force Special Duties Service. It was tasked with missions of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) during the Second World War. Their primary role was to drop and collect secret agents and equipment into and from Nazi-occupied Europe. The squadron had a secondary role in acting as the King's Flight.

No. 462 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron which forms part of the Information Warfare Directorate in the RAAF's Air Warfare Centre. The squadron was first formed in 1942 as a heavy bomber unit and saw combat in this role in the Mediterranean area until it was disbanded in March 1944. It was reformed in the United Kingdom in August 1944 to participate in the bombing campaign against Germany, and in December that year converted to a specialist electronic warfare unit. No. 462 Squadron continued in this role until the end of the European war in May 1945 and was disbanded in September that year. The squadron was reformed in its current role during April 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 466 Squadron RAAF</span> Royal Australian Air Force squadron

No. 466 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bomber squadron during World War II. Formed in the United Kingdom in late 1942, the squadron undertook combat operations in Europe until the end of the war, flying heavy bomber aircraft. Following the conclusion of hostilities with Germany, the squadron began retraining to undertake operations in the Pacific against the Japanese, but the war came to an end before it left the UK. In late 1945, the squadron was disbanded.

No. 158 Squadron RAF was a World War I proposed ground attack squadron that did not become operational in time to see action, and a World War II bomber squadron. After World War II had ended in Europe the squadron operated in the transport role until disbandment in December 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">426 Transport Training Squadron</span> Military unit

426 Transport Training Squadron is a unit of the Canadian Forces under Royal Canadian Air Force, located at CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ontario. It originated as a squadron in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) that fought during the Second World War as a bomber squadron.

Number 76 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was formed during World War I as a home defence fighter squadron and in its second incarnation during World War II flew as a bomber squadron, first as an operational training unit and later as an active bomber squadron. With the end of the war the squadron converted to the role of transport squadron, to be reactivated shortly in the bomber role during the 1950s. From 2007 to 2011, it was a training unit, equipped with the Short Tucano at RAF Linton-on-Ouse.

Number 58 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">31 Squadron SAAF</span> Military unit

31 Squadron was initially a World War II Coastal bomber/reconnaissance squadron South African Air Force. It was later converted to a heavy bomber squadron that operated from bases in the Mediterranean from January 1944 until the end of the war. On conclusion of hostilities, the squadron was used to ferry liberated POW's from Italy back to Britain and disbanded South African troops from Italy to Egypt. It was disbanded on 15 December 1945. It was resurrected as a medium and light helicopter squadron in 1982 and operated from AFB Hoedspruit until its final disbandment on 4 December 1992.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Lake, Alan (1999). Flying units of the RAF : the ancestry, formation and disbandment of all flying units from 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. pp. &#91, page needed &#93, . ISBN   1-84037-086-6.


This World War II article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.