| No. 176 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 15 Jan 1943 – 1 Jun 1946 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Motto(s) | Latin: Nocte custodimus (We keep the night watch) |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge | A dagger in front of a crescent moon |
No. 176 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron that was a night defence unit based in India in World War II.
The squadron was formed at Dum Dum, India on 15 January 1943 from a detachment of No. 89 Squadron RAF, flying radar-equipped Bristol Beaufighter night fighters in defence of Calcutta. [1] That night, it flew its first operational sorties, with Flight Sergeant Arthur Pring shooting down three Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-21 bombers in four minutes, becoming an air ace. [2] [lower-alpha 1] On the night of 19/20 January, another of 176's aircraft intercepted three more Ki-21s, claiming two destroyed and one damaged, but itself being shot down by return fire from the bombers. In fact, only one of the Ki-21s was shot down. The losses of four bombers in a few days caused Japanese night attacks on Calcutta to be suspended. [4] Detachments of the squadron were then based at Chittagong Burma, Ratmalana Ceylon, Baigachi and Mingaladon where the Beaufighters were replaced with Mosquitos in June 1945. The squadron disbanded on 1 June 1946.
| From | To | Aircraft | Variant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1943 | Aug 1943 | Bristol Beaufighter | IF |
| Jan 1943 | Aug 1945 | Bristol Beaufighter | VIF |
| May 1943 | Jan 1944 | Hawker Hurricane | IIC |
| Jun 1945 | Jul 1945 | de Havilland Mosquito | XVI |
| Jul 1945 | Jun 1946 | de Havilland Mosquito | XIX |
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter was a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber. The Beaufighter proved to be an effective night fighter, which came into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Battle of Britain, its large size allowing it to carry heavy armament and early airborne interception radar without major performance penalties.
A night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used in World War I and included types that were specifically modified to operate at night.
Number 39 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper from Creech AFB, Nevada, since reforming in January 2007. It had previously been operating English Electric Canberra PR.7s, PR.9s and T.4s from RAF Marham, Norfolk, as No. 39 Squadron between July 1992 and July 2006.
No. 27 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook from RAF Odiham.
No. 47 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Lockheed C-130 Hercules from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, England.
488 Squadron was the name given to two distinct Royal New Zealand Air Force squadrons during the Second World War. Both were formed under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme and served under the operational command of the Royal Air Force.
John Randall Daniel "Bob" Braham, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) night fighter pilot and fighter ace during the Second World War.
No 36 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Cramlington in 1916 and was disbanded for the last time in 1975.
Wing Commander Bransome Arthur "Branse" Burbridge, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) night fighter pilot and flying ace—a pilot credited with at least five enemy aircraft destroyed—who holds the Allied record of 21 aerial victories achieved at night during the Second World War.
No. 307 (Polish) Squadron, also known as No. 307 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. It was the only Polish night fighter squadron in RAF service. No. 307 Squadron was named after the Polish city of Lwów, and was nicknamed "Eagle Owls".
No. 60 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1916 at Gosport. It is currently part of No. 1 Flying Training School based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire flying the Airbus H135 Juno HT1.
Frank Reginald "Chota" Carey, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot and flying ace who served during World War II.
No. 62 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was originally established as a Royal Flying Corps squadron in 1916 and operated the Bristol F2B fighter in France during the last year of the First World War. After the war the squadron was disbanded and it was re-established in 1937 as part of the buildup of the RAF in the late 1930s. During the Second World War the Squadron was deployed to the Far East, operating the Bristol Blenheim from Singapore and Malaya. In 1942 No. 62 Squadron was re-equipped with the Lockheed Hudson and it moved to Sumatra, then Burma and then India. After the close of World War II the squadron disbanded for the second time. It was briefly re-established from 1946 to 1947 as a Dakota squadron and operated out of Burma and India. It final incarnation was as a Bristol Bloodhound missile unit in the early 1960s.
The 427th Special Operations Squadron is a specialized, covert unit of the United States Air Force. After reporter Andreas Parsch filed a Freedom of Information Act request, the Air Force told him the unit "support[s] training requirements … for infiltration and exfiltration." That is, it prepares troops for secretly slipping into and out of dangerous territory. The squadron is not listed by the Air Force Historical Research Agency. It is reported by the press to be stationed at Pope Field, North Carolina.
No. 604 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force noted for its pioneering role the development of radar-controlled night-fighter operations. The squadron was established in March 1930 at RAF Hendon as a day-bomber squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. In July 1934, the squadron transitioned to two-seat fighters. Shortly after the commencement of World War II in 1939, the squadron was reassigned to a night-fighter role.
No. 248 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, active immediately after World War I, and again during World War II.
Charles Arbuthnot Crombie was an Australian aviator and flying ace of the Second World War. Born in Brisbane, he was working as a jackeroo when he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force in May 1940. Completing flight training in Australia and Canada, he flew in the European, Mediterranean and Middle East Theatre and South-East Asian theatres, amassing a tally of 12 Axis aircraft shot down, with an additional four probables. In a particular attack on 19 January 1943, Crombie intercepted a formation of four Japanese bombers over India. Despite his aircraft being set alight early in the engagement, he shot down two of the bombers and severely damaged a third before he was forced to bail out. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for this action. Returning to Australia late in 1943, he was promoted to squadron leader and posted as a flight instructor with No. 5 Operational Training Unit. Crombie was killed in a flying accident in August 1945.
No. 135 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed to be a bomber unit in World War I and reformed as a fighter unit in World War II.
No. 255 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as an anti-submarine unit in First World War and a night-fighter unit in Second World War. The First World War squadron was formed from former Royal Naval Air Service coastal flights and was responsible for coastal anti-submarine patrols. It was disbanded after the war.
Miloslav Mansfeld was a Czechoslovak fighter pilot who became a flying ace in the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War.
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