No. 270 Squadron RAF | |
---|---|
Active | 6 October 1918 - 15 September 1919 12 November 1942 – 30 June 1945 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Air Force |
Type | Flying squadron |
Role | Maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare |
Part of | West Africa Command |
No. 270 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron which disbanded at the end of June 1945. It operated both in the First and Second World War, mainly as an anti-shipping and anti-submarine squadron. It initially formed during October 1918 lasting around eleven months and disbanded in September 1919, merging into No. 269 Sqn. It reformed in November 1942.
No. 270 Squadron was formed at Alexandria in Egypt from three flights (354, 355 and 356), on 6 October 1918. [1] (Nos 354, 355 & 356 (Flying Boat) Flights were planned to be formed at Alexandria, on 6 October 1918. [2] Seaplane Squadron, Alexandria was a designation for the merging of 354, 355, and 356 Coastal Patrol Flights prior to becoming 270 Squadron) [3] It was equipped with floatplanes and flying boats, operating with Felixstowe F.3, Sopwith Baby and Short Type 184. The main role was coastal reconnaissance which it continued to do until it was disbanded on 15 September 1919 when it was absorbed into 269 Squadron. [1]
The squadron was re-formed on 12 November 1942 at RAF Jui, in Sierra Leone, with Consolidated Catalina IB an American flying boat and amphibious aircraft. [4] It flew sorties into the mid-Atlantic off West Africa on anti-submarine patrols, [5] sinking a U-boat in January 1943. It was also tasked with finding ships trying to break the blockade on Vichy France ports.[ citation needed ] The squadron had detachments at RAF Bathurst, in the Gambia, and Fisherman's Lake, in western Liberia. [4]
In July 1943 the squadron moved to Lagos, in Nigeria, to be based at RAF Apapa and at the end of that year it re-equipped with the four-engined Short Sunderland flying boat patrol bomber. [4] The squadron operated detachments at RAF Jui, Abidjan and Libreville. [4] No. 270 Squadron was disbanded, after the war in the Atlantic had ended, on 30 June 1945 at Apapa, Nigeria. [4] [5]
Dates | Aircraft | Variant | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1918 | Short 184 | Single-engined torpedo seaplane | |
1918 | Felixstowe F.3 | Twin-engined reconnaissance flying boat | |
1918 | Sopwith Baby | Single-engined seaplane | |
1942–1944 | Consolidated Catalina | IB | Twin-engined flying boat |
1943–1945 | Short Sunderland | III | Four-engined flying boat |
No. 530 Squadron RAF was one of the ten Turbinlite nightfighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
No. 628 Squadron RAF was a meteorological and air-sea rescue squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
No. 119 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, flying with RAF Coastal Command during the Second World War. It was the only RAF unit flying the Short G class and Short C class flying boats.
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.
No. 257 Squadron RAF was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force active during the First World War, the Second World War and also the Cold War. It was finally disbanded in December 1963.
No. 639 Squadron RAF was an anti aircraft co-operation squadron of the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1945.
No. 650 Squadron RAF was an anti aircraft co-operation squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
No. 356 Squadron RAF was a short-lived long-range bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force between 1944 and 1945.
No. 265 Squadron RAF was an anti-submarine squadron of the Royal Air Force during two world wars. It was based at Gibraltar in World War One and Madagascar in World War Two.
No. 355 Squadron RAF was a long-range bomber squadron based in British India from August 1943 until it disbanded in May 1946. Raised for service during the Second World War, the squadron was equipped with Consolidated Liberator aircraft and carried out operations against the Japanese during the Burma campaign.
No. 228 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force active at various times between 1918 and 1964. It spent the greatest part of its existence flying over water, doing so in the First, and Second World Wars and beyond, performing anti-submarine, reconnaissance and air-sea rescue tasks.
No. 235 Squadron RAF was an anti-submarine warfare squadron of the Royal Air Force which disbanded during July 1945. It was active in both the First World War, forming during August 1918 and disbanding in February 1919, and in the Second World War, reforming at the end of October 1939, and served as a squadron in RAF Coastal Command.
No. 239 Squadron RAF was an anti-submarine squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War I. During World War II the squadron performed as an army co-operation squadron and later as a night intruder unit. After the war the squadron was disbanded.
No. 274 Squadron RAF existed briefly in 1918 and 1919 as a patrol and bomber squadron, and served in World War II as a fighter squadron.
No. 292 Squadron RAF was an air-sea rescue (ASR) squadron of the Royal Air Force operating in the Bay of Bengal during the Second World War.
No. 1451 (Fighter) Flight was formed at RAF Hunsdon, Hertfordshire on 22 May 1941, equipped with Turbinlite Douglas Boston and Douglas Havoc aircraft. On operations they co-operated at first with Hawker Hurricanes of No. 1422 Flight RAF and later with Hurricanes of 3 Squadron. The flight was replaced with 530 Squadron on 8 September 1942 but officially disbanded as late as 25 January 1943.
No. 535 Squadron RAF was one of the ten Turbinlite nightfighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
No. 567 Squadron was an anti-aircraft co-operation squadron of the Royal Air Force, formed during World War II and active between December 1943 and June 1946 in the defence of south-east England.
No. 240 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force flying boat and seaplane squadron during World War I, World War II and up to 1959. It was then reformed as a strategic missile squadron, serving thus till 1963.
No. 244 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as an anti–submarine unit in World War I and a bomber and anti-submarine unit in the Middle East in World War II.