No. 345 Squadron RAF

Last updated

No. 345 (GC II/2 'Berry') Squadron RAF
Active30 January 1944 – 27 November 1945
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
AllegianceFlag of Free France (1940-1944).svg  Free French Forces
BranchEnsign of the Royal Air Force.svg  Royal Air Force
Nickname(s)GC II/2 'Berry'
Motto(s) Latin: Nil actum credo si quid supersii agendum (I think nothing done if anything remains undone)
Insignia
Identification
symbol
A stork

The No. 345 Squadron RAF was a Free French ground attack fighter squadron given a Royal Air Force squadron number during World War II.

Contents

History

The squadron was formed in RAF Ayr, Scotland on 30 January 1944 from GC II/2 Free French airmen who had been based in the Middle East and was equipped with British Spitfire aircraft. It then moved to RAF stations in England including Shoreham, Fairwood Common and Biggin Hill.

For Operation Overlord (the Allied invasion of Normandy) it was equipped with the Spitfire V LF operating from RAF Shoreham as part of Air Defence of Great Britain, though under the operational control of RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2nd TAF). [1]

With 2nd TAF it followed the allied advance from the Normandy beachheads across Europe and by November 1945 was based at Friedrichshafen, Germany. It was under RAF control until 27 November 1945 when it transferred to French control.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 345 Squadron RAF
FromToAircraftVariant
Mar 1944Sep 1944 Supermarine Spitfire VB
Sep 1944Apr 1945Supermarine SpitfireHF IX
Apr 1945Nov 1945Supermarine SpitfireXVI

[2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Second Tactical Air Force</span> Military unit

The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, and exiles from German-occupied Europe. Renamed as British Air Forces of Occupation in 1945, 2TAF was recreated in 1951 and became Royal Air Force Germany in 1959.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 331 Squadron RAF</span> Squadron of the Royal Air Force

No. 331 Squadron RAF was a Second World War squadron of the Royal Air Force. The squadron was primarily manned with Norwegian aircrew. The squadron was part of Fighter Command between 1941 and March 1944 when it joined the 2nd Tactical Air Force until the end of the war. The squadron took part in the Dieppe Raid and the Normandy landings.

The No. 341 Squadron also known in French as Groupe de Chasse n° 3/2 "Alsace", was a Free French squadron in the RAF during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">402 Squadron</span> Military unit

402 "City of Winnipeg" Squadron is a Royal Canadian Air Force squadron based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF raid on La Caine (1944)</span> Air attack on Panzergruppe Wests HQ during Battle of Normandy

The RAF raid on La Caine (1944) was an attack in Normandy by the Second Tactical Air Force of the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 10 June 1944. The attack was made on the château at La Caine, about 12 mi (19 km) to the south-west of the city of Caen, north of Thury-Harcourt. The château had recently been occupied by the HQ of Panzergruppe West, the command organisation for the German Panzer divisions in France and Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">350th Squadron (Belgium)</span> Military unit

The 350th Squadron is a fighter squadron in the Air Component of the Belgian Armed Forces. It was originally formed in 1941 as No. 350 (Belgian) Smaldeel of the Royal Air Force during World War II. The unit was transferred to the Belgian Air Force, together with 349th Squadron, in 1946. Based at Florennes air base, the unit is now part of the 2nd Tactical Wing and operates F-16 Fighting Falcons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 340 Squadron RAF</span> Military unit

No. 340 Squadron RAF was formed at RAF Turnhouse in Scotland on 7 November 1941 as part of Le Groupe de Chasse IV/2 "Ile de France". The squadron was first equipped with Supermarine Spitfire Mk I fighters and consisted of two flights - A Flight ("Paris") and B Flight ("Versailles").

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 80 Squadron RAF</span> Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

No. 80 Squadron RAF was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force squadron active from 1917 until 1969. It was operative during both World War I and World War II.

No. 268 Squadron RAF was a Second World War Royal Air Force squadron that operated the North American Mustang on missions over occupied Europe and in support of the D-Day landings.

No. 229 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, and is an officially accredited Battle of Britain Squadron. It became No. 603 Squadron RAF in January 1945.

No. 329 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force fighter squadron founded upon the personnel and traditions of the French 1/2 fighter squadron Storks, having markings "5A" 1944-1945.

No. 127 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the United Kingdom's Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No. 130 Squadron RAF</span> Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

No. 130 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was a Second World War and Cold war fighter squadron, and later a strategic missile squadron.

No. 273 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron formed as reconnaissance unit in World War I, and re-formed in World War II in Ceylon - initially as a torpedo bomber and reconnaissance unit. In mid 1944 the squadron was re-equipped with Spitfire Mk VIIIs and flew and fought out of airfields in India and Burma. Following the end of the war, the squadron was moved first to Siam (Thailand), and then later, French Indo-China (Vietnam). It was re-equipped with Spitfire Mk XIVs in November 1945.

No. 326 Squadron RAF was a Free French fighter squadron given a Royal Air Force squadron number during World War II.

No. 328 Squadron RAF was a Free French fighter squadron given a Royal Air Force squadron number during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian contribution to the Battle of Normandy</span> Australians who fought in Normandy in WWII

The Australian contribution to the Battle of Normandy involved more than 3,000 military personnel serving under British command. The majority of these personnel were members of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), though smaller numbers of Australians serving with the Royal Navy and British Army also participated in the fighting prior to and after the Allied landings on 6 June 1944. While all the RAAF units based in the United Kingdom (UK) took part in the battle, Australians made up only a small portion of the Allied force.

No. 85 Group was a Group of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. It was responsible for airfield construction and the air defence of the beachhead bases during the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944 and the subsequent campaign.

No. 135 Expeditionary Air Wing, previously No. 135 Wing, is a wing of the Royal Air Force. It was stationed at RAF Leeming, controlling the deployable subunits of the base. It was activated on 1 April 2006 as part of a modernisation package to make the RAF more deployable on an expeditionary basis.

References

  1. Ken Delve, D-Day: The Air Battle, London: Arms & Armour Press, 1994, ISBN   1-85409-227-8, p. 137.
  2. C.G.Jefford (1988). RAF Squadrons. UK Airlife Publishing. ISBN   1-85310-053-6.