No. 353 Squadron RAF

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No. 353 Squadron RAF
353 RAF SQN.jpg
Official Squadron crest for no. 353 Squadron RAF
Active1 June 1942 – 1 October 1946
Country Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
Branch Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg Royal Air Force
Part of No. 221 Group RAF, Air Command, South East Asia [1]
No. 229 Group RAF, ACSEA [2]
Motto(s)Fear naught in unity [3] [4]
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldryA Bengal Tiger rampant [3] [4]
Squadron CodesNo identity markings are known to have been carried [3]

No. 353 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron, active during World War II carrying out maritime patrol and transport tasks in and around British India.

Contents

History

No. 353 Squadron was formed on 1 June 1942 at RAF Dum Dum, British India from No. 62 Squadron and 103 (Coast Defence) Flight, Indian Air Force. Equipped with the Lockheed Hudson, an American light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft. The squadron was tasked with coastal patrols over the Bay of Bengal. In August 1943 it moved to Palam and was assigned to transport duties. From 1944 onwards the squadron re-equipped with Douglas Dakota, an American military transport aircraft and also operated a number of Avro Ansons, a British twin-engine multi-role aircraft, which were replaced with Beech Expeditor twin-engine light aircraft in January 1945. The squadron became fully Dakota equipped by April 1945, but disbanded at RAF Mauripur on 1 October 1946.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by No. 353 Squadron [3] [4] [5]
FromToAircraftVersion
June 1942October 1944 Lockheed Hudson Mk.III
October 1944October 1944Lockheed HudsonMk.VI
April 1944September 1945 Douglas Dakota Mk.I
April 1944October 1946Douglas DakotaMks.III, IV
August 1944January 1945 Avro Anson Mks.I, X, XII
November 1944March 1945 Vickers Warwick Mk.III
January 1945July 1945 Beechcraft Expeditor Mk.II

Squadron bases

Bases and airfields used by No. 353 Squadron [3] [4] [5] [6]
FromToBaseRemark
1 June 194224 February 1943 RAF Dum Dum, Bengal Det. at RAF Cuttack, Orissa
24 February 19432 April 1943 RAF Dhubalia, BengalDet. at RAF Jessore, Bengal
2 April 194324 August 1943 RAF Tanjore, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu Det. at St Thomas Mount, Madras, Tamil Nadu
24 August 19431 May 1946 RAF Palam, Delhi Dets. at Dum Dum (renumbered to 52 Squadron on 1 July 1944) and Jiwani, Balochistan
1 May 19461 October 1946 RAF Mauripur, Sindh Disbanded here

Commanding officers

Officers commanding No. 353 Squadron [3]
FromToName
1 June 19421 July 1944 W/Cdr. L.G.W. Lilly
1 July 1944February 1945W/Cdr. C.E. Slee, MVO, AFC
February 1945March 1945 S/Ldr. F.M. Biddulph
March 1945October 1945W/cdr. A.M. Harding, DFC
October 19451 October 1946W/Cdr. P.B. Wood

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Delve 1994, p. 68.
  2. ↑ Delve 1994, pp. 77, 84.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rawlings 1982, p. 203.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Halley 1988, p. 383.
  5. 1 2 Jefford 2001 , p. 90.
  6. ↑ Jefford 2001 , pp. 266–271.

Bibliography

  • Delve, Ken (1994). The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN   1-85310-451-5.
  • Halley, James J. (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN   0-85130-164-9.
  • Jefford, C.G. (2001). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912 (2nd ed.). Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN   1-85310-053-6.
  • Rawlings, John D.R. (1982). Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd. ISBN   0-7106-0187-5.
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