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No.309 Sqn RAF - Squadron Details - Aviation Directory

No.309 Sqn RAF


Name : No.309 Sqn RAF
Founded : 7th October 1940
Disbanded : 6th January 1947
Country : UK
Fate : Disbanded 6th January 1947
More Details : Polish - Land of Czerwien
Known Code Letters : , WC, AR, ZR,

Flew Mustangs from October 1944.

Pilots and Aircrew for : No.309 Sqn RAF
A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking their name.
NameInfo
Mencel, Jurek
Click the name above to see a profile of Mencel, Jurek
Mencel, Jurek

Flying with the French Air Force he fought in the Battle of France but was hospitalised after breaking his back in a crash in mid-1940. Returning to operations with 317 Polish Sqn, his first mission was on Spitfires escorting the RAF Bombers taking part in the engagement that lead to the German ‘Channel Dash’. He flew Spitfires throughout the Normandy Invasion also flying Hurricanes and Mustangs with 308 and 309 Sqn’s scoring victories against Me109's and Me108's and on the 9th April 1945 he shot down an Me262 Jet over Hamburg.



Squadrons :
No.309 Sqn RAF
Squadrons :
No.309 Sqn RAF
Pilots or Aircrew :
Spiros Steve Pisanos
Historical Notes :
21-05-1942 - Joined No.610 Sqn.
15-07-1942 - Joined No.308 Sqn
24-07-1942 - Joined No.309 Sqn
01-10-1942 - Joined 334 Fighter Squadron (USAF) with code XR-K.
12-08-1942 - Joined No.71 Sqn with code XR-K.
03-11-1943 - Joined No.66 Sqn.
15-11-1943 - Joined No.340 Sqn with code GW-W.
07-12-1943 - Damaged on operations.
02-05-1945 - Damaged in belly landing near Felton, Northumberland after engine failure on take off.
30-05-1945 - Struck off.
Squadrons :
No.309 Sqn RAF
Squadrons :
No.309 Sqn RAF



Known Individual Aircraft of No.309 Sqn RAF :

Type

Serial

Codes

First Flew

Squadron History

Aircrew History

History Notes

Engine

Factory

Spitfire Vb

AA858

08/10/1941

details

no information

no information

Merlin 45

Eastleigh

Spitfire Vb

AB811

-

details

no information

no information

Merlin 45

Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Spitfire Vb

AB982

-

details

no information

no information

Merlin 45

Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Spitfire Vb

AD187

-

details

no information

no information

Merlin 45

Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Spitfire Vb

AD274

-

details

no information

no information

Merlin 45

Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Spitfire Vb

BL832

-

details

no information

no information

Merlin 45

Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Spitfire Vb

BL964

-

details

no information

no information

Merlin 45

Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Spitfire Vb

BL978

-

details

no information

no information

Merlin 45

Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Spitfire Vb

BM371

28/03/1942

details

no information

no information

Merlin 45

Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Spitfire Vb

EN778

-

details

no information

no information

Merlin 45

Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Spitfire Vb

EN783

XR-K
GW-W

-

details

details

details

Merlin 45

Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Spitfire Vb

EN823

-

details

no information

no information

Merlin 45

Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Spitfire Vb

EN921

-

details

no information

no information

Merlin 45M

Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Spitfire Vb

EN923

-

details

no information

no information

Merlin 45

Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Spitfire Ia

P9309

22/01/1940

details

no information

no information

Merlin III

Eastleigh

Aircraft for : No.309 Sqn RAF
A list of all aircraft associated with No.309 Sqn RAF. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
AircraftInfo

Hurricane



Click the name above to see prints featuring Hurricane aircraft.

Manufacturer : Hawker
Production Began : 1936
Number Built : 14533

Hurricane

Royal Air Force Fighter, the Hawker Hurricane had a top speed of 320mph, at 18,200 feet and 340mph at 17,500, ceiling of 34,200 and a range of 935 miles. The Hurricane was armed with eight fixed wing mounted .303 browning machine guns in the Mark I and twelve .303 browning's in the MKIIB in the Hurricane MKIIC it had four 20mm cannon. All time classic fighter the Hurricane was designed in 1933-1934, the first prototype flew in June 1936 and a contract for 600 for the Royal Air Force was placed. The first production model flew ion the 12th October 1937 and 111 squadron of the Royal Air Force received the first Hurricanes in January 1938. By the outbreak of World war two the Royal Air Force had 18 operational squadrons of Hurricanes. During the Battle of Britain a total of 1715 Hurricanes took part, (which was more than the rest of the aircraft of the Royal air force put together) and almost 75% of the Victories during the Battle of Britain went to hurricane pilots. The Hawker Hurricane was used in all theatres during World war two, and in many roles. in total 14,533 Hurricanes were built.

Lysander



Click the name above to see prints featuring Lysander aircraft.

Manufacturer : Westland Aircraft
Production Began : 1938
Retired : 1946
Number Built : 1786

Lysander

The first Lysanders entered service in June 1938, equipping squadrons for army co-operation and were initially used for message-dropping and artillery spotting. When war broke out in Europe, the earlier Mk Is had been largely replaced by Mk IIs, the older machines heading for the Middle East. Some of these aircraft, now designated type L.1, operated with the Chindits of the British Indian Army in the Burma Campaign of the Second World War. Four regular squadrons equipped with Lysanders accompanied the British Expeditionary Force to France in October 1939, and were joined by a further squadron early in 1940. Following the German invasion of France and the low countries on 10 May 1940, the Lysanders were put into action as spotters and light bombers. In spite of occasional victories against German aircraft, they made very easy targets for the Luftwaffe even when escorted by Hurricanes. Withdrawn from France during the Dunkirk evacuation, they continued to fly supply-dropping missions to Allied forces from bases in England; on one mission to drop supplies to troops trapped at Calais, 14 of 16 Lysanders and Hawker Hectors that set out were lost. 118 Lysanders were lost in or over France and Belgium in May and June 1940, of a total of 175 deployed. With the fall of France, it was clear that the type was unsuitable for the coastal patrol and army co-operation role, being described by Air Marshal Arthur Barratt, commander-in-chief of the British Air Forces in France as "quite unsuited to the task; a faster, less vulnerable aircraft was required." Nevertheless, throughout the remainder of 1940, Lysanders flew dawn and dusk patrols off the coast and in the event of an invasion of Britain, they were tasked with attacking the landing beaches with light bombs and machine guns.[9] They were replaced in the home-based army co-operation role from 1941 by camera-equipped fighters such as the Curtiss Tomahawk and North American Mustang carrying out reconnaissance operations, while light aircraft such as the Taylorcraft Auster were used to direct artillery. Some UK-based Lysanders went to work operating air-sea rescue, dropping dinghies to downed RAF aircrew in the English Channel. Fourteen squadrons and flights were formed for this role in 1940 and 1941. In August 1941 a new squadron, No. 138 (Special Duties), was formed to undertake missions for the Special Operations Executive to maintain clandestine contact with the French Resistance. Among its aircraft were Lysander Mk IIIs, which flew over and landed in occupied France. While general supply drops could be left to the rest of No. 138's aircraft, the Lysander could insert and remove agents from the continent or retrieve Allied aircrew who had been shot down over occupied territory and had evaded capture. For this role the Mk IIIs were fitted with a fixed ladder over the port side to hasten access to the rear cockpit and a large drop tank under the belly. In order to slip in unobtrusively the Lysanders were painted matte black; operations almost always took place within a week of a full moon, as moonlight was essential for navigation. The aircraft undertook such duties until the liberation of France in 1944. The Lysanders flew from secret airfields at Newmarket and later Tempsford, but used regular RAF stations to fuel-up for the actual crossing, particularly RAF Tangmere. Flying without any navigation equipment other than a map and compass, Lysanders would land on short strips of land, such as fields, marked out by four or five torches. They were originally designed to carry one passenger in the rear cockpit, but for SOE use the rear cockpit was modified to carry two passengers in extreme discomfort in case of urgent necessity. The pilots of No. 138 and from early 1942, No. 161 Squadron transported 101 agents to and recovered 128 agents from Nazi-occupied Europe. The Germans knew little about the British aircraft and wished to study one. Soldiers captured an intact Lysander in March 1942 when its pilot was unable to destroy it after a crash, but a train hit the truck carrying the Lysander, destroying the cargo

Mustang



Click the name above to see prints featuring Mustang aircraft.

Manufacturer : North American

Mustang

The ubiquitous North American P-51 Mustang, which many consider to be the best all-around fighter of WW II, owes its origins to the British Air Ministry. Following Britains entry into WW II in 1939, the RAF was interested in purchasing additional fighter aircraft from American sources, particularly the Curtiss P-40. Curtiss, which was busy, was unable to guarantee timely delivery so the British approached North American Aviation as a possible second source for the P-40. North American chose to propose its own fighter design which would use the same Allison engine as the P-40. Utilizing new laminar flow wings, the North American fighter was expected to have performance better than the P-40. Developed in record time the new aircraft was designated as a Mustang I by the Brits, whereas the USAAF ordered two for evaluation which were designated XP-51 Apaches. Intrigued with the possibility of using this aircraft also as a dive bomber, North American proposed this to the USAAF which decided to order 500 of the P-51 aircraft to be modified for dive bombing use. Designated as the A-36 Invader, this version of the Mustang utilized dive flaps, and bomb racks under each wing. Some reinforcing of the structural members was also required because of the G-forces to be encountered in dive bombing. A-36s entered combat service with the USAAF prior to any P-51s. In early 1943 the 86th and 27th Fighter Bomber Groups of the 12th Air Force began flying A-36s out of Northern Africa. Despite some early problems with instability caused by the dive flaps, the A-36 was effective in light bombing and strafing roles. It was not, however, capable of dog fighting with German fighters, especially at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks one USAAF pilot, Captain Michael T. Russo, who served with the 16th Bomb Squadron of the 27th Fighter Bomber Group, was credited with five confirmed aerial victories in the A-36, thereby becoming the first mustang ace.



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