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No.269 Sqn RAF

Name : No.269 Sqn RAF Founded : 6th October 1918 Disbanded : 24th May 1963 Country : UK Fate : Disbanded 24th May 1963 More Details : Omnia videmus - We see all things Known Code Letters : , HK, KL, UA,

No. 269 Squadron was transferred to RAF Wick on 10 October 1939, and executed aerial attacks against surfaced German U-boats on 15 September, 18 October, 28 October, 3 November, 19 November, and 3 December. Postwar examination of Kriegsmarine records showed that these attacks either did little damage or a U-boat was not on patrol in the area of attack Aircraft from No. 269 Squadron made six separate attacks on German U-boats during February 1940, plus attacks on 8 August. No. 269 Squadron also carried out a number of missions in addition to its maritime patrol duties: 1 March — The Stavanger airfield was attacked. 11 June — The German battleships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Admiral Hipper were attacked while at anchor in Trondheim harbor. 22 June — Aircraft from the No. 269 Squadron and No. 442 Squadron RAF attacked the German battleship Scharnhorst while at sea north of Bergen, but inflicted little damage on the German warship. 27 June — No. 269 Squadron executed a special mission reconnaissance of Norwegian coast. The squadron also began receiving new Lockheed Hudson patrol bombers starting in March 1940, completing the transition on 15 April, while it ceased operating Avro Anson aircraft as of 1 June. By 15 July, No, 269 Squadron was fully operational with 18 Hudson Mk1 aircraft After a year of operations against enemy shipping from RAF Wick, No. 269 Squadron began transferring to Iceland starting on 12 April 1941, with the last Hudson aircraft arriving on 30 May. The squadron completed its re-deployment to Iceland on 10 July. A detachment of No. 269 Squadron deployed to RAF Reykjavik on 12 December.[4] On 9 April, six aircraft from RAF Wick bombed the aluminium factory at Hoyanger, Norway. Also during late May, the squadron participated in the pursuit of the German battleship Bismarck. Aircraft from No. 269 Squadron also made four separate attacks on surfaced U-boats during June. On 6 August, Hudson patrol bombers from No. 269 Squadron escorted USAF fighter aircraft of the 33rd Pursuit Squadron to the Reykjavik airfield after being catapulted off the aircraft carrier USS Wasp. On 16 August, No. 269 Squadron flew twelve sorties escorting the battleship HMS Prince of Wales, with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill aboard for the upcoming, top-secret conference with U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Aircraft from No. 269 Squadron made four separate attacks on surfaced U-boats during June. Aircraft of the No. 269 Squadron also attacked U-432 on 29 August, U-85 on 2 September, and U-439 and U-552 on 14 September, and they were also present during the Greer Incident. On 27 August 1941, Squadron Leader J.H. Thompson of the No. 269 Squadron made RAF history by becoming the only aircraft captain to have a U-boat (U-570) surrender to him. Thompson and his navigator/bomb-aimer—Flying Officer John Coleman—were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 23 September 1941 Aircraft of the No. 269 Squadron attacked U-510 on 14 July, U-609 on 23 July, U-164 and U-210 on 26 July, and U-595 on 30 July and 31 July. No. 269 aircraft made eight separate U-boat attacks during August. Six U-boats were attacked during September. U-183 was attacked on 3 October. No. 269 Squadron scored its first confirmed U-boat kill by sinking U-619 on 5 October

Known Service Details :
Pilot or Aircrew	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
Norman Stuart Allinson	Commanding Officer	22nd May 1937	11th April 1938		Anson		The squadron was moved to RAF Abbotsinch, near Glasgow, in december 1936, and its Avro Anson aircraft undertook coastal reconnaissance patrols.

Pilots and Aircrew for : No.269 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.
Name	Info
Allinson, Norman Stuart Click the name above to see a profile of Allinson, Norman Stuart    Died : 8 / 10 / 1984	Allinson, Norman Stuart 02.1923 joined RAF; Flight Cadet, 'B' Sqn, RAF College. (Flt Cdt Cpl) 14.12.1924 - 1929 pilot, 13 Squadron 02.09.1929 - 1930 qualified at specialist armament course, Armament & Gunnery School 08.03.1930 - unknown date Armament Officer, Practice Camp, North Coates Fittes 01.10.1930 - 1932 Armament Officer, HMS Hermes (aircraft carrier) 20.07.1932 supernumerary, RAF Depot 18.09.1932 - Armament Officer, SHQ, RAF Boscombe Down 10.10.1933 - 1935 Department of Air Member of Personnel 22.05.1937 - 1938 CO 269 Squadron 12.04.1938 - 02 .10.1938 HQ Coastal Command 02.10.1938 - 1940 Air Staff, Directorate of Training 1940 - 1941 Armament duties, Air Ministry and Ministry of Aircraft Production 15.12.1941 - 1943 Air Staff, GHQ Home Forces, HQ Army Co-operation Command 19.02.1943 - 1944 Planning Staff, HQ Middle East Command 01.03.1944 - 1944 AOC No 212 Group 1944 - 1944 AOC Force 438 11.09.1944 - 1945 Deputy SASO, HQ Middle East 1945 - 1947 Director of Operational Training, Air Ministry 19.02.1949 - 1951 AOC Rhodesian Air Training Group, Bulawayo, S Rhodesia 15.05.1951 - 08.09.1952 Director-General of Manning, Air Ministry 08.09.1952 - 05.04.1954 Director-General of Personnel (I), Air Ministry 15.06.1954 - 1956 Air Officer-in-Charge Administration, Flying Training Command Deputy Lieutenant (DL), Essex, 1964. P/O 17.12.1924 [16144] F/O 17.06.1926 F/Lt.14.05.1930 Sq.Ldr 01.02.1937 (T) W/Cdr. 01.03.1940 W/Cdr. 14.04.1942, seniority 01.01.1940 (T) Gp.Capt. 01.03.1942 (A) A/Cdre. 01.03.1944? (WS) Gp.Capt. 01.09.1944 Gp.Capt. 01.01.1946 (T) Air Cdre. 01.01.1946 Air Cdre. 01.07.1947 Air Vice Marshal 01.07.1951 ( retd 27.09.1956) Companion of the Order of the Bath CB 01.01.1946 Mention in Despatches MID 14.01.1944
Barraclough, John Click the name above to see a profile of Barraclough, John    Died : 10 / 5 / 2008	Barraclough, John Joined the RAF in 1938 and flew continuously on maritime-air duties before and during the war in Coastal and overseas Commands on flying boats and landplanes with Nos. 209, 240 and 269 squadrons. During the war he operated initially from a Flying Boat depot ship in the Shetlands on reconnaissance over the North Sea and to Norway. He moved later to the West Coast for anti-submarine and onvoy escort duties before going overseas for the Madagascar campaign in the Indian Ocean where his squadron operated from bare island bases to secure the Cape route for our shipping after control of the Mediterranean had been lost. For a while he commanded the captured Italian airfield at Mogadishu before returning to the UK as Chief Instructor at the Flying Boat Operational Training Unit in Northern Ireland. In his career Sir John served in five operational Commands at home and overseas and spent time in Training Command as a wing commander at the world famous Central Flying School. Above squadron level he commanded two jet fighter stations and a maritime patrol group; interspersed with various staff appointments including that of Vice Chief of Defence Staff. Sir John has flown over 70 different aircraft types and in the early fifties made the first single-engined jet flight to South Africa from the UK. He died on 10th May 2008.

Known Individual Aircraft of No.269 Sqn RAF :
Type	Serial	Codes	First Flew	Squadron History	Aircrew History	History Notes	Engine	Factory
Spitfire Vb	AB936		-	details	no information	no information	Merlin 45	Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory
Spitfire Vb	AD125		-	details	no information	no information	Merlin 45	Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory
Spitfire Vb	AD253		-	details	no information	no information	Merlin 45	Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory
Spitfire Vb	AD422		-	details	no information	no information	Merlin 45	Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory
Spitfire Vb	BL939		-	details	no information	no information	Merlin 45	Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory
Spitfire Vb	EN823		-	details	no information	no information	Merlin 45	Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory
Spitfire Vb	EP175		-	details	no information	no information	Merlin 45	Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory
Spitfire Vb	P8781		-	details	no information	no information	Merlin 45	Castle Bromwich Aircraft Factory

Aircraft for : No.269 Sqn RAF
A list of all aircraft associated with No.269 Sqn RAF. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Anson Click the name above to see prints featuring Anson aircraft. Manufacturer : Avro Production Began : 1935 Retired : 1968 Number Built : 11020	Anson he Avro Anson originated from the Avro 652 commercial aircraft which first flew on 7th January 1935. It was a twin-engine British-built multi-role aircraft which saw distinctive service with both the Royal Air Force and The Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm as well as The Royal Canadian Air Force during and after the Second World War. The prototype 652A first flew at Woodford on 7th January 1935 and was developed from an initial airliner design and named after Admiral George Anson. The adaptation for a coastal reconnaissance role resulted in the production variant, the Avro 652a, which flew at Woodford on New Years Eve 1935 with the type entering service in March 1936 as the Anson Mk1. Initially it was flown with a 3-man crew but later developments in its reconnaissance role required a 4th crew member. The Anson entered service on 6 March 1936 with 48 Squadron equipped with the Anson. At the start of the Second World War, the RAF had received 824 Ansons and there were 26 RAF squadrons operating the Anson I: 10 with Coastal Command and 16 with Bomber Command. All of the squadrons in Bomber Command in 1939 with Anson Is were operational training squadrons that prepared crews for frontline service. 12 of the squadrons were in No. 6 (Operational Training) Group. Newly formed crews having completed individual flying and technical training were first trained as bomber crews in Ansons and then advanced to the various frontline aircraft types, which were also in the same squadrons with the Ansons. After training in the frontline aircraft type, crews would advance to the frontline bomber squadrons with those aircraft types (Fairey Battle, Bristol Blenheim, Vickers Wellington, Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, and Handley-Page Hampden). At the start of the war, the Lockheed Hudson was beginning to replace the Ansons in Coastal Command with one squadron of Hudsons and one with both Ansons and Hudsons. Limited numbers of Ansons continued to serve in operational roles such as coastal patrols and air/sea rescue. Early in the war, an Anson scored a probable hit on a German U-boat. In June 1940, a flight of three Ansons was attacked by nine Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Remarkably, before the dogfight ended, without losing any of their own, one of the Ansons destroyed two German aircraft and damaged a third. The aircraft's true role, however, was to train pilots for flying multi-engined bombers such as the Avro Lancaster. The Anson was also used to train the other members of a bomber's aircrew, such as navigators, wireless operators, bomb aimers and air gunners. Postwar, the Anson continued in the training and light transport roles. The last Ansons were withdrawn from RAF service with communications units on 28 June 1968. The Royal Australian Air Force operated 1,028 Ansons, mainly Mk Is, until 1955
Hudson Click the name above to see prints featuring Hudson aircraft. Manufacturer : Lockheed Production Began : 1939 Number Built : 2584	Hudson In 1938, the British Purchasing Commission sought an American maritime patrol aircraft and light bomber for the United Kingdom to support the Royal Air Force's Avro Anson. On 10th December 1938, Lockheed produced a modified version of the Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra which was a commercial airliner and the Hudson Mk I went into production. The Hudson was the first significant aircraft construction contract for the Lockhead Aircraft Corporation with the initial RAF order for 200 Hudsons far surpassed any previous order the company had received. By February 1939, Hudsons began to be delivered. A total of 350 Mk I and 20 Mk II Hudsons were supplied in total. These had two fixed Browning machine guns in the nose and two more in a Boulton Paul dorsal turret. Initially the first batch of Hudsons were supplied to No.224 Squadron RAF based at RAF Leuchers in May 1939. By the start of the war in September 78 Hudsons were in service. Not only did the RAF use the Hudson but the Hudson also served throughout the war with Coastal Command and was also used in transport and training roles as well as delivering agents into occupied France. They were also used extensively with the Royal Canadian Air Force wiht their anti-submarine squadrons. They were operated by RAF Special Duties squadrons for clandestine operations, with No.161 Squadron in Europe and No.357 Squadron operating in Burma. During the war, they were used as maritime patrol aircraft in the Pacific by the US Navy, the RAAF and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. A total of 2,584 Hudsons were built. They began to be withdrawn from front line service in 1944. The Hudson provided the basis for the development of the Lockhead Ventura.
Shackleton Click the name above to see prints featuring Shackleton aircraft. Manufacturer : Avro Production Began : 1951	Shackleton The first prototype flew on 9th March 1949. The Shackleton was a development of the famous Avro Lancaster Bomber. and the Shackleton was designed for use for coastal Command. The First RAF squadrons to be equipped with the aircraft were NO. 120 squadron at Kinloss in 1951 followed by another 7 squadrons by 1953. The MR2 mark aircrafts began replacing the mK1's in 1954.. These aircraft saw long service with the last MR3 being retired in 1971 but a Airborne early warning variant joined no 8 squadron in January 1972. Crew: six to ten. Speed: 302 mph. range: 4215 at 200 mph at 1500 feet. Service ceiling 19,200 feet. Armament: two 20mm Hispano cannon in nose, two 20mm Hispano cannon in B.17 dorsal turret. Two .50in machine guns in tail
Warwick Click the name above to see prints featuring Warwick aircraft.	Warwick Full profile not yet available.