Naval History by Country : ROYAL NAVY US NAVY GERMAN NAVY FRENCH NAVY MORE PAGES

ALWAYS GREAT OFFERS : 20% FURTHER PRICE REDUCTIONS ON HUNDREDS OF LIMITED EDITION ART PRINTS BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE ON THOUSANDS OF PAINTINGS AND PRINTS FOR MORE OFFERS SIGN UP TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER

No.62 Sqn RAF

Name : No.62 Sqn RAF Founded : 28th July 1916 Disbanded : 30th September 1964 Country : UK Fate : Disbanded 30th September 1964 More Details : Inseperato - Unexpectedly Known Code Letters : , FX, JO, PT,

No. 62 Squadron was formed at Filton on 8 August 1916, spending almost a year on training duties before being mobilised. The Squadron received Bristol fighters in May 1917 before going to France in January 1918. No. 62 undertook fighter patrols on the Western font for the rest of the war and By the end of the war, No. 62 Squadron was credited with 76 enemy aircraft destroyed and 85 driven out of control The Squadron was disbanded on 31 July 1919. On 3 May 1937, the squadron was reformed at Abingdon from 'B' Flight of No. 40 Squadron, equipped with Hawker Hinds. In February 1938 the squadron re-equipped with Bristol Blenheims. The squadron was posted to Singapore in August 1939 and moved to Alor Star in northern Malaya in February 1940. Japan invaded Malaya on 8 December 1941 and the squadron was evacuated to Butterworth on 9 December. Later that day, an attack on Singora airfield was planned, but Butterworth was attacked by Japanese aircraft when the British force was preparing to take off, with only one Blenheim, piloted by Squadron Leader Arthur Scarf of 62 Squadron getting away, carrying out a single-handed attack on Singora. His Blenheim was heavily damaged by Japanese fighters and anti-aircraft fire, badly injuring Scarf. Despite his injuries, he managed to make a forced landing at Alor Star, saving the rest of his crew. He died in hospital that evening. Scarf was eventually posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions that day. ] Butterworth was heavily damaged by the Japanese attack on 9 December, and the squadron moved again, this time to Taiping, Perak.[ It withdrew again on 19 December, this time to Singapore. Losses, mainly from Japanese attacks on its airfields were heavy, and the squadron re-equipped with Lockheed Hudsons and moved to P2 airfield near Palembang, Sumatra in January 1942. Six 62 Squadron Hudsons took part in attacks against Japanese troopships landing at Endau, Malaya on 26 January, two being shot down by Japanese Ki-27 fighters. The squadron was evacuated from P2 to Java when Japanese paratroops landed at Palembang. The squadron operated closely with those of No. 1 Squadron RAAF, before being disbanded on 20 January 1942, its remaining Hudsons being transferred to 1 Squadron RAAF. On 30 April 1942, the squadron reformed when No. 139 Squadron, equipped with Hudsons and based at Calcutta was renumbered. The squadron was a General Reconnaissance unit, flying coastal reconnaissance and anti-submarine patrols off the coast of Burma. On 18 August, one of the squadron's Hudsons drove off a Japanese flying boat attacking the merchant ship SS Itinda. From January 1943, the squadron concentrated on bombing missions rather than the maritime mission which it had previously. In May that year, it withdrew from front line operations as its Hudsons were modified for the transport role, while in November, before becoming operational, it re-equipped with Douglas Dakotas. The squadron flew in support of British and Commonwealth forces during the Battle of the Admin Box in February 1944 and of Operation Thursday, the second Chindit operation in March. It was heavily deployed in dropping supplies during the Battle of Imphal, continuing to fly through the heavy rains of the Monsoon season. The squadron was withdrawn for operations for rest in August 1944, returning to supply dropping in November, continuing these duties and more general transport flying until the end of the war in August 1945. The squadron disbanded on 15 March 1946 at Mingaladon, near Rangoon (now Yangon), Burma. On 1 September 1946, No. 76 Squadron was renumbered No. 62 and flew Dakotas on medium range services in India. In March 1947 the Squadron became a cadre before being brought up to strength in June and disbanding on 10 August 1947. No. 62 Squadron was reformed at Manston with Dakotas on 8 December 1947 before moving to Waterbeach to take part in the Berlin airlift before the Squadron was disbanded again on 1 June 1949. It was reformed again at Woolfox Lodge on 1 February 1960 as a ground-to-air missile unit before it was disbanded on the 30 September 1964.

Aircraft for : No.62 Sqn RAF
A list of all aircraft associated with No.62 Sqn RAF. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Blenheim Click the name above to see prints featuring Blenheim aircraft. Manufacturer : Bristol Production Began : 1935 Retired : 1956 Number Built : 4422	Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim, the most plentiful aircraft in the RAFs inventory when WWII began, was designed by Frank Barnwell, and when first flown in 1936 was unique with its all metal monoplane design incorporating a retractable undercarriage, wing flaps, metal props, and supercharged engines. A typical bomb load for a Blenheim was 1,000 pounds. In the early stages of the war Blenheims were used on many daylight bombing missions. On the day that war was declared on Germany, a Blenheim piloted by Flying Officer Andrew McPherson was the first British aircraft to cross the German coast and the following morning 15 Blenheims from three squadrons set off on one of the first bombing missions The Blenheim units operated throughout the battle, often taking heavy casualties, although they were never accorded the publicity of the fighter squadrons. The Blenheim units raided German occupied airfields throughout July to December 1940, both during daylight hours and at night. Although most of these raids were unproductive, there were some successes; on 1 August five out of 12 Blenheims sent to attack Haamstede and Evere (Brussels) were able to bomb, destroying or heavily damaging three Bf 109s of II./JG 27 and apparently killing a Staffelkapitän identified as Hauptmann Albrecht von Ankum-Frank. Two other 109s were claimed by Blenheim gunners. Another successful raid on Haamstede was made by a single Blenheim on 7 August which destroyed one 109 of 4./JG 54, heavily damaged another and caused lighter damage to four more. There were also some missions which produced an almost 100% casualty rate amongst the Blenheims. One such operation was mounted on 13 August 1940 against a Luftwaffe airfield near Aalborg in north-western Denmark by 12 aircraft of 82 Squadron. One Blenheim returned early (the pilot was later charged and due to appear before a court martial, but was killed on another operation); the other 11, which reached Denmark, were shot down, five by flak and six by Bf 109s. Blenheim-equipped units had been formed to carry out long-range strategic reconnaissance missions over Germany and German-occupied territories, as well as bombing operations. In this role, the Blenheims once again proved to be too slow and vulnerable against Luftwaffe fighters and they took constant casualties While great heroism was displayed by the air crews, tremendous losses were sustained during these missions. The Blenhiem was easy pickings at altitude for German Bf-109 fighters who quickly learned to attack from below. To protect the vulnerable bellies of the Blenheims many missions were shifted to low altitude, but this increased the aircrafts exposure to anti-aircraft fire. In the German night-bombing raid on London on 18 June 1940, Blenheims accounted for five German bombers, thus proving that they were better-suited for night fighting. In July, No. 600 Squadron, by then based at RAF Manston, had some of its Mk IFs equipped with AI Mk III radar. With this radar equipment, a Blenheim from the Fighter Interception Unit (FIU) at RAF Ford achieved the first success on the night of 2–3 July 1940, accounting for a Dornier Do 17 bomber. More successes came, and before long the Blenheim proved itself invaluable as a night fighter. One Blenheim pilot, Squadron Leader Arthur Scarf, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for an attack on Singora, Thailand, on 9 December 1941. Another bomber of No. 60 Squadron RAF was credited with shooting down Lt Col Tateo Katō's Nakajima Ki-43 fighter and badly damaging two others in a single engagement on 22 May 1942, over the Bay of Bengal. Katō's death was a severe blow to the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force.
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.

Last edited : 22:29, June 26, 2016
Last editor : HMS

No.62 Sqn RAF Artwork

Deadly Partnership - Captain W E Staton and Lieutenant John R Gordon, Bristol F.2b by Ivan Berryman.

Return to Aviation Directory Search Home

Everything we obtain for this site is shown on the site, we do not have any more photos, crew lists or further information on any of the ships. COPYRIGHT NOTICE. ALL IMAGES DISPLAYED ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROTECTED BY  COPYRIGHT  LAW, AND ARE OWNED BY CRANSTON FINE ARTS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.  NO REPRODUCTION OR COPYING ALLOWED ON OTHER WEBSITES, BOOKS OR ARTICLES WITHOUT PRIOR AGREEMENT.