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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 1039.PDF
FLIGHT, 18 April 1952 Part Two, 1929-1952 469 By JOHN YOXALL No. 201 SQUADRON R.A.F. The History of a Famous Naval and Coastal Command Unit THE resurgence of No. 201 Squadron in 1929 came about in this manner. In 1922 No. 230 Squadron with some F.5 boats was transferred from Felixstowe to Calshot and amalgamated with the Naval Co-operation Flight already stationed there. The new unit retained the designa tion of No. 230 Squadron and was commanded by S/L. W. B. Callaway. Before the end of 1922 this combined unit was renamed No. 480 Flight and remained so for the next seven years before becoming the nucleus of No. 201 (Flying Boat) Squadron. It was equipped with metal-hulled Supermarine Southamptons. (The earlier Southamptons, as flown by No. 480 Right, had wooden hulls.) Every year in peace-time the annual training programme was carried out, with its cruises, affiliations and coast-defence exercises. Every morning the personnel were transported in the open trucks of the tiny light railway from the living quarters at Eaglehurst down to the slipways at Calshot Spit. Here, with a Martello tower forming part of the office accom modation—a reminder of another threatened invasion of Britain— No. 201 coped with corrosion problems (there was no Aiclad then) and taught a succession of young pilots the an of aerial seaman ship. In 1929 Calshot was very much off the map. If the writer's memory serves correctly, there was not even a bus service between there and Southampton. By arrangement, a special signal was flown from the Martello tower when the Isle of Wight boat was required to slow down while leave parties leapt aboard from a moving pinnace. In the course of the next ten years, No. 201 changed its aircraft only once—from Supermarine Southamptons to Saro Londons— and it was with the Mark 2 London that the unit went to war for the second time, in 1939. It had, however, changed the "Flying Boat" in its official title and substituted "General Recon naissance." There are now no longer any references in squadron badges to the r61e played by the unit. A point of interest in No. 201 Squadron's badge is that the emblazoned copy held by the squadron is one of the very few such badges autographed "Edward R.I." At the outbreak of the war the squadron left Calshot and pro ceeded in six Saro Londons to their war station at Sullon Voe in the Shetlands. In command was W/C. C. H. Cahill, A.F.C., who was also the CO. of No. 100 Wing, of which No. 201 formed part. At the time when Britain's ultimatum to Germany expired, two Londons were on a patrol—F/L. Filson-Young piloting L7041 and F/L. Middleton with L7043. Remote though it was, Sullom Voe soon felt the impact of war. On November 22nd, 1939, six German bombers raided the area, setting fire to London No. L7042, which was at its moorings. Another London was lost in the same month, when Middleton's aircraft, while on patrol along the Norwegian coast, developed a bad oil leak in the port engine. The captain put down success fully on a very rough sea and the crew were taken off nearly two hours later by the destroyer H.M.S. Imperial. Three months later, in February 1940, it became the squadron's turn to do the rescuing. The crew of the S.S. Sea Venture had to abandon ship after being torpedoed and shelled by a U-boat. The arrival of a 201 Squadron London caused the submarine to submerge and the aircraft was able to direct the Lerwick lifeboat to pick up the survivors. In the same month a similar service was performed for the Danish ship Chastine Maersk by S/L. Findlay. Whereas on land the "phoney war" lasted nearly a year, there was no such easy spell at sea, or in the air over the sea. Convoy and anti-submarine patrols were intensively flown and the first recognition of the squadron's work in face of the enemy came in April 1940, when W/C. Cahill was awarded the D.F.C. The squadron had now had their new Sunderlands for a month or so, and were temporarily at Invergordon, returning to Sullom Voe in June. Patrols went steadily on, but on October 29th the Sunderlands struck a bad patch. No. 18 Group gave orders for aircraft to search for a Sunderland of No. 204 Squadron, down on the sea some 200 miles N.N.W. of Cape Wrath. Weather condi tions were exceptionally bad, with a southerly gale of 70 kt and a swell estimated at 60 to 70ft. The search proved fruitless and at 1700 hr F/O. Field, in com mand of one of the Sunderlands, decided to make for Invergordon. Trouble started when the wireless went unserviceable but, by skilful navigation, a landfall on the Butt of Lewis was made an hour later. At this point the weather shut right in, and Field decided to climb to 6,000ft and set course for Invergordon. At his E.T.A. he descended to 2,000ft, only to find land and trees, dimly discernible through mist with the aid of his landing-light. The Sunderland was again taken up to the safe height of 6,000ft. By now the wireless was working once more and a fix was obtained; it put the Sunderland 14 miles west of Wick ! Mean while, the ground defences of what later turned out to be Scapa Flow opened up. The shooting, however, was not good and proved, in the circumstances, to be but a minor annoyance. Plotting the fix, Field set course due east and, after flying for (Left) A formation of No. 201s Supermarine Southamptons circumnavigating the Isle of Wight in 1934. (Right) Aircrews of No. 201 on Calshot beach in February, 1938. Left to right: Sgt. Easton, P/O. N. L Smith, F/O. D. K. Banks, P/O. 0. F. Spotswood, F/L. R. A. McMurtrie, F/S. Burdett, W/C. J. H. 0. Jones (CO.), P/0. A. C. R. Thomson, P/0. P. R. Woodward, P/0. H. J. A. Thewles, F/O. Bennett, Sgt. Briggs (rear) P/O. A. C. W/ncott, PjO. C. S. Thomas, Sgt. Bannister. "Flight" photographs "*-y,..*a» yfl v£"V«
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