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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0302.PDF
304 FLIGHT Lord Trenchard opening the Town H.Q. of No. 604 Squadron in 1934. A BRIGHT SWORD SHEATHED . . . two interesting policy changes occurred affecting the A.A.F. Asalready mentioned, all its squadrons were put on a chiefly volun- teer basis, each having a small cadre of regulars; and the "specialreserve" squadrons were absorbed by the A.A.F. between 1936 and 1937. Secondly, when the R.A.F. in 1936 was re-alignedinto three operational commands and one training command, the A.A.F. came under Fighter Command instead of (as before) underthe Air Defence of Great Britain organization. The three addi- tional squadrons were Nos. 609 (West Riding); 610 (County ofChester) and 611 (West Lancashire). They were all inaugurated on February 10 and equipped with Hawker Harts, No. 611 inaddition having Fairey Battle Is. Similarly, three squadrons were started the following year,coming into existence on June 1, 1937. These were Nos. 612 (County of Aberdeen), 614 (County of Glamorgan) and 615(County of Surrey). The first two started with Hawker Hinds and No. 615 with Gloster Gauntlets and Gladiators. The last two A.A.F. squadrons—making up the total to 20—were formed in 1938 and 1939. These were Nos. 616 (South Yorkshire), formed on November 1, 1938, on the basis of whathad been No. 503 (County of Lincoln) Sqn., and equipped widi Hawker Hinds; and No. 613 (City of Manchester), which wasmentioned earlier in this article and started life on March 1,1939, and was also equipped with Hawker Hinds. Thus by early 1939, the A.A.F. was at full strength in terms offlying squadrons and in addition Auxiliary balloon squadrons had been formed and numbered 47 by the outbreak of war. During the late 1920s and the 1930s all the flying squadrons(excepting, perhaps, the two most recently formed, which did not have much chance to get going before the war) had got intooperational trim through regular weekend training, public dis- plays and two-week summer camps. They had also strengthenedtheir local associations, and there were many occasions when new squadron aircraft were given an impressive civic launching. With the outbreak of war, however, entry to the A.A.F. wasstopped and all recruitment channelled into the R.A.F. The squadrons therefore began to lose their local character as theyembodied personnel with no local links, though traditional asso- ciations were maintained as far as wartime conditions allowed. Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) as Honorary Air Commodore of No. 600 (City of London) Squadron, at Biggin Hill on the occasion of her inspection of the squadron in October 1949. The aircraft are Vickers-Supermanne Spitfire 2h and 22s (Ro//s-Royce Griffon). It was in the Battle of Britain that the Auxiliary Air Forceachieved its greatest glory, several of its squadrons playing a decisive part in the daylight defeat of the Luftwaffe. Many ofthe "weekend pilots" distinguished themselves in air fighting, among them Boyd of No. 602, M'Kellar of 602 and 605, Churchillof 605, J. G. Dundas of 609 and H. S. L. Dundas of 616. And who has written more penetratingly of the powerful impact of sucha vivid conflict on a young man's personality than Richard Hillary of No. 603 in his book The Last Enemy War also brought about other changes in the A.A.F. squadrons.Some transferred from single-engine fighters to Beaunghters and Mosquitoes; they moved from this country—where their originalfunction had been home defence—to the Middle East, operating with the Desert Air Force from Libya and then from Italianbases, or to the Far East. Gradually their first "yeomanry" character was lost in the mobile requirements of a global war.But with victory there came two alterations in A.A.F. status. The first was that in 1946 its squadrons were withdrawn fromactive service and then reformed on their original territorial basis. The intention was that some of the twenty were to be nightfighter squadrons and the others light bomber; but all eventually —as they had been at the outset of the war—became fightersquadrons. (With one exception; for an Auxiliary transport squad- ron—No. 622—was founded by Airwork, Ltd., in November 1950.But it was disbanded some four years later.) The other change was that on December 16, 1947, King George VI bestowed thetitle "Royal" on the A.A.F. for its contribution to victory. This distinction could not have been more finely earned. It may seem tardy to make a first mention, at this stage, of theR.N.V.R. Air Squadrons; but chronology, not discourtesy, dic- tates it since the first of these squadrons was not formed until1947 when the R.Aux.A.F. had already won its spurs in battle and gained its Royal title. Even in its brief history, however, theyoung air branch of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve has already shown its skill and mettle. The first four of the eleven squadrons which it achieved up tothe time of disbandment this weekend were formed in the summer of 1947. These were Nos. 1832 (at Culham, near Abingdon,Berks); 1831 (Stretton, near Warrington, Lanes); 1830 (Abbots- inch, Renfrewshire); and 1833 (Bramcote, near Nuneaton, War-wickshire). 1832 was the first squadron of Naval weekend fliers to train afloat, when in July 1949 it joined the aircraft carrierImplacable for fourteen days. In the same year, 1830 Squadron was awarded the Boyd Trophy (the Fleet Air Arm's annual awardfor the year's finest feat of Naval aviation) for making 205 deck landings with only one minor accident. In 1951, No. 1840 Squadron was formed at Culham and shortlyafterwards moved to R.N.A.S. Ford (near Arundel, Sussex); and in the following year the R.N.V.R. squadrons flew a total of9,943 hr, which was an increase of 40 per cent over their flying figures for the previous twelve months. Initially, these squadronswere equipped with Supermarine Seafires and Fairey Fireflies. It was in 1952 also that the R.N.V.R. Air Branch was re-organized on its present basis. Four Air Divisions were consti- tuted and the following year a fifth—the Midland Air Division—was formed. This was at Bramcote, with Nos. 1833 and 1844 Squadrons, while the other Divisions were Channel (at Ford, withNos. 1840 and 1842); Southern (Benson, 1832, 1835 and 1836); Northern (Stretton, 1831, 1841); and Scottish (Abbotsinch, 1830and 1843). Clearly, in the opinion of the Admiralty, the young R.N.V.R. Air Division had quickly proved its worth. As with the R.Aux.A.F., R.N.V.R. air branch training wascarried out with keenness and regularity all through the year, with a period of continuous training each summer, often at overseasbases in Malta, Germany and Holland. And in 1953 and 1954 the squadrons had a chance to show what they could do ontwo Royal occasions. The first was during the Coronation Review fly-past at Spit-head, when R.N.V.R. squadrons made up about one-fifth of the Fleet Air Arm aircraft taking part. On the second—the 50thanniversary review of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve—the squadrons had the stage to themselves and nearly a hundred air-craft, drawn equally from twelve squadrons (including No. 1834, formed at Yeovilton in 1953 as part of the Southern Air Divisionbut disbanded some two years later) took part. This was the first time the reserve squadrons had combined in such an operation. It would not be right, nor accurate, to conclude this brief saluteto the great history and traditions of the R.Aux.A.F. and the R.N.V.R. Air Division without mentioning the non-flying unitsof the R.Aux.A.F. and the splendid part they have played and (in some few cases) can continue to play. For when the AuxiliaryAir Force was re-formed a number of Fighter Control Units and Radar Reporting Units were founded, too, and (in 1947 and 1948)some light anti-aircraft R.Aux.A.F. Regiment squadrons, which were subsequently (in 1955) changed to field squadrons. In 1949.Air Observation Post Squadrons were established, the aircraft of their flights being flown by Territorial Army pilots andmaintained by the R.Aux.A.F. Now, under the present defence policy, only some of the Fighter
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