No. 129 (Mysore) Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron active in World War II.

World War I

Like a number of others, No. 129 was first created in the latter months of the First World War as a day bomber unit based at

RAF Duxford Duxford Aerodrome is located south of Cambridge, within the civil parish of Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England and nearly west of the village. The airfield is owned by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and is the site of the Imperial War Muse ...

. It never became operational due to the Armistice.

World War II

No. 129 Squadron was reformed on 16 June 1941 at

RAF Leconfield Royal Air Force Leconfield or more simply RAF Leconfield is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leconfield (near Beverley), East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The site is now used by the MoD Defence School of Transport Leconfield or D ...

equipped with

Spitfires The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

. As a result of the Indian government raising large sums of money through its sale of War Bonds a number of squadrons within the RAF were given names of Indian cities and provinces in recognition of this. No. 129 became No. 129 (Mysore) Squadron being named after

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

province in southwest India. The squadron's badge, the Ghunda Berunda of Mysore, also reflects this association. After spending August 1942 providing bomber escort and undertaking offensive sweeps over France the squadron moved to

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

in Northern

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

to provide local air defence. The squadron returned south in February 1943 undertaking anti-shipping and escort missions. 129 Squadron became part of the

2nd Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, ...

in June 1943 converting to the

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

in April 1944 in time for

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

. After forming part of the 133 (Polish) Wing for D-Day the squadron returned to

RAF Brenzett Royal Air Force Brenzett or more simply RAF Brenzett was a Royal Air Force Advanced Landing Ground close to the village of Brenzett near Romney Marsh in Kent during the Second World War. It was used as an airfield in 1944 for the Mustang Wing ...

where it undertook anti

V-1 V1, V01 or V-1 can refer to version one (for anything) (e.g., see version control) V1, V01 or V-1 may also refer to: In aircraft * V-1 flying bomb, a World War II German weapon * V1 speed, the maximum speed at which an aircraft pilot may abort ...

activities. With a move to East Anglia in late 1944 the squadron provided long range fighter cover for

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

s daylight raids. The squadron spent from June to December 1945 in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

converting back to Spitfires. At

RAF Church Fenton Royal Air Force Church Fenton or RAF Church Fenton was a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south east of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England and north west of Selby, North Yorkshire, near the village of Church Fenton. The station wa ...

on 1 September 1946 the squadron was renumbered to No. 257 Squadron.

References

External links

No. 129 Squadron (RAF): Second World War
{{Royal Air Force 129 129