No. 172 Squadron RAF was a

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

anti-submarine squadron that operated the

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its g ...

equipped with the Leigh Light.

History

Vickers Wellington at Lajes - Royal Air Force Coastal Command - No

The squadron was formed on 4 April 1942 at

RAF Chivenor Royal Air Force Chivenor or RAF Chivenor was a Royal Air Force station located on the northern shore of the River Taw estuary, on the north coast of Devon, England. The nearest towns are Barnstaple and Braunton. Originally a civil airfield opene ...

from No. 1417 (Leigh Light) Flight, and was part of 19 Group, Coastal Command. The squadron had been formed to continue the work of the development flight to use the new Leigh Light in conjunction with ASV radar on anti-submarine patrols. The Leight Light was a powerful (22 million candles) searchlight used to illuminate the surface of the sea and any submarines caught on the surface. It operated from bases such as Malta, Gibraltar and the Azores to exploit the new invention and it was also used to attack surface vessels. The squadron re-equipped with the Wellington Mark XIII and the rate of sorties increased, although the aircraft losses also increased as they were hunted by German night-fighters in the Western Approaches. The Wellington Mk XIII and later XII and XIV have been described as 'the prototype for AWACS' and 172 squadron is renowned for being the first to attack a

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

at night using the combination of ASV and the Leigh Light. This first attack came on 4 June 1942. The Italian submarine ''Luigi Torelli'' was crossing the Bay of Biscay on its way from La Pallice to the West Indies. At the same time a Wellington Mk VIII of 172 Squadron ('F' for Freddie), piloted by Squadron Leader

Jeaffreson Herbert Greswell Air Commodore Jeaffreson Herbert Greswell, (28 July 1916 – 19 November 2000) was a British pilot during the Second World War and a senior Royal Air Force officer in the post-war years. As an air commodore, Greswell served as the eleventh Comma ...

, was patrolling in the area. At just after 1.27 am the submarine was detected. Greswell made his approach, and turned on the light. It operated exactly as hoped. The Italian submarine was identified and its location confirmed. The submarine commander, unaware of the new weapon, remained on the surface while Greswell made his attack. Four depth charges straddled the submarine, which was badly damaged, although not sunk. The submarine was forced to run for safety in neutral Spain, reaching Santander by 8 June (despite two more attacks by RAF

Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East ...

s). The first confirmed kill by 172 squadron came a month later, on 5 July, when a Wellington piloted by P/O Wiley B. Howell in 'H' for Harry, one of many Americans who had joined the RAF, sank ''U-502'' in the Bay of Biscay. As the invasion of France became nearer the squadron concentrated on operations over the western-end of the English Channel. Following the invasion of France the squadron moved to

RAF Limavady Royal Air Force Limavady or more simply RAF Limavady is a former Royal Air Force station, also known as Aghanloo airfield, near the city of Derry, Northern Ireland. History The station was built in 1940 during the Second World War. The airfield ...

in Northern Ireland to counter the U-boat threat in the North Atlantic. Following VE-Day the squadron was disbanded at Limavady on 4 June 1945.

Aircraft operated

Bases used

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

{{RAF squadrons

172 Year 172 ( CLXXII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scipio and Maximus (or, less frequently, year 925 '' Ab urbe condita ...