No. 502 (Ulster) Squadron was a

Royal Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

that saw service in

World War II 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 ...

. It was reformed in September 2013, and is the oldest of all the reserve squadrons, being formed in 1925.

History

Formation and early years

No. 502 squadron was originally formed on 15 May 1925 as No. 502 (Bomber) Squadron, a Special Reserve squadron at

RAF Aldergrove Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove or more simply JHC FS Aldergrove is located south of Antrim, Northern Ireland and northwest of Belfast and adjoins Belfast International Airport. It is sometimes referred to simply as Alde ...

, and it was composed of a mixture of regular and reserve personnel. On 1 December 1925 the name No. 502 (Ulster) Squadron was adopted. The squadron operated in the heavy night bomber role and as such it was initially equipped with

Vickers Vimy The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft developed and manufactured by Vickers Limited. Developed during the latter stages of the First World War to equip the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the Vimy was designed by Reginald Kirshaw "Rex" ...

s from June 1925, re-equipping with

Handley Page Hyderabad The Handley Page H.P.24 Hyderabad was a twin-engine biplane heavy bomber designed and produced by the United Kingdom, British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page. It holds the distinction of being the last wooden heavy bomber to be operated by ...

s in July 1928.

Vickers Virginia The Vickers Virginia was a biplane heavy bomber of the British Royal Air Force, developed from the Vickers Vimy. Design and development Work on the Virginia was started in 1920, as a replacement for the Vimy. Two prototypes were ordered on 13 ...

s arrived in December 1931, but in October 1935 the squadron was transferred to the day bomber role for which it received

Westland Wallace The Westland Wallace was a British two-seat, general-purpose biplane of the Royal Air Force, developed by Westland as a follow-on to their successful Wapiti. As the last of the interwar general purpose biplanes, it was used by a number of frontl ...

Hawker Hind The Hawker Hind was a British light bomber of the inter-war years produced by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force. It was developed from the Hawker Hart day bomber introduced in 1931. Design and development An improved Hawker Hart bomber d ...

s arriving in April 1937. Shortly after this, on 1 July 1937, it was transferred to the

Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...

, the Special Reserve being disbanded.

In Coastal Command

Whitley Mk VII crew Aug 1942 IWM CH 7048

On 28 November 1938, No. 502 (Ulster) Squadron became part of

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

, and was re-equipped with

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...

s in January 1939. When war broke out, the squadron was used to fly patrols in the Atlantic off the Irish Coast. From October 1940, the Squadron flew with

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the Second World ...

s. It was reported that on 30 November 1941 the squadron became the first Coastal Command unit to make a successful attack on a U-boat with air-to-surface radar, sinking U-Boat

U-206 German submarine ''U-206'' was a Type VIIC U-boat of the '' Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 17 June 1940 by the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft yard at Kiel as yard number 635, launched on 4 April 1941 and comm ...

in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

. This report has been countered with newer information that the U-206 was more probably sunk by the minefield, "Beech," laid there by the British after August 1940, and that the squadron's attack was actually on U-71, which escaped without loss. In January 1942 the squadron officially moved to both Norfolk (

RAF Docking 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 ...

) and Cornwall, where a maintenance station was set up at

RAF St Eval Royal Air Force St. Eval or RAF St. Eval was a Royal Air Force station for the RAF Coastal Command, southwest of Padstow in Cornwall, England, UK. St Eval's primary role was to provide anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols off the south wes ...

. Until 1944 the squadron's main role was to carry anti-submarine patrols. In January 1943 conversion to Halifax GR.Mk.IIs began, the first patrol by this type being flown on 12 March. In addition to anti-submarine patrols, now also attacks on enemy shipping off the French coast were made. In September 1944 with the French coast back in Allied hands, the squadron moved to Scotland at

RAF Stornoway Royal Air Force Station Stornoway or more simply RAF Stornoway is a former Royal Air Force station near the burgh of Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis, in the Western Isles of Scotland. No. 112 Signals Unit Stornoway was also part of the RAF's ...

to carry out attacks on German shipping off the Norwegian coast, remaining there until the end of the war. It was disbanded on 25 May 1945.

Into the jet age

With the reactivation of the Auxiliary Air Force, No. 502 was reformed on 10 May 1946, again at RAF Aldergrove, but now as a light bomber squadron, equipped with Mosquito B.25s from July 1946. In December night fighter Mosquitoes replaced the bombers, but in June 1948 the units of the by now

all converted to the day fighter role, 502 receiving Spitfire F.22s for the purpose. Jet conversion began in January 1951 with the arrival of Vampire FB.5s, which were supplemented by FB.9s in July 1954. The squadron continued to fly both types until, along with all the flying units of the RAuxAF, it was disbanded on 10 March 1957.

Reformation at Aldergrove

It was confirmed in September 2013 that No. 502 (Ulster) Squadron has reformed at Aldergrove Flying Station. As a general Squadron its mission is to provide fully trained Royal Auxiliary Air Force personnel, across a wide spectrum of roles, to support current and future worldwide commitments. No. 502 is the oldest of the reserve squadrons, having been formed in 1925, and in 2019, a new standard was awarded to the squadron as the old standard had been awarded in 1939 and was worn out.

Aircraft operated

Squadron bases

Commanding officers

Notable personnel

Clive Beadon Wing Commander Clive Vernon Beadon (15 April 1919 – 14 September 1996) was a British dowser, diplomat, and officer in the Royal Air Force. Biography Clive Vernon Beadon was born on 15 April 1919 in Coonoor, British India, the son of a Briti ...

* John Burrough (rower), killed 26 November 1944. *

William Maxfield (cyclist) William Wallace Maxfield (1916–1943) was a male cyclist who competed for England. During his years of competition he was known as Bill Maxfield. Cycling career Maxfield represented England and won a gold medal in the 10 miles scratch race at t ...

, killed 27 December 1943. *Michael Oser Weizmann, son of

Chaim Weizmann Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israel ...

, who was shot down and reported missing in 1942.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * . (New edition in 1992 by Crécy Publishing, .) * (second edition 2001) * (new edition 1976) * * (new edition 1976, reprinted 1978)

External links

502 Squadron history on RAF site

Ulster Aviation Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 502 Squadron Raf

502 __NOTOC__ Year 502 ( DII) was a common 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 Avienus and Probus (or, less frequently, year 1255 ' ...

Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II Military units and formations established in 1925 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Military units and formations established in 1946 Military units and formations disestablished in 1957 Military of Northern Ireland Military history of Northern Ireland 1925 establishments in the United Kingdom