No. 543 Squadron RAF was a photographic reconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force, active in two periods between 1942 and 1974.

History

The squadron was formed on 19 October 1942 at RAF Benson as a photo-reconnaissance unit with the

Supermarine Spitfire 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 Grif ...

. A detachment was stationed at RAF St Eval, Cornwall to carry out reconnaissance flights over France. The rest of the squadron carried out operational training. On 18 October 1943 the squadron was disbanded. On 24 September 1955 the squadron was reformed at

RAF Gaydon Royal Air Force Gaydon or more simply RAF Gaydon is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Wellesbourne, Warwickshire and north west of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. RAF Gaydon opened in 1942 and is known for its role during the ...

to operate the

Vickers Valiant The Vickers Valiant was a British high-altitude jet bomber designed to carry nuclear weapons, and in the 1950s and 1960s was part of the Royal Air Force's "V bomber" strategic deterrent force. It was developed by Vickers-Armstrongs in response ...

for reconnaissance duties. It moved to RAF Wyton in November 1955.. The squadron's official war role was to carry out pre- and post-strike reconnaissance in support of the RAF's nuclear-armed

V-bomber The "V bombers" were the Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft during the 1950s and 1960s that comprised the United Kingdom's strategic nuclear strike force known officially as the V force or Bomber Command Main Force. The three models of strategic ...

s, although the post-strike bomb damage assessment mission was soon abandoned as impracticable in a nuclear war... The squadron carried out frequent long-range survey flights, including mapping Thailand in 1959 and 1961 in Operation ''Segment'', and surveying

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

, Southern Rhodesia and Bechuanaland (now Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana respectively) in 1964 in Operation ''Pontifex''... Other photo survey duties were carried out to aid relief efforts following natural disasters, with Valiants despatched to survey the damage following the

1960 Agadir earthquake The 1960 Agadir earthquake occurred 29 February at 23:40 Western European Time near the city of Agadir, located in western Morocco on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the earthquake's moderate scale magnitude of 5.8, its relatively shal ...

and mapped British Honduras in December 1961 following the devastating Hurricane Hattie.. The squadron also carried out Maritime Reconnaissance over the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

, Norwegian and Barents Seas.. In 1964, the Valiant developed metal fatigue problems, with one of the squadron's Valiants was found to have a cracked wing spar in July 1964 during Operation ''Pontifex''. Inspection of the squadron's aircraft in October 1964 found that only two of eight were fit for further service. The RAF's Valiant fleet, including No. 543's aircraft, were grounded on 26 January 1965.. The squadron re-equipped with the Handley Page Victor in 1965, receiving its first Victor B(SR)2 on 19 May 1965 and reaching its full strength of eight aircraft by April 1966.. The squadron's Victors increasingly concentrated on the Maritime Radar Reconnaissance role, as photographic duties could be carried out for less money by the RAF's English Electric Canberras, but the Victors' cameras were retained until 1974. The squadron had a secondary role of air sampling This involved flying through plumes of airborne contamination and using onboard equipment to collect fallout released from French and Chinese nuclear tests for later analysis at the

Atomic Weapons Research Establishment The Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence research facility responsible for the design, manufacture and support of warheads for the UK's nuclear weapons. It is the successor to the Atomic Weapons Research ...

at Aldermaston.. The squadron also found time to enter two Victors in the May 1969

Daily Mail Trans-Atlantic Air Race The Daily Mail Trans-Atlantic Air Race was a race between London, UK and New York City, USA to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the first trans-atlantic crossing by John Alcock and Arthur Brown. The race Organised by the ''Daily Mail'' newsp ...

. It was disbanded on 24 May 1974 at RAF Wyton..

Aircraft operated

Commanding Officers

Squadron Bases

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

543 Squadron Aircrew Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 543 Squadron Raf Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II 543 Squadron Reconnaissance units and formations of the Royal Air Force Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1974