No. 692 Squadron RAF was a light bomber squadron of the

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 ...

during the

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 ...

History

The squadron was formed on 1 January 1944 at

RAF Graveley RAF Graveley is a former Royal Air Force station located south of Huntingdon. The station was originally intended to operate under No. 3 Group RAF, alongside RAF Tempsford and RAF Gransden Lodge. Station history Work on the site started in 1 ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...

as a light bomber unit, equipped with Mosquito Mk.IV bombers, as part of the

Light Night Striking Force The Pathfinders were target-marking squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II. They located and marked targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing. The Pathfinders were norma ...

No. 8 Group RAF No. 8 Group was a Royal Air Force group which existed during the final year of the First World War and during the Second World War. First World War No. 8 Group was formed in April 1918 as a training unit and designated 8 Group (Training). It r ...

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

. It re-equipped with Mosquito Mk.XVI bombers from March 1944 and by June 1944 the squadron had completely switched over to the newer variant. It was the first squadron to carry 4,000 lb bombs in Mosquitos, used in an attack on

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

. The squadron was also the first Mosquito unit to carry out minelaying operations. Most operations were at low level, including one mission when the squadron dropped 4,000 lb bombs into the mouth of tunnels in the Ardennes. At the end of the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

the squadron was disbanded on 20 September 1945 at

RAF Gransden Lodge 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 ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

. The squadron had carried out 3,237 operational sorties (though one source claims a far lower number of sorties, 1,457) for the loss of 17 aircraft.

Aircraft operated

Commanding officers

Squadron Airfields

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

No. 692 Squadron RAF movement and equipment history

History of No. 692 Squadron

{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 692 Squadron Raf 692 Squadron Bomber squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945