Coastal Command Anti U-Boat Devices School RAF is a former training school 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 ...

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 ...

which was operational from 1940 until 1945 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 ...

. The Coastal Command Anti U-Boat Devices School RAF was formed on 20 April 1945 at

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 ...

operating the Vickers Wellington GR Mk.VIII until August 1945 still at Limavady. The unit had several different identities beforehand.

History

The School was initially No. 7 Operational Training Unit which was formed on 15 June 1940 at

RAF Hawarden 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) an ...

operating a variety of aircraft including

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 ...

s and

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Hi ...

s. The unit was initially disbanded on 1 November 1940 to become No. 57 OTU but was reformed on 1 April 1942 at Limavady as No. 7 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit using

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 ...

s and

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. The OTU was disbanded on 16 May 1944 at

RAF Haverfordwest Royal Air Force Haverfordwest or more simply RAF Haverfordwest is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire and south of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was operational between 1943 and 1945 and was c ...

and became No. 4 Refresher Flying Unit. No. 4 Refresher Flying Unit was a short lived unit formed at Haverfordwest on 16 May 1944 flying Wellingtons but was disbanded at

RAF Mullaghmore Royal Air Force Mullaghmore or more simply RAF Mullaghmore is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of Ballymoney, County Antrim, Northern Ireland and northeast of Garvagh, County Londonderry. History It was a United States Army ...

on 5 October 1944 to become the Loran Training Unit. The U.S.-built

LORAN LORAN, short for long range navigation, was a hyperbolic radio navigation system developed in the United States during World War II. It was similar to the UK's Gee system but operated at lower frequencies in order to provide an improved range u ...

navigation system was at that time entering service with Coastal Command. The Loran Training Unit was formed at Mullaghmore flying Wellingtons on 5 October 1944 but was disbanded on 20 April 1945 to become the Coastal Command Anti U-Boat Devices School RAF.

References

Bibliography

* {{RAF Operational Training units Training establishments of the Royal Air Force Military units and formations disestablished in 1945