No. 136 Squadron RAF was a short-lived RAF unit that saw no action in World War I, but upon reformation became the highest scoring unit in
South East Asia Command
South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during the Second World War.
History Organisation
The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir A ...
during World War II. Shortly after the war the squadron was disbanded.
History
Formation in World War I
No. 136 squadron was formed on 1 April 1918 at
Lake Down, Wiltshire, as a service unit (not a training unit), working up for the
Airco DH.9, using a variety of aircraft.
[Jefford 2001, pp. 107-108.] Following Air Ministry letter C4519 of 4 July of that year, however, it was disbanded, together with 12 other such units. Plans to reinstate the squadron in September as laid out in Air Organisation Memorandum 939 of 13 July 1918 came to nought as Air Organisation Memorandum 999 of 17 August 1918 cancelled these.
World War II
Reformation
The squadron was reformed at
RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
on 20 August 1941 as a fighter squadron, flying
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
s and became operational on 28 September, doing shipping patrols and scrambles. This lasted only one month as the squadron was scheduled to move to the Middle East on 9 November to support Russian forces in the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
and so protecting the vital Middle East oil fields.
On the road to...
En route however the destination was changed to the Far East, following the news of
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...
and the sinking of and . On arrival in India the squadron was redirected to
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, arriving there at
Rangoon in early February 1942. However, because of the fast advance of the Japanese forces it was necessary to withdraw the squadron back to India again, 26 February to
Dum Dum
Dum Dum is a city and a municipality of Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of Kolkata urban area and also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA).
Etymology
During the 19th ...
and a day later
Asansol
Asansol is a (Tier-II) metropolitan city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest and most populated city of West Bengal and the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Ba ...
, and before the squadron had chances to become really operational. Attacks by the Japanese forces and accidents had the squadron with only six flyable Hurricanes left by this time.
India and Burma
Regrouped as an operational squadron on 31 March 1942 around
Alipore
Alipore (Pron:ˌɑ:lɪˈpɔ:) is a neighbourhood in south Kolkata, in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal.
It is flanked by the Tolly Nullah to the north, Bhowanipore to the east, the Diamond Harbour Road to the west and New ...
, still on Hurricanes, the squadron provided convoy patrols and air defence of the
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
area, but in December it began operating detachments over the Burmese front and by the end of the month it moved to
Chittagong
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
to continue these operations from there. Returning to India at
RAF Amarda Road
Amarda Road Airstrip, also known as Rasgovindpur Airstrip is a former wartime airfield located near Rasgovindpur village in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, India. It was used by the Royal Indian Air Force during World War II.
History
The Amar ...
in November 1943 for a training course, the squadron meanwhile had converted to
Spitfire Mk.Vs in October and returned to the Burmese front with them in December 1943.
Ceylon and the Cocos Islands
In January 1944 the Spitfire Mk.Vs went to another unit and were replaced with
Spitfire Mk.VIIIs. In July the squadron moved to
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, flying from
Ratmalana
Ratmalana is a suburb in Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is inside the administration boundary of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. Ratmalana is situated 14.6 km south of Colombo city centre. Ratmalana Airport locat ...
and later from
Minneriya
Minneriya ( Sinhala: මින්නේරිය) is a small town in Sri Lanka that is famous for two things — the great Minneriya lake built by King Mahasen and Minneriya National Park which is a hot spot for safari lovers because of its abun ...
. At the end of March 1945, the Squadron ground echelon had left for the
Cocos Islands
)
, anthem = "''Advance Australia Fair''"
, song_type =
, song =
, image_map = Australia on the globe (Cocos (Keeling) Islands special) (Southeast Asia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
, map_caption = ...
and the squadron's aircraft began flying upon completion of the airstrip there a month later.
[Rawlings 1978, pp. 275-276.]
Malaya
After the Japanese surrender the squadron re-located to
RAF Tengah ''Tengah'' is an Indonesian and Malay word meaning "Central". It can be found in topography, e.g.
*Kalimantan Tengah
*Tengah Islands or Central Archipelago.
*Tengah, Singapore
*Tengah Air Base
The Tengah Air Base is a military airbase of ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
in October and from there went on to
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
in November 1945, where they received
Spitfire Mk.XIVs and where it remained until 8 May 1946, when the squadron embarked for India. Arriving in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, the squadron was disbanded on 8 May 1946 by being renumbered to
No. 152 Squadron RAF.
Aircraft operated
Squadron bases
[Jefford 2001, pp. 63 and 270-271.]
Commanding officers
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
* Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. ''Squadron Codes, 1937-56''. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. .
* Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. ''Combat Codes: A full explanation and listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied air force unit codes since 1938''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. .
* Franks, Norman L.R. ''Hurricanes Over the Arakan''. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1989. .
* Franks, Norman L.R. ''Spitfires Over the Arakan''. William Kimber & Co Ltd., 1988. .
* Franks, Norman L.R. ''The Air Battle of Imphal''. William Kimber & Co Ltd., 1985. .
* Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918-1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. .
* Jacobs, Vivian K. ''The Woodpecker Story''. Durham, UK: The Pentland Press Ltd., 1994. .
* Jefford, C.G. ''RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). .
* Sturtivant, Ray,
ISO
ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization.
ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance
* Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007
* Iso ...
and John Hamlin. ''RAF Flying Training And Support Units since 1912''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2007. .
External links
Squadron history on RafWeb's Air of Authority - A History of RAF OrganisationSquadron history at MOD site
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136
136
Fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II
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Military units and formations established in 1918
1918 establishments in the United Kingdom
Military units and formations disestablished in 1946