No. 219 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) a ...
was founded in 1918 and disbanded in 1957 after four separate periods of service. During the First World War it served as a coastal defence unit, and through most of the Second World War and the 1950s it operated as a
night fighter
A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...
air defence squadron. Three commanders of the squadron went on to be
Chiefs of the Air Staff, two of the RAF and one of the Royal Pakistani Air Force.
First World War
The squadron was formed in August 1918, by merging No.
442,
555,
556 and
470
__NOTOC__
Year 470 ( CDLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Iordanes (or, less frequently, year 1223 '' ...
Flights. It operated a mixture of aircraft, including
seaplane
A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
s,
Airco DH.9
The Airco DH.9 (from de Havilland 9) – also known after 1920 as the de Havilland DH.9 – was a British single-engined biplane bomber developed and deployed during the First World War.
The DH.9 was a development of Airco's earlier successful ...
bombers, and
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...
fighters, and was responsible for the defence of the
Thames Estuary
The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain.
Limits
An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...
. It was disbanded in early 1920, following the end of the war.
Second World War
It reformed in October 1939, shortly after the outbreak of 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 opposing ...
, operating
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until t ...
s from
RAF Catterick
Royal Air Force Catterick or RAF Catterick is a former Royal Air Force airfield located near Catterick, North Yorkshire in England. It is located alongside the A6055 road on the outskirts of Catterick Village.
Although initially a flying sta ...
. Whilst it was intended to carry out shipping protection missions, it began to be used as a
night fighter
A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...
unit after becoming fully operational in February 1940; in October, it was moved to
RAF Redhill
Redhill Aerodrome is an operational general aviation aerodrome located south-east of Redhill, Surrey, England, in green belt land.
Redhill Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P421) that allows flights for the public transport of ...
, near London, and converted to the
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...
. In December, it moved to
RAF Tangmere
RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, and one of several stations near Chichester, West Sussex. The famous Second World War aces Wing Commander Douglas Bader, a ...
in Sussex, continuing in its operational role.
It moved back to north England in mid 1942, to
RAF Acklington
Royal Air Force Acklington, simply known as RAF Acklington, is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station located south west of Amble, Northumberland and north east of Morpeth, Northumberland.
The airfield was operational initi ...
and later
RAF Scorton; in May 1943, the squadron was transferred to North Africa, where it was dispersed between various ports to provide night fighter defence. In September 1943 it operated a number of aircraft from Sicily, but moved back to the UK in January 1944 to join the newly forming
Second Tactical Air Force
The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces ...
in preparation for the
invasion of Normandy
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Nor ...
. It re-equipped with
de Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or " ...
night fighters, first Mk. 17 and later Mk. 30 models, and flew intruder missions over north-western Europe from
RAF Woodvale
Royal Air Force Woodvale or RAF Woodvale is a Royal Air Force Station located next to the towns of Formby and Ainsdale in an area called Woodvale which is located to the south of Southport, Merseyside. Woodvale was constructed as an all-weath ...
,
RAF Honiley
Royal Air Force Honiley or RAF Honiley is a former Royal Air Force station located in Wroxall, Warwickshire, southwest of Coventry, England.
The station closed in March 1958, and after being used as a motor vehicle test track, it has been su ...
,
RAF Bradwell Bay
Royal Air Force Bradwell Bay or more simply RAF Bradwell Bay is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Maldon, Essex, England and south west of West Mersea, Essex.
History
The central area of the current airfield was first laid do ...
and
RAF Hunsdon
Hunsdon is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. It is around east of Ware and north-west of Harlow. The population of the village taken at the 2011 Census was 1,080.
See also
*Baron Hunsdon
*Hunsdon Airfield
*The Hundred ...
. It moved to bases in France in October 1944, returning to the UK after the end of hostilities in August 1945, and was disbanded in September 1946.
Cold War
The squadron reformed in March 1951 at
RAF Kabrit
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 ...
in the
Suez Canal Zone
The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
, again as a night fighter squadron operating Mosquitoes. In October 1952 it received its first
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered ...
jet fighters, and was fully re-equipped with Meteors by April 1953. The squadron disbanded in September 1954, but was reformed again in September 1955 at
RAF Driffield
Royal Air Force Driffield or RAF Driffield is a former Royal Air Force station in the East Riding of Yorkshire, in England. It lies about south-west of Driffield and north-west of Beverley. It is now operated by the Defence Infrastructure Org ...
, with
de Havilland Venom
The de Havilland DH 112 Venom is a British post-war single-engined jet aircraft developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Much of its design was derived from the de Havilland Vampire, the firm's first jet-powered combat ...
NF.2. After two further years of operating in this role, it was disbanded for the fourth time in mid-1957.
Notable members
Notable members of the unit included:
*
Richard Atcherley
Air Marshal Sir Richard Llewellyn Roger Atcherley, (12 January 1904 – 18 April 1970) was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Pakistan Air Force from 1949 to 1951.
Early life
Richard Atcherley and ...
, later
Chief of the Air Staff of the
Royal Pakistani Air Force, who commanded the squadron on its formation in 1939.
*
Archie Boyd
Wing Commander Archibald Douglas McNeill Boyd, (20 June 1918 – 4 April 2014) was a Royal Air Force officer and flying ace of the Second World War, and a businessman.
Early life
Boyd was born on 20 June 1918, in Sheffield, England. He was ed ...
, DSO, DFC. Commanded the squadron in 1943 and was a flying ace with 10 aerial victories.
*
John Grandy
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Grandy, (8 February 1913 – 2 January 2004) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He was the only officer who fought and commanded a squadron during the Battle of Britain to reach the post of Chief ...
, later
Chief of the Air Staff, who briefly commanded the squadron in 1940.
*
Thomas Pike
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Thomas Geoffrey Pike, (29 June 1906 – 1 June 1983) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served in the Second World War as a night fighter squadron commander and then as a station commander. He was ...
, later
Chief of the Air Staff, who commanded the squadron in 1941.
*
John Topham, DFC and Bar. He was officially credited with 13 German bombers destroyed, at least five of which were shot down whilst serving with the squadron.
*
Peter Williamson, DFC and Bar. He was officially credited with nine German aircraft destroyed, at least four of which were shot down whilst serving with the squadron.
*Douglas Alfred Oxby, DSO, DFC, DFM and Bar. 'Douggie' Oxby was a night fighter Nav/Rad (1941-45). He was involved in the destruction of 13 enemy aircraft whilst flying Bristol Beaufighters with 68 & 89 squadrons in North Africa & Malta. Following a 'rest' period as a NF instructor (1943) in early 1944 he was posted to 219 at Bradwell Bay & crewed with the squadron's CO W/Cdr Peter Wilfrith Green DFC. 219 had only recently converted from Beaufighters to Mk XXX NF Mosquitoes & Oxby/Green used their 'new tools' to great effect becoming one of the most successful night fighter crews of 2 TAF over NW Europe. By the wars end Oxby had assisted in the destruction of 22 e/a & had earned four gallantry medals. This was quite an achievement for a young solicitor's clerk from Canton Cardiff who had originally enlisted in the RAF in 1941 aged 20, as a lowly AC2 aircraftsman. At 25 he held the rank of Wing Commander & was the highest-scoring Allied night fighter navigator of the Second World War.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Official history of No. 219 Squadron RAF.
{{RAF squadrons
Military units and formations established in 1918
219 Squadron
RAF squadrons involved in the Battle of Britain
1918 establishments in the United Kingdom
Military units and formations disestablished in 1957