No. 234 Squadron RAF
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

No. 234 Squadron RAF had a long career within the RAF, being operational on flying boats in World War I and on fighter aircraft in World War II. After the war it remained a fighter unit till 1957. In its last incarnation the squadron was in turn Operational Training Unit (OTU), Tactical Weapon Unit (TWU) and part of
No. 4 Flying Training School RAF No. 4 Flying Training School is a Royal Air Force military flying training school, which manages Advanced Fast Jet Training (AFJT) from its base at RAF Valley in Anglesey, Wales. Its role is to provide fast jet aircrew to the Operational Convers ...
until finally disbanded in 1994.


History


Formation and World War I

No. 234 Squadron RAF was officially formed on 20 August 1918 at RNAS Tresco in the Scilly Isles from No. 350, 351, 352 and 353 Flights, which had been equipped with amongst others Felixstowe F3's and
Curtiss H.12 The Curtiss Model H was a family of classes of early long-range flying boats, the first two of which were developed directly on commission in the United States in response to the £10,000 prize challenge issued in 1913 by the London newspaper, t ...
aircraft since February 1917. The squadron used these to patrol the Western Approaches of the English Channel and gained two
DSCs The Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) is a United States Space Force satellite constellation that provides the United States with military communications to support globally distributed military users. Beginning in 2007, DSCS is be ...
, one
DSM DSM or dsm may refer to: Science and technology * Deep space maneuver * Design structure matrix or dependency structure matrix, a representation of a system or project * Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ** DSM-5, the fifth e ...
and a CGM in doing that. The unit flew its last World War I mission on 10 November 1918 and was disbanded half a year later at Tresco on 15 May 1919.Jefford 2001, p. 77.


In World War II

The squadron was reformed on 30 October 1939 at RAF Leconfield, initially equipped with three Magisters, a Battle and three biplane Gauntlets, soon to be followed by some Blenheims Mk.Ifs, which were used flying on coastal patrols until March 1940. It then began to re-equip with
Spitfires 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 Griff ...
and moved to RAF Church Fenton in May 1940 when becoming operational. In June 1940 the squadron moved to RAF St Eval in Cornwall where it was based before and after the date regarded historically as the start of the Battle of Britain, 10 July. Here the unit's main duties were patrols, scrambles and convoy protection. On 15 August 234 Squadron was posted to RAF Middle Wallop, a part of No. 10 Group RAF flying in defence of Portsmouth, Southampton and other targets along the south coast. As there were fewer raids along the south coast than in the south east, about two thirds of patrols, scrambles and interceptions undertaken were flown in support of
No. 11 Group RAF No. 11 Group is a group in the Royal Air Force first formed in 1918. It had been formed and disbanded for various periods during the 20th century before disbanding in 1996 and reforming again in 2018. Its most famous service was in 1940 in the Ba ...
, as far as Kent. The squadron achieved a number of victories, including those of its inspirational force, high scoring Australian Pat Hughes and those of two long-surviving members of
The Few The Few were the airmen of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the aviators of the Fleet Air Arm, Royal Navy (RN) who fought the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. The term comes from Winston Churchill's phrase "Never was so much owed by so ma ...
, Bob Doe and Keith Lawrence. On the afternoon of 7 September the Luftwaffe made its first heavy daylight raid on London. 234 Squadron was amongst those scrambled to intercept the enemy bomber force as it retired; during the engagement, the squadron lost both Pat Hughes and its CO, Squadron Leader O'Brien. Two days later, the squadron was posted back to its old base at St Eval to be rested, receive replacement aircraft and train new pilots being posted in from OTUs – Operational Training Units; the squadron had lost 18 Spitfires in 4 weeks fighting. During 1941 and 1942 the squadron was operating from various bases in the south and carried out both offensive and defensive duties but in January 1943 it was transferred to
Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
, flying at first from RAF Grimsetter with a detachment at
RAF Sumburgh Royal Air Force Sumburgh or more simply RAF Sumburgh is a former Royal Air Force satellite station that was located on the southern tip of the mainland island of the Shetland Islands, and was home to half of No. 404 Squadron RCAF (Royal Canadia ...
, and later from RAF Skeabrae." Six months later the squadron returned to the South of England, firstly at RAF Church Stanton, and was soon operating over France again in preparation for
Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...
, the forthcoming Allied invasion of Normandy. On
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
it was equipped with the Spitfire V LF operating from RAF Deanland as part of Air Defence of Great Britain, though under the operational control of RAF Second Tactical Air Force.Delve, p. 137. After D-Day the squadron converted to North American Mustang Mk.IIIs, which it used to provide long-range bomber escort missions from RAF North Weald and after December 1944 from RAF Bentwaters. On 1 May 1945 the squadron was moved to RAF Peterhead to provide a similar service to the RAF Coastal Command strike wings operating along the Norwegian coast, having received some additional new North American Mustang Mk.IVs (the RAF version of the P-51D Mustang) by this time.")


Post-war era: from Spitfires to jets

With the end of the war, the squadron reverted to
Spitfire Mk.IX The British Supermarine Spitfire was facing several challenges by mid-1942. The debut of the formidable Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in late 1941 had caused problems for RAF fighter squadrons flying the latest Spitfire Mk Vb. Rolls-Royce engineers wer ...
s and was retained as part of the post-war RAF. Jets arrived in February 1946, when Meteor F.3s replaced the Spitfires, but on 1 September the squadron was disbanded by being renumbered to
No. 266 Squadron RAF No. 266 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. History First World War The squadron was formed from Nos 437 and 438 Flights at Mudros, Greece on 27 September 1918 to carry out anti-submarine patrols in that area, flying Sh ...
. The squadron reformed at
Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...
on 1 August 1952 in the ground attack role, equipped with Vampires FB.5 and FB.9s. In November 1953 it returned to the day fighter role when it began to receive North American Sabre F.4s, conversion being completed by January 1954. The squadron moved to
RAF Geilenkirchen Royal Air Force Geilenkirchen, more commonly known as RAF Geilenkirchen, was a Royal Air Force station in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany, built by the British who used the facility mainly as an airfield for RAF fighter squadrons ...
on 8 January 1954, where Hunter F.4s replaced the Sabres in May 1956, but following the
1957 Defence White Paper The 1957 White Paper on Defence (Cmnd. 124) was a British white paper issued in March 1957 setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected wa ...
of Minister of Defence Duncan Sandys, No. 234 squadron was disbanded on 15 July 1957.")


With No. 229 OCU and No. 1 TWU

The squadron number popped up again when one of the squadrons of No. 229 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) at RAF Chivenor was given the number on 22 October 1958, operating Hunter F.6 and FGA.9 aircraft, to give Hunter pilots their operational training. On 2 September 1974 No. 229 OCU moved to
RAF Brawdy RAF Brawdy is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located east of St Davids, Pembrokeshire and south west of Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was operational between 1944 and 1992 being used by both the Royal Air Force and the Royal N ...
(formerly HMS Goldcrest) with the closure of Chivenor for refurbishment and was redesignated as the Tactical Weapons Unit (TWU), with No. 234 (Reserve) Squadron remaining one of its components. When a second TWU was later formed at Chivenor the original was renamed No. 1 TWU, again with No. 234 squadron remaining one of its constituent squadrons though by now having traded in the Hunters for the new
Hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...
. When No. 1 TWU was disbanded on 31 August 1992, so were its component squadrons, No 79(F) and No 234.Jefford 2001, p. 196.


With No. 4 FTS

The following day however, 1 September 1992, the number was allocated to a squadron of No. 4 (Advanced) Flying Training School (AFTS) at RAF Valley, which had taken over the duties of the TWUs. The squadron continued as part of the school until 1 April 1994, when it was disbanded by being renumbered to No. 208 (Reserve) Squadron.


References


Citations


Bibliography

* Ken Delve, ''D-Day: The Air Battle'', London: Arms & Armour Press, 1994, . * Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918-1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. . * 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, 2001. . * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. . * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1969 (second edition 1976). . * Walpole,
Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...
Nigel, OBE, BA. ''Dragon Rampant: The Story of No. 234 Fighter Squadron''. London Colney, Hertfordshire, UK: Merlin Massara Publishing, 2007. .


External links


234 Squadron Official history


* http://www.battleofbritain1940.net/0037.html {{Royal Air Force Military units and formations established in 1918 234 Squadron Battle of Britain 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom