No. 516 Squadron RAF was an army co-operation 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) an ...

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 opposi ...

History

No. 516 Squadron was formed on 28 April 1943 at

RAF Dundonald Royal Air Force Dundonald or more simply RAF Dundonald is a former Royal Air Force station located in South Ayrshire, Scotland, three miles north-east from the coastal town of Troon. During its brief existence during the Second World War the ai ...

from 1441 (Combined Operations) Flight on 28 April 1943. Its role was to provide realistic training facilities to the

Combined Operations Training Centre The Combined Operations Training Centre, also known as No.1 Combined Training Centre, Inveraray was a military installation on the banks of Loch Fyne near Inveraray in Scotland. History The centre was established in October 1940. Each of the se ...

and other training units in the Western Scotland area. It operated a large variety of aircraft with the unusual task to provide realistic low-level attacks against commando and assault troops undergoing training. The work involved detaching aircraft near the troop training areas including

RAF Ayr RAF Heathfield, sometimes known as RAF Ayr/Heathfield due to its proximity to Glasgow Prestwick Airport, which was also used by military flights, is a former Royal Air Force station. Like many other wartime airfields, its runways were of the t ...

and

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 ...

. By 1944 the training of commando and assault troops was on the decline and the squadron was disbanded at Dundonald on 2 December 1944. No squadron codes are known to have been carried between April 1943 and Dec 1944.

Aircraft operated

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * *. Shears was a pilot with 516 and the book includes a chapter on his experiences with them. *

External links