No. 531 Squadron RAF was one of the ten
Turbinlite
The Helmore/ GEC Turbinlite was a 2,700 million candela (2.7 Gcd) searchlight fitted in the nose of a number of British Douglas Havoc night fighters during the early part of the Second World War and around the time of The Blitz. The ...
nightfighter squadrons of the
Royal Air Force during the
Second World War.
History
No. 531 Squadron was formed at
RAF West Malling,
Kent on 8
September 1942, from
No. 1452 (Turbinlite) Flight,
as part 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 ...
in
Fighter Command. Instead of operating only Turbinlite and -rudimentary-
Airborne Intercept (AI) radar equipped aircraft (
Havocs and Bostons) and working together with a normal nightfighter unit, such as in their case with the
Boulton Paul Defiants of
No. 264 Squadron RAF
No. 264 Squadron RAF, also known as No. 264 (Madras Presidency) Squadron, was a squadron of the Royal Air Force.
World War I
The squadron was first formed during the First World War, from two former Royal Naval Air Service flights, No. 439 ...
or later the
Hawker Hurricanes of
No. 32 Squadron RAF in the Flight,
the unit now also flew with their own
Hawker Hurricanes. The squadron moved to
RAF Debden,
Essex on 2 October 1942, but returned to West Malling a week later.
It was disbanded at West Malling on 25 January 1943,
when Turbinlite squadrons were, due to lack of success on their part and the rapid development of AI radar, thought to be superfluous.
Aircraft operated
Squadron bases
Commanding officers
References
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
Squadron.cfm 531 Squadron history on MOD site
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 531 Squadron Raf
531 Squadron
Military units and formations established in 1942
Military units and formations disestablished in 1943