No. 578 Squadron RAF was a heavy bomber 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

578 Squadron was formed at

RAF Snaith Royal Air Force Snaith or RAF Snaith is a former Royal Air Force station which was located south west of Goole, Yorkshire, England and close to the village of Pollington. The airfield opened 1941 before closing in 1946. Based units The airfi ...

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire to t ...

on 14 January 1944 from 'C' flight of

No. 51 Squadron RAF Number 51 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. Since 2014 it has operated the Boeing RC-135W Airseeker R.1, more commonly referred to as the Rivet Joint, from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. It had previously flown the Hawker Siddel ...

, equipped with Halifax Mk.III bombers, as part of No. 4 Group RAF in

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

. It transferred to

RAF Burn Royal Air Force Burn or more simply RAF Burn is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located south of Selby and east of Burn in North Yorkshire, England which opened in 1942 before closing in 1946. Station history The airfield was open ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

in February, and was disbanded there on 15 April 1945. The squadron carried out 2,721 operational sorties with the Halifax for a loss 40 aircraft.

Notable squadron members

The first commanding officer was W/Cdr. D.S.S. Wilkerson, DSO, DFC and the aircrew included Pilot Officer Cyril Joe Barton, VC.

Aircraft operated

Notable aircraft

Two of the Halifaxes of 578 squadron passed the century mark and flew more than 100 operational sorties:

Squadron bases

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

* Adams, Chuck. ''578 Squadron Operations, 1944–45''. self-published, 1983. * Cawdron, Hugh. ''Based at Burn – 578 Sqn airmen recall...''. Middlesex: Hugh Cawdron/578 Burn Association,1995 * Cawdron, Hugh. ''Based at Burn Mk.II: After 50 Years the Biography of an Outstanding Airman and a Diary of the Bomber Squadron he Founded and Commanded''. Bristol: Hugh Cawdron/578 Burn Association, 2001. . * Marshall, Ken. ''The Pendulum and the Scythe: A History of No.4 Group Bomber Command''. Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, UK: Air Research Publications, 1996. . * Ward, Chris. ''Royal Air Force Bomber Command Squadron Profiles: 578 Squadron – "Accuracy" (Bomber Command Profile no. 113)''. Lutterworth, Berkshire, UK: Ward Publishing, 1998.

External links

578 Squadron Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 578 Squadron Raf 578 Squadron Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945