No. 610 Squadron RAF
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No. 610 (County of Chester) 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) and ...
was a Squadron of the
Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...
. Comprising very high quality pilots, often ex-
RAF 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 ...
officers and occasionally locally based company
Test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...
s from companies such as de Havilland and Airwork, its pilots were initially part timers who would spend their weekends and spare time flying and practising combat manoeuvres. The squadron was named the "County of
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
" and adopted the motto "Alifero tollitur axe ceres"; which translates as "Ceres rising in a winged chariot",
Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...
being the Roman Goddess of Wheat, a reference to Chester's Agricultural sector. Its badge contained the image of a garb (sheaf of wheat). 610 Squadron Association, with headquarters at Hooton Park, has a substantial number of ex-members of the Squadron on its list of members.


History


Formation and early years

The squadron was formed on 10 February 1936 at
Hooton Park Royal Air Force Hooton Park or more simply RAF Hooton Park, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, is a former Royal Air Force station originally built for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 as a training aerodrome for pilots in the First World War. ...
, Wirral,
Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
as one of the
Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...
Squadrons. It was equipped with
Hawker Hart The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircraf ...
light bombers. As war approached, these were replaced by
Hawker Hind The Hawker Hind was a British light bomber of the inter-war years produced by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force. It was developed from the Hawker Hart day bomber introduced in 1931. Design and development An improved Hawker Hart bomber d ...
s in May 1938. On 1 January 1939 the squadron role was changed to that of a fighter squadron, and on the outbreak of war in September 1939 it received its first
Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
fighters. By the end of that same month it was flying the more advanced
Supermarine Spitfire 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 Grif ...
fighter.


Second World War

610 Squadron was attached to
No. 13 Group RAF No. 13 Group was a group in the Royal Air Force for various periods in the 20th century. It is most famous for having the responsibility for defending the North of the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain. First World Wa No. 13 Group RA ...
during the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
. It had initially been based at
RAF Gravesend Gravesend Airport, located south-east of Gravesend town centre, Kent and west of Rochester. It was operated from 1932 until 1956. It was initially a civil airfield, and became a Royal Air Force station known as RAF Gravesend during the Second W ...
, but moved to
RAF Biggin Hill London Biggin Hill Airport is an operational general aviation airport at Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located south-southeast of Central London. The airport was formerly a Royal Air Force station RAF Biggin Hill, and a smal ...
before the German offensive began and was one of the units bearing the brunt of German attacks. It moved 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 initia ...
for rest and recuperation at the end of August, having sustained severe casualties. During the Battle of Britain the squadron included Pilot Officer, later Squadron Leader, Constantine Pegge. In 1941, the squadron moved south to RAF Westhampnett where it was one of
Douglas Bader Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared ...
's three Spitfire squadrons of the
Tangmere wing Tangmere is a village, civil parish, and electoral ward in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. Located three miles (5 km) north east of Chichester, it is twinned with Hermanville-sur-Mer in Lower Normandy, France. The parish ...
. It remained based in the UK until late 1944 when it moved to the Continent to provide fighter cover as the allies entered Germany. 610 Squadron was disbanded before the end of the war at
RAF Warmwell Royal Air Force Warmwell or more simply RAF Warmwell is a former Royal Air Force station near Warmwell in Dorset, England from 1937 to 1946, located about 5 miles east-southeast of Dorchester; 100 miles southwest of London. During the Second W ...
on 3 March 1945.


Post-war

The squadron was re-formed on 10 May 1946 at
RAF Hooton Park Royal Air Force Hooton Park or more simply RAF Hooton Park, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, is a former Royal Air Force station originally built for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 as a training aerodrome for pilots in the First World War. D ...
as a
Royal Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...
fighter squadron, embodied in June of that year and receiving its first Spitfire F.14s in November 1946, switching to more powerful Spitfire F.22s in March 1949.
Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, 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 turb ...
F.4 jet fighters were received in July 1951, being replaced by the later F.8 version in March 1952. Meteor T.7 twin-seat training aircraft were also used as advanced conversion trainers. The Meteors were flown until shortly before the squadron disbanded on 10 March 1957, together with all other RAuxAF flying units.


See also

*
List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons Squadron (aviation), Squadrons are the main form of flying unit of the Royal Air Force (RAF). These include Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) squadrons incorporated into the RAF when it was formed on 1 April 1918, dur ...


Aircraft operated


Squadron bases


Commanding officers


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * * * * * * *


External links


squadron memories


{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 610 Squadron Raf Fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II 610 Squadron Military units and formations established in 1936 Military units and formations disestablished in 1957 RAF squadrons involved in the Battle of Britain