No. 618 Squadron RAF
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No. 618 Squadron RAF was a 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 ...
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 opposin ...
, intended to carry off a variation of the
Barnes Wallis Sir Barnes Neville Wallis (26 September 1887 – 30 October 1979) was an English engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the Royal Air Force in Operation Chastise (the "Dambusters" raid) to attack ...
-designed
bouncing bomb A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-deter ...
code-named "Highball". Due to various circumstances the "Highball" weapon was never used and the squadron disbanded at the end of the war.


History


Formation

No. 618 Squadron was first formed at
RAF Skitten Royal Air Force Skitten or more simply RAF Skitten is a former Royal Air Force satellite station directly east of the village of Killimster, located north east of Watten, Caithness, Scotland and northwest of Wick, Caithness, Scotland. On 19 No ...
on 1 April 1943, as part of No. 18 Group of
Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
, from crews of
No. 105 Squadron RAF No. 105 Squadron was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force, active for three periods between 1917 and 1969. It was originally established during the First World War as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps and disbanded after the war. Reactivate ...
and No. 139 Squadron RAF. The unit was initially equipped with Beaufighter Mk.II fighter-bombers, but quickly changed to converted Mosquito Mk.IVs.


The Highball

The "Highball" device was intended to bounce across the sea until it hit an enemy ship, sank and exploded. Unlike the cylindrical Upkeep weapon used by No. 617 Squadron RAF in
Operation Chastise Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on Nazi Germany, German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using sp ...
, the "Highball" was more spherical. The Mosquito selected for the conversion work to carry "Highball" was the Mk.IV series II: the work entailed removing the bomb bay doors and equipping the aircraft with specialised carriers enabling them to carry two "Highballs", each weighing 1,280 lb (580 kg), in tandem. The bombs were designed to skip across water and to provide weapon stability and accuracy. Before release they were spun backwards at 700 to 900 rpm by a
ram air turbine A ram air turbine (RAT) is a small wind turbine that is connected to a hydraulic pump, or electrical generator, installed in an aircraft and used as a power source. The RAT generates power from the airstream by ram pressure due to the speed o ...
mounted in the bomb bay's midsection, fed by an extendable air scoop. The bombs were to be dropped from a maximum altitude of 60 ft (20 m) at a speed of 360 mph (600 km/h). In the event, through lack of weapons, training and aircraft, No. 618 Squadron was kept frustratingly inactive and never attacked the '' Tirpitz''. Instead the unit was selected for carrier-borne operations in the Pacific. For this role 25 Mosquito B.Mk.IVs were further modified: * Each aircraft was equipped with Merlin 25s, adapted to provide peak power at low altitudes, driving four-bladed
Rotol Dowty Propellers is a British engineering company based in Brockworth, Gloucestershire that specialises in the manufacture, repair and overhaul of propellers and propeller components for customers around the world. It is owned by General Elect ...
propellers: these propellers had narrower blades than the standard three-bladed units, meaning that the engines would rev up faster and respond quicker to throttle movement, factors vital in the limited length of carrier takeoffs. * Longer intakes under the engine cowlings were fitted with tropical filters. * The undercarriage legs were made of heavier-gauge metals and the wheels were fitted with the twin brake units of FB Mk VIs. * The rear fuselages were structurally modified with a special internal
longeron In engineering, a longeron and stringer is the load-bearing component of a framework. The term is commonly used in connection with aircraft fuselages and automobile chassis. Longerons are used in conjunction with stringers to form structural ...
and reinforced bulkheads designed to take the additional loads imposed by carrier landings: an additional bulkhead (No. 5a) was fitted. * Externally a "V-frame" arrestor hook was fitted. The "snap gear" which released the hook was operated by a
Bowden cable A Bowden cable ( ) is a type of flexible cable used to transmit mechanical force or energy by the movement of an inner cable relative to a hollow outer cable housing. The housing is generally of composite construction, consisting of an inne ...
from a lever mounted on the cockpit port side. * An access hatch was moved from the starboard rear fuselage to underneath, and an extra longitudinal stiffening strake, identical to that already fitted to the starboard side of production Mosquitos, was fitted to the port fuselage. * The tailwheel fork pivots incorporated end plates to avoid being caught in the arrestor cables. * Armoured windscreens were fitted, along with hydraulic wipers. * Three PR.Mk.XVIs, which were to be used for reconnaissance duties were also fitted with the four-bladed propellers and fuselage modifications for carrier operations.


UK squadron movements

The squadron's primary target was designated as the
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
Surface Fleet, primarily the battleship Tirpitz, so the squadron remained training in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
and waiting for the Surface Fleet to sortie into the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
until July 1944, when this threat had lessened. As a matter of fact the German Surface Fleet never emerged from its bases in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. In the meantime the squadron had moved to
RAF Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placenames ...
, and re-equipped with Mosquito Mk.VIs and No. 618 Squadron did not have had the opportunity to use the "Highball" weapon. In August 1944, the squadron deployed to
RAF Beccles Beccles Airfield, also known as Beccles Airport or Beccles Aerodrome , is located in Ellough, southeast of Beccles in the English county of Suffolk. Built during the second world war, it has operated as a heliport servicing the North Sea oil a ...
in
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
, and in September changed aircraft again to Mosquito Mk.XVIs. The squadron deployed to
RAF Benson Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, us ...
in September, transitioning to Mosquito Mk.XVIIIs in October.


Australian deployment

In December 1944, No. 618 Squadron was deployed to Australia for carrier-borne operations, as Japanese targets for the "Highball" weapon were still available there. These Mosquitos were transported to Australia on board the carriers and , arriving on 23 December 1944, subsequently sent to the de Havilland Australia's
Mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
,
Fishermans Bend Fishermans Bend (formerly Fishermen's Bend) is a precinct within the City of Port Phillip and the City of Melbourne. It is located on the south of the Yarra River in the suburb of Port Melbourne and opposite Coode Island, close to the Melbourne ...
aircraft factory for reassembly. In order to keep up aircrew proficiency and safeguard the modified Mosquitos, 12 disassembled FB Mk VIs were also sent, arriving in Sydney in February 1945. Training began at
Narromine Narromine ( /næroʊmaɪn/) is a rural Australian town located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Dubbo in the Orana region of New South Wales. The town is at the centre of Narromine Shire. The 2016 census recorded a population o ...
that month A detachment was sent to
British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships ...
base at
Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...
in March, but the squadron was unable to go into action against Japanese shipping, mostly because there was no target left in the area anymore. Due to political-strategic infighting between the
British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. The fleet was composed of empire naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944 from the remaining ships ...
and the U.S. military, the unit was never in action, and was disbanded (officially) at
RAAF Station Narromine RAAF Station Narromine was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) station located at Narromine, New South Wales, Australia. Narromine Airport, Narromine Airfield was requisitioned in July 1940 as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, ...
on 14 July 1945. The converted Mosquitos were stripped of all military equipment and sold off. The sole surviving No. 618 Squadron Mosquito, an FB. Mk.VI ''HR621'', is currently undergoing restoration at the Camden Museum of Aviation.Mosquito Photos
/ref>


Aircraft operated


Commanding officers


References


Notes


Bibliography

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External links







{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 618 Squadron Raf Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 618 Squadron