No. 656 Squadron RAF was an

Air Observation Post Air Observation Post (AOP) is an aeroplane or helicopter used in the role of artillery spotter by the British Army and Commonwealth forces. In this role, either the pilot of the aircraft or another crew member acts as an observer watching for tar ...

unit 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

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 ...

and afterwards in British Malaya. Numbers 651 to 663 Squadron of the RAF were Air Observation Post units working closely with

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

units in artillery spotting and liaison. Their duties and squadron numbers were transferred to the Army with the formation of the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

on 1 September 1957 With this it became 656 Light Aircraft Squadron Army Air Corps.

History

Formation and World War II

No. 656 Squadron was formed at

RAF Westley RAF Westley is a former Royal Air Force satellite airfield located to the west of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England, between 1938 and 1946. It was established by the Straight Corporation which set up the West Suffolk Aero Club in May 1938, before ...

on 31 December 1942. It embarked for India in August 1943 and went into action during the Burma campaign with the Fourteenth Army. Several officers were decorated, among them Captain Edward Maslen-Jones who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

. The squadron was to take part in the Allied invasion of Malaya, but the Japanese surrendered before this took place and the squadron disbanded on 15 January 1947.

Reformation and Operation Firedog

The squadron reformed from No. 1914 Flight RAF on 29 June 1948 at Sembawang in Malaya and served in British Malaya to support Army and Police against Communist guerillas before it went over to Army control in September 1957. 656 Squadron performed a total of 143,000 operations in Malaya during

Operation Firedog The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces ...

. No. 1914 Air Observation Post Flight was formed within 656 Squadron.

Aircraft operated

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

656 Squadron, Army Air Corps

656 Squadron Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 656 Squadron Raf 656 Squadron Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II Military units and formations established in 1942