No. 67 Squadron RAF
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The name No. 67 Squadron has been used by the
Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...
and 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 ...
for two quite different units.


History


World War I

During the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, No. 1 Squadron,
Australian Flying Corps The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...
– formed at
Point Cook Point Cook is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Point Cook recorded a population of 66,781 at the 2021 census. Point Cook ...
in January 1916,Halley 1988, p. 465. – was referred to by British authorities from 16 March 1916 to February 1918 as "No. 67 Squadron RFC" to avoid confusion with No. 1 Squadron, RFC,Rawlings 1978, p. 169. not to mention No. 1 Squadron, RNAS, and because the AFC was in any case not recognised as being independent of the RFC. Early in 1918 this recognition was belatedly granted, and thereafter the unit was known in all quarters by its original designation. The unit itself never regarded itself as part of the RFC, and never used its official RFC number – it is considered as the "ancestor" of No. 1 Squadron RAAF and has no real connection with the later RAF unit.The war diary of 67 Squadron is not held by the Australian War Memorial, although they do have No. 1 Squadron's war diary from January 1918. In particular, at the time of the formation of the RAF in April 1918 there was no "No. 67 Squadron RFC" to become an RAF unit of that number. Hence the first No. 67 Squadron RAF was the one formed during the Second World War – and described hereunder.


World War II

The true origins of No. 67 Squadron RAF date from its so-called "re-formation" during
World War II 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 ...
at
Kallang Airport Kallang Airport (also known as the Kallang Aerodrome, Kallang Airfield and RAF Kallang) was the first purpose-built civil international airport in Singapore, opened officially on 12 June 1937 and ceased operations in 1955, when it was reloca ...
in Malaya on 12 March 1941. It was equipped with the
Brewster Buffalo The Brewster F2A Buffalo is an American fighter aircraft which saw service early in World War II. Designed and built by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, it was one of the first U.S. monoplanes with an arrestor hook and other modifications ...
, an aeroplane that was outclassed in Europe, but considered adequate to build up the defences in Asia. In October, it handed on its aircraft to
No. 488 Squadron RNZAF No. 488 Squadron was the name given to two distinct Royal New Zealand Air Force squadrons during the Second World War. Both were formed under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme and served under the operational command of the Royal Air F ...
and moved to
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 ...
, taking on instead the Buffaloes of
No. 60 Squadron RAF No. 60 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1916 at Gosport. It is currently part of No. 1 Flying Training School RAF, No. 1 Flying Training School based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire flying the Eurocopter EC135, Airbus H135 Juno HT1. ...
. The inadequacy of the Buffaloes led to their replacement with
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 ...
s in February 1942,Halley 1988, p. 133. but the Japanese offensive could not be halted and by March 1942 the squadron "ceased to be effective". The squadron re-assembled at
Alipore Alipore (Pron:ˌɑ:lɪˈpɔ:) is a neighbourhood in south Kolkata, in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is flanked by the Tolly Nullah to the north, Bhowanipore to the east, the Diamond Harbour Road to the west and New ...
and formed part of the defence of
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
, converting to
Spitfires 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 ...
in February 1944. The squadron disbanded officially on 23 August 1945 at
Akyab Sittwe (; ; formerly Akyab) is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe, pronounced ''sait-tway'' in the Rakhine language, is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptyi ...
, but kept its aircraft till the end of the month.


The Jet Age

On 1 September 1950 the squadron reformed as a jet fighter-bomber unit, flying Vampire FB.5s first from
RAF Wattisham Royal Air Force Station Wattisham or more simply RAF Wattisham is a former Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold War it was a major front- ...
and later from Gutersloh as part of
RAF Germany The former Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG) was a command of the Royal Air Force and part of British Forces Germany. It consisted of units located in Germany, initially as part of the occupation following the Second World War, and later as part o ...
. After a short return to the UK in April 1952, being stationed at
RAF Duxford Duxford Aerodrome is located south of Cambridge, within the civil parish of Duxford, Cambridgeshire, England and nearly west of the village. The airfield is owned by the Imperial War Museum (IWM) and is the site of the Imperial War Muse ...
on 21 April 1952, the squadron moved again to Germany in May 1952 when it moved base to
Wildenrath Wildenrath is a township within the municipality of Wegberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town is situated on the Bundesstraße 221 between Wassenberg and Arsbeck on the edge of Maas-Schwalm-Nette Nature Park and close to the border ...
and re-equipped there in May 1953 with North American Sabres. In July 1955 the squadron moved to another base again,
RAF Bruggen Royal Air Force Brüggen, more commonly known as RAF Brüggen, in Germany was a major station of the Royal Air Force until 15 June 2001. It was situated next to the village of Elmpt, approximately west of Düsseldorf on the Dutch-German bo ...
and the Sabres were exchanged for
Hunters Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, et ...
. On 31 May 1957 the squadron disbanded and has not been active since.


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 ...


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* Frances, Neil. ''Ketchil: A New Zealand pilot’s war in Asia and the Pacific''. Wairarapa Archive, 2005. . (about Vic Bargh). * Franks, Norman L.R. ''Hurricanes Over the Arakan''. Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1989. . * Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918–1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. . * Jefford, C.G. ''RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2001. . * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Fighters Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald & Jane's (Publishers)Ltd., 1969 (New revised edition 1976, reprinted 1978). . * Thomas, J. Helsdon. ''Wings over Burma''. Bognor Regis, West Sussex, UK: New Horizon, 1984. .(Republished 1991 by Merlin Book Ltd. of Braunton, Devon, UK. .)


External links


History of No.'s 66–70 Squadrons at RAF Web
{{Royal Air Force 067 Squadron