No. 682 Squadron RAF was a

photo reconnaissance Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance for a military or strategic purpose that is conducted using reconnaissance aircraft. The role of reconnaissance can fulfil a variety of requirements including artillery spotting, the collection of imager ...

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 ...

History

The squadron was formed on 1 February 1943 at

Maison Blanche Maison Blanche (''White House'' in French) was a department store in New Orleans, Louisiana, and later also a chain of department stores. It was founded in 1897 by Isidore Newman, an immigrant from Germany. Maison Blanche is perhaps best remem ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

from No. 4

Photographic Reconnaissance Imagery intelligence (IMINT), pronounced as either as ''Im-Int'' or ''I-Mint'', is an intelligence gathering discipline wherein imagery is analyzed (or "exploited") to identify information of intelligence value. Imagery used for defense intel ...

Unit (PRU) RAF. It was at first equipped with Spitfire PR.IVs and -shortly- Mosquito PR.IVs and PR.VIs, and later flew the Spitfire PR.XI in support of the campaign in

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Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, and then

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The squadron supported the invasion of Italy and carried out sorties over

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

including special reconnaissance for army and commando operations. In 1944 the squadron began to target southern France and it moved detachments to France in September 1944, receiving the superlative photographic reconnaissance version of the Spitfire, the PR.XIX. It returned to cover the Italian campaign and also operated over Greece. With the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

over the squadron carried survey flights until it was disbanded on 14 September 1945 at

Peretola Peretola is a suburb of Florence, Italy, located on the northern extremity of the Florentine commune. It belongs administratively to Quartiere 5 - Rifredi. It lend its name to the nearby international airport and is claimed as the birthplace ...

Aircraft operated

Squadron bases

Commanding officers

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Squadron Histories and more for Nos. 671–1435 Squadron on RAFweb

History of 682 Squadron
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 682 Squadron Raf 682 Squadron

682 __NOTOC__ Year 682 ( DCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 682 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calenda ...

Military units and formations established in 1943 Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1945