No. 683 Squadron RAF was a photo-reconnaissance 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) an ...

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 from August 1950 to November 1953.

History

Formation and World War II

683 squadron was formed out of 'B' Flight of No. 69 Squadron on 8 February 1943 at

RAF Luqa Royal Air Force Luqa was a Royal Air Force station located on the island of Malta, now developed into the Malta International Airport. It hosted aircraft of Air Headquarters Malta (AHQ Malta) during the Second World War. Particularly during ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, as a photo-reconnaissance squadron operating the

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 in the photo-reconnaissance role. The squadron added the Mosquito Mk.VI to its strength in May 1943, but they were only operated for a month. The squadron was involved in photo-reconnaissance mission over

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

and

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 ...

and later over

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

. The squadron moved to

San Severo San Severo (; formerly known as Castellum Sancti Severini, then San Severino and Sansevero; locally ) is a city and comune of c. 51,919 inhabitants in the province of Foggia, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. Rising on the foot of the spur of Gargano ...

and continued in support of the

US 5th Army The United States Army North (ARNORTH) is a formation of the United States Army. An Army Service Component Command (ASCC) subordinate to United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), ARNORTH is the joint force land component of NORTHCOM.

. As the war continued it was involved in both tactical and strategic reconnaissance, and was involved survey flight across southern Europe. In September 1944, the squadron re-equipped with Spitfire PR.XIX photo-reconnaissance aircraft. Detachments from the squadron were based at a wide range of bases all across the Italian theatre of operations, with the squadron finally disbanding on 22 September 1945 at

, Italy.

Post war

The squadron was re-formed on 1 November 1950 at

RAF Fayid RAF Fayid (LG-211) is a former military airfield in Egypt, approximately south of Ismailia (Al Isma`iliyah) and northeast of Cairo. It was formerly a major Royal Air Force airfield built before World War II, and later used by the Egypti ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

with the Avro Lancaster PR.1 and the Vickers Valetta C.1. It was tasked with the survey and mapping of Arabia and East Africa. In January 1952 the squadron moved to

RAF Khormaksar Royal Air Force Khormaksar or more simply RAF Khormaksar was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Aden, Yemen. Its motto was "Into the Remote Places". During the 1960s, it was the base for nine squadrons and became the RAF's busiest-ever station ...

, Aden to cover both Aden and Somaliland. Another move to

RAF Habbaniya ) , location = Habbaniya , country = Iraq , image = Habbaniya airfield, circa 1941.jpg , alt = A black and white image of some hangars, tentage and hard standings in a desert , ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

allowed the squadron to survey and map the Persian Gulf. With the survey and mapping role completed the squadron was disbanded at Habbaniya on 30 November 1953.

Aircraft operated

Squadron bases

Commanding officers

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

History of 683 Squadron

{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 683 Squadron Raf 683 Squadron Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II Military units and formations established in 1944 Reconnaissance units and formations of the Royal Air Force Military units and formations disestablished in 1953