No. 614 Squadron was originally formed on 1 June 1937 as an army co-operation squadron unit of the
Auxiliary Air Force
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...
. It served 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 ...
first in this role and later as a bomber squadron. Upon reformation it served as a fighter squadron until the disbandment of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force on 10 March 1957.
History
Formation and early years
Formed at
RAF Pengam Moors near
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
(the often cited Llandow was not erected yet) as an army co-operation squadron unit and part of the Auxiliary Air Force on 1 June 1937, No. 614 squadron was initially equipped with
Hawker Hind
The Hawker Hind was a British light bomber of the inter-war years produced by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force. It was developed from the Hawker Hart day bomber introduced in 1931.
Design and development
An improved Hawker Hart bomber d ...
s. By the end of the year it had received some additional
Hawker Hectors which it flew until November 1939, when the squadron became operational on
Westland Lysander
The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War.
After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's ...
s, the first of which had arrived in July of that year.
In support of Bomber Command
In June 1940 No. 614 squadron moved to Scotland to carry out coastal patrols, covering an area from
Inverness to
Berwick, 'A' flight, which was detached to
Inverness for that purpose, became
No. 241 Squadron RAF in the process.
From July 1941 it began re-equipping with
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...
s, a process completed by January 1942. In support of
RAF Bomber Command's 'Thousand Bomber Raids' in May and June 1942, the squadron sent its Blenheims to attack enemy airfields in the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
and in August 1942 it laid smoke screens for the
landings at Dieppe.
In North Africa
In November 1942 the Squadron moved to North Africa. There the Squadron carried out attacks against enemy airfields and lines of communication until May 1943, when the fighting in that area ended. It then became involved in shipping escort duties in the Mediterranean until being disbanded on 25 January 1944 at
Borizzo Airfield,
Sicily
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On Halifaxes and Liberators
The second incarnation of No. 614 Squadron had its origins in
No. 462 Squadron,
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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(RAAF), formed on 7 September 1942 at Fayid, Egypt, under
Article XV of the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. This squadron contained mostly British aircrew and ground staff. Consequently, RAAF Overseas Headquarters requested that the squadron be renumbered and transferred to the RAF. On 15 February 1944, while it was en route to
Celone, Italy the unit was renumbered as No. 614 Squadron. Equipped with
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester.
The Halifax has its orig ...
es it was now involved in bombing missions over Italy and the Balkans and it also carried out supply drops to partisans in those areas. The Squadron re-equipped with
Consolidated Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models de ...
s in March 1945, the Halifaxes finally being withdrawn in March 1945, but on 27 July 1945 it was disbanded at
Amendola Airfield, Italy when it was renumbered as
No. 214 Squadron RAF.
Post war
With the reactivation of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, No. 614 Squadron was reformed on 10 May 1946
(though one source
claims 26 August 1947) at
RAF Llandow as a day fighter squadron. Recruiting of personnel did not start until November 1946 though. Initially the squadron was equipped with
Supermarine Spitfires and these gave way to
de Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by ...
s in July 1950 but, along with all the flying units of the RAuxAF, the unit was disbanded on 10 March 1957.
Present
Currently 614 Squadron is part of the Royal Air Force Reserves, based in Cardiff, Wales.
Aircraft operated
Squadron bases
Commanding officers
References
Notes
Bibliography
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* (reprinted 2007).
External links
614 sqn on RAF website*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120414062047/http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn611-620.htm No 611-620 Squadron Histories on RAFWebNo. 614 sqn’s Blenheims in East LothianCurrent page on RAF Reserves website
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 614 Squadron Raf
614
__NOTOC__
Year 614 ( DCXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 614 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
Military units and formations established in 1937
Military units and formations disestablished in 1957