No. 512 Squadron was a Second World War Royal Air Force transport squadron.
| No. 512 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 18 June 1943 – 14 March 1946 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Role | Transport Airborne forces |
| Motto(s) | Latin: Pegasus Militans (Translation: "Pegasus at war")[1][2] |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | In front of a horse's head couped, a sword erect, the point upwards[1][2] |
| Squadron Codes | HC (Jun 1943 – Mar 1946)[3][4] |
History
editNo. 512 Squadron was formed on 18 June 1943 from the Dakota element of 24 Squadron at RAF Hendon. It operated on supply routes from the United Kingdom to Gibraltar and Algeria to support the campaign in North West Africa. It also flew internal routes within the United Kingdom, and to the Azores and India. In February 1944 the squadron changed role and was transferred to No. 46 Group at RAF Broadwell; it was now a tactical Dakota squadron and started training glider towing and parachute dropping. Its first operation in the new role was a leaflet drop on 5 June 1944 over France, this followed intensive flying in and out of France including dropping parachutists at Arnhem. In fact, 512 Squadron can claim that they were the first planes over on D-Day as three Dakotas piloted by Fl Lt Hyde, W.O. James Proctor and a C Flight Flying Officer dropped a specialist team at 00.02 on 6 June to try to disrupt the Merville Battery before the main assault. It suffered losses during Operation Market Garden and was withdrawn to operate a transport service from Brussels in March 1945, although it was still involved in airborne operations associated with the Rhine crossing. After VE Day in July 1945 it extended its trooping routes to Palestine and the Middle East and moved to RAF Qastina in Palestine in October 1945, moving on by the end of the month to RAF Gianaclis near Alexandria, Egypt. In December 1945 it moved to Bari, to operate scheduled flights within Italy. It returned to the United Kingdom in February 1946 and was disbanded upon arrival on 14 March 1946.[1][2][5]
Aircraft operated
edit
| From | To | Aircraft | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 1943 | September 1943 | Lockheed Hudson | Mk.IIIa |
| June 1943 | March 1946 | Douglas Dakota | Mks.I, III |
| August 1944 | 1945 | Airspeed Oxford, Avro Anson | |
| April 1945 | March 1946 | Douglas Dakota | Mk.IV |
Squadron bases
edit| From | To | Base | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 June 1943 | 14 February 1944 | RAF Hendon, Middlesex | |
| 14 February 1944 | 31 March 1945 | RAF Broadwell, Oxfordshire | |
| 31 March 1945 | 6 August 1945 | B.56/Evère, Belgium | Air echelon till 5 July 1945 |
| 6 August 1945 | 8 October 1945 | RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor, East Riding of Yorkshire | |
| 8 October 1945 | 24 October 1945 | RAF Qastina, Palestine | |
| 24 October 1945 | 2 December 1945 | RAF Gianaclis, Egypt | |
| 2 December 1945 | 23 February 1946 | Bari, Italy | |
| 23 February 1946 | 14 March 1946 | en route to the UK | Disbanded upon arrival |
Commanding officers
edit| From | To | Name |
|---|---|---|
| August 1943 | September 1943 | W/Cdr. M. Booth, DFC |
| September 1943 | December 1943 | W/Cdr. K.J.D. Dickson |
| December 1943 | February 1944 | W/Cdr. R.M. Blennerhassett |
| February 1944 | January 1945 | W/Cdr. B.A. Coventry, DFC |
| January 1945 | July 1945 | W/Cdr. R.G. Dutton, DSO, DFC & Bar |
| July 1945 | December 1945 | LtCol. P.G.A. McMurdock |
| December 1945 | March 1946 | S/Ldr. W.A. Mostyn-Brown |
See also
editReferences
editNotes
edit- ^ a b c d e f Rawlings 1982, p. 229.
- ^ a b c d e Halley 1988, p. 395.
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 49.
- ^ Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 77.
- ^ a b Jefford 2001, p. 96.
Bibliography
edit- Bowyer, Michael J.F.; Rawlings, John D.R. (1979). Squadron Codes, 1937–56. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
- Flintham, Vic; Thomas, Andrew (2003). Combat Codes: A Full Explanation and Listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied Air Force Unit Codes since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84037-281-8.
- Halley, James J. (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
- Jefford, C.G. (2001). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912 (2nd ed.). Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- Rawlings, John D.R. (1982). Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft, (Part Work 1982–1985), Orbis Publishing