Former flying squadron of the Royal Air Force
No. 217 Squadron RAF
|
---|
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Beaufort_colour.jpg/250px-Beaufort_colour.jpg) |
Active
| 1918-1919, 1937-1945, 1952-1957, 1958-1959
|
---|
Country
|
United Kingdom
|
---|
Branch
|
Royal Air Force
|
---|
Role
| Maritime patrol
,
anti-shipping
,
strike
,
reconnaissance
|
---|
Part of
| RAF Coastal Command
|
---|
Motto(s)
| Woe to the unwary
[1]
|
---|
Engagements
| World War I
World War II
Operation Grapple
|
---|
|
Squadron badge heraldry
| A demi-shark, erased
|
---|
|
Attack
| Airco DH.4
,
Lockheed Hudson
,
Bristol Beaufort
,
Bristol Beaufighter TF.X
|
---|
Utility helicopter
| Westland Whirlwind HAR.2
|
---|
Patrol
| Avro Anson
,
Lockheed Hudson
|
---|
Reconnaissance
| Lockheed Neptune MR.1
|
---|
Military unit
No. 217 Squadron RAF
was a squadron of the RAF. It was formed and disbanded four times between 1 April 1918 and 13 November 1959. In
World War I
it served in a strike role against enemy bases and airfields in Belgium. In
World War II
as part of
RAF
Coastal Command
it served first in a maritime patrol role along the
Western Approaches
and later in an anti-shipping role in the
English Channel
. Ordered to the Far East in 1942, the squadron was retained for two months in
Malta
in an anti-shipping role, protecting Allied convoys, before moving to
Ceylon
to defend the approaches to
India
, serving in an anti-submarine and anti-shipping role. It was equipped and training for a strike role, when the war ended. In the postwar period, it served for five years in a maritime reconnaissance role, and then briefly in a support role for
Operation Grapple
, the British hydrogen bomb tests on
Christmas Island
.
History
[
edit
]
World War I
[
edit
]
No. 217 Squadron traces its ancestry back to the
Royal Naval Air Service
. On 31 October 1914 a
RNAS
seaplane station was formed at
Dunkerque
.
[2]
On 14 January 1918, a unit consisting of
Airco DH.4s
was re-designated No. 17 (Naval) squadron.
[3]
When the
Royal Air Force
was created four months later on 1 April 1918 by merging the
RNAS
with the
Royal Flying Corps
, this unit was re-numbered No. 217 Squadron RAF, operating out of
Bergues
, near
Dunkerque
.
[2]
[3]
The new squadron conducted daylight raids using
Airco DH.4s
on enemy bases and airfields
[2]
in
Belgium
until the end of
World War I
. The squadron returned to
RAF Driffield
in March 1919, but was disbanded on 18 October 1919.
[3]
World War II
[
edit
]
No. 217 Squadron was re-formed under the recently created
RAF
Coastal Command
on 15 March 1937, based at
RAF Boscombe Down
.
[3]
[2]
[4]
Equipped with
Avro Ansons
, the first RAF monoplane with retractable undercarriage, the squadron performed general reconnaissance duties until the outbreak of
World War II
.
[3]
It moved between different stations at
RAF Tangmere
,
RAF Warmwell
and
RAF Bicester
until October 1939.
[3]
English Channel Operations
[
edit
]
In October 1939, No. 217 Squadron moved to its brand-new war station at
RAF St Eval
on the north Cornish coast, which it occupied in an unfinished state.
[2]
[4]
Its
Avro Ansons
conducted anti-submarine patrols
[3]
over the
Western Approaches
to the
English Channel
.
[2]
[4]
From May 1940, the squadron started to be equipped with the
Bristol Beaufort
torpedo bomber, but serious problems with the new aircraft's Taurus engines meant that the
Avro Ansons
remained in service until December 1940.
[2]
The
Bristol Beauforts
started to see active service from 24-25 September 1940.
[4]
[2]
They were used in anti-shipping and mine-laying missions. Torpedo attacks were difficult because the
aircraft
had a tendency to roll, the height of weapon release meant that the distance to target was hard to judge and the aircraft were forced to overfly their target ships, rather than expose their belly to flak by turning away.
One such anti-shipping mission set out on 12 February 1942 to intercept the German battleships
Scharnhorst
and
Gneisenau
as these fled from their safe haven at
Brest
, making the daring
Channel Dash
for Germany.
[4]
No. 217 Squadron had a detachment of four Beauforts that were ideally placed at
RAF Thorney Island
, near Portsmouth. On their first sortie, two aircraft made contact with a different warship, believed to be the German cruiser
Prinz Eugen
but their torpedoes missed. On their second sortie, the same pair found the
Scharnhorst
but their torpedoes missed again. The other two Beauforts reached the French coast, after misdirection due to a mix-up over radio frequencies.
[4]
A later sortie by the remaining aircraft from
RAF St Eval
only found four small minesweepers.
[4]
In February 1942, the squadron moved briefly to
RAF Skitten
and then
RAF Leuchars
in Scotland, where they conducted few operations, as they were being earmarked for duty in
Ceylon
.
[3]
Mediterranean Operations
[
edit
]
In May 1942 the squadron was ordered to
Ceylon
, via
Gibraltar
and
Malta
. The ground echelon left on 7 May 1942,
[3]
with orders to proceed directly to the Far East,
[4]
and the aircraft followed on 7 June 1942,
[3]
arriving in
Malta
on 10 June 1942.
[2]
However, many of the
Bristol Beauforts
were found to be unserviceable on arrival, having problems with their torpedo loading and dropping mechanisms. All nine aircraft were grounded for repairs.
[2]
The aircraft were detained in
Malta
, in order to provide cover two for Allied convoys that were to resupply Malta from both ends of the Mediterranean in June 1942.
[4]
Operation Harpoon
sailed eastward from
Gibraltar
, while
Operation Vigorous
sailed westward from
Alexandria
. On the morning of 15 June 1942, a force of eight
Bristol Beauforts
attacked an Italian fleet that was steaming south, seeking to intercept the convoys.
[5]
A single torpedo from one
Beaufort
[5]
[6]
crippled the Italian cruiser
Trento
, which was later sunk by the British submarine
HMS
Umbra
(P.35)
.
[4]
On 21 June 1942, eight
Beauforts
of No. 217 Squadron flying out of
RAF Luqa
located and attacked an enemy convoy, scoring two hits on each merchant vessel and one possible hit by one of three Beauforts which failed to return.
[7]
On 23 June 1942, twelve
Beauforts
of No. 217 and No. 39 Squadrons attacked four destroyers and two large merchant vessels, scoring three hits and one probable hit on one merchant ship and two hits on the other, immobilising the ships. One aircraft of No. 217 Squadron crashed on landing; two from No. 39 Squadron failed to return. Three aircraft were slightly damaged by anti-aircraft fire.
[7]
In another incident, on 28 June 1942, the crew of a ditched
Beaufort
were rescued by an Italian
CANT Z.506
seaplane. The rescued crew overpowered their Italian rescuers and the
CANT
was flown to
Malta
where the Italians were made
prisoners of war
.
[8]
No. 217 Squadron remained on Malta for two months, carrying out anti-shipping attacks across a wide section of the
Mediterranean
, reaching as far as Greece.
[4]
These missions were very costly in terms of materiel and crew. On 3 July 1942, a mixed force of seven
Bristol Beauforts
escorted by five
Bristol Beaufighters
flying out of
RAF Ta Kali
was due to assault an Italian convoy south of the island of
Zante
in the
Ionian Sea
.
[2]
However, two of the
Beauforts
failed to start; and another two were forced to turn back due to engine trouble. Of the remaining three, two of the aircraft were shot down by flak and the third aircraft, having been hit in the tail, crashed on return to
Malta
, with the loss of all three crews.
[2]
Aircrew losses were so severe, that it was thought the squadron might be wiped out entirely.
[9]
Far East Operations
[
edit
]
The surviving aircrew arrived in
Ceylon
in July 1942, but had no aircraft, having left their battered
Bristol Beauforts
behind in the Middle East. The ground crews arrived by sea in August 1942.
[4]
[3]
Their mission was to defend the approaches to India from the Japanese navy, after
successful Japanese attacks
on
Colombo
and
Trincomalee
between 5-10 April 1942.
No. 217 Squadron was initially based at
RAF Minneriya
, an airstrip located in the east central part of Ceylon.
[10]
It was not until October 1942 that they started to receive
Lockheed Hudsons
. In November 1942,
[11]
crews converted from the
Beaufort
to the
Hudson
, which was used in anti-submarine patrols.
[3]
A detachment was sent to a location 20 km south of
Colombo
, to clear and construct a new airstrip at
RAF Ratmalana
in the jungle.
[11]
In February 1943, the squadron relocated to
RAF Vavuniya
,
[10]
some 50 miles further north of
RAF Minneriya
, where the climate was more comfortable; and for a period, crews seemed to move between these two bases.
[11]
New
Bristol Beauforts
started to arrive in April 1943,
[3]
[11]
whereupon No. 217 Squadron joined forces with
No. 22 Squadron RAF
to become a torpedo-carrying anti-shipping force; however the
Imperial Japanese Navy
failed to show up, as they were busy in the
Pacific Ocean
at the time.
[11]
By June 1944, it seemed that the Japanese had been deterred from attacking again. The bored crews referred to themselves jokingly as the
Ceylon Home Guard
.
[11]
In April 1944, No. 217 Squadron relocated to the airfield at
RAF Ratmalana
.
[10]
From June-July 1944,
[11]
[3]
they started to receive the new
Bristol Beaufighter TF.X
, an aircraft far better suited to maritime anti-shipping operations. The
Beaufighter TF.X
, affectionately known as the
Torbeau
, had four nose-cannon, an under-belly torpedo (or two wing-mounted bombs) and wing-mounted rocket projectiles. Their new commander, Wg Cdr John G Lingard, DFC, trained the crews in the use of rocket projectiles and raised the squadron to an effective strike unit.
[11]
The similarly re-equipped
No. 22 Squadron
was moved in a ground attack role to the
Burma
theatre, where
Gen Wingate
's
Chindits
had been more successful than expected. No. 217 Squadron relocated to
RAF Vavuniya
[10]
in September 1944.
Operations Jinx and Zipper
[
edit
]
In early 1945, a secret operation was conceived by
No. 222 Group RAF
in
Colombo
, which was later authorised by
Vice-Admiral Louis Mountbatten
,
Supreme Allied Commander
South East Asia Command
.
[11]
The idea was to attack Japanese capital ships while they resupplied in
Singapore harbour
. The direct distance from Ceylon to Singapore was 2,300 miles, well beyond the range of the aircraft. However, it might be possible to fly 1,700 miles to an intermediate staging post on the
Cocos Islands
, a pair of volcanic atolls in the
Indian Ocean
, and from there to cross the 1,040 miles to Singapore, by flying over the 12,000 ft high mountains of
Sumatra
. This plan was codenamed
Operation Jinx
.
[11]
[12]
[13]
In March, 1945 a group of Royal Engineers on Direction Island, one of the
Cocos Islands
, was secretly joined by an advance group of 15 airmen, later supplemented by 200 airmen in three transport ships, to prepare
Station Brown
, the staging post. On West Island, they cleared palm-trees from the beach and laid steel planking on crushed coral to serve as an airstrip. With Air Cdre A W Hunt commanding, the base was finished in April 1945. It was fitted out as a refuelling depot and supplied with 81 torpedoes.
[11]
Unaware of this clandestine activity, groups of up to 12
Beaufighter
crews practised long-distance formation flying down the east coast of India from
Karachi
to
Colombo
in Ceylon, without being told their true target.
[11]
To extend their range, the aircraft were fitted with an extra 90 gal fuselage tank and a 200 gal external drop-tank instead of the torpedo. Switching over sometimes led to air-locks in the fuel lines, causing two
Beaufighters
to ditch in the sea. Fortunately, both crews were rescued.
[12]
The strike crews were told on 2 May 1945, the day before the planned assault, what the real target was. They were to attack three battleships, an aircraft carrier and several destroyers, protected by fighters from three airfields. This was clearly a dangerous, if not suicidal, mission.
[11]
[12]
Aircraft would be lost on the 1,700 mile outbound journey to the staging post, or would be spotted flying over Sumatra and finally, if they survived the attack, the planes would run out of fuel and have to be abandoned on
Phuket Island
. However, on 3 May, the crews were told that
Operation Jinx
had been postponed, in favour of
Operation Zipper
, supporting the invasion of the Malayan mainland at Mountbatten's directive. Conditions had changed: there were not enough targets in Singapore harbour to be worth the sacrifice of the squadron.
[11]
[13]
On 22 June 1945, some air and ground crews were relocated to
RAF Gannavaram
on the Indian east coast in preparation for
Operation Zipper
. All other operations were suspended in the meantime,
[11]
and
Operation Jinx
was rescheduled for September 1945. However, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 and Japan surrendered soon afterwards on 14 August 1945. The aircraft of No. 217 Squadron never went to the
Cocos Islands
. No. 217 Squadron was officially disbanded on 30 September 1945.
[3]
[4]
[11]
Post-War Years
[
edit
]
From 15 February 1949 the squadron number was kept active by being linked to
No. 210 Squadron RAF
, but this ceased on 13 January 1952.
[3]
No. 217 Squadron re-formed officially the following day on 14 January 1952 as a Maritime Reconnaissance Squadron at their old base
RAF St Eval
. Commanded by Wing Commander
Mick Ensor
, the squadron received two
Lockheed Neptune MR.1s
for trials (Maritime Reconnaissance, Mark 1 was the British designation for the
Lockheed Neptune PV-5
). On 7 April 1952, the squadron moved its base of operations to
RAF Kinloss
[3]
and was fully equipped with
Neptune MR.1s
by July 1952. They conducted maritime reconnaissance for five years. The squadron disbanded again on 31 March 1957.
[3]
[2]
Operation Grapple
[
edit
]
No. 217 Squadron was re-formed on 1 February 1958 out of No. 1630 Flight, a helicopter unit based at
RAF St Mawgan
.
[3]
In this last incarnation, the squadron operated the
Westland Whirlwind HAR.2
helicopter, and acted in a supporting role in
Operation Grapple
, the series of British hydrogen bomb trials being conducted at
Christmas Island
in the
Pacific Ocean
. The
Westland Whirlwinds
of No. 217 Squadron were part of a much larger task force that included
Avro Shackletons
,
English Electric Canberras
and
Vickers Valiants
from other squadrons.
[2]
Once these trials were completed, the squadron was disbanded on 13 November 1959.
[2]
[3]
Aircraft operated
[
edit
]
[3]
Squadron bases
[
edit
]
From
|
To
|
Location
|
Remarks
|
14 Jan 1918
|
31 Mar 1919
|
Dunkerque
,
France
|
No. 17 (Naval) Squadron formed
|
1 Apr 1918
|
Feb 1919
|
Bergues
, near
Dunkerque
|
No. 217 Squadron formed
|
Mar 1919
|
18 Oct 1919
|
RAF Driffield
,
Yorkshire
|
Squadron disbanded
|
15 Mar 1937
|
Dec 1937
|
RAF Boscombe Down
,
Wiltshire
|
No. 217 Squadron reformed
|
Dec 1937
|
Sep 1939
|
RAF Tangmere
,
West Sussex
|
Main station
[14]
|
03 Sep 1939
|
Oct 1939
|
RAF Warmwell
,
Dorset
|
Temporary station
|
Oct 1939
|
Oct 1941
|
RAF St Eval
,
Cornwall
|
Main war station
|
Oct 1941
|
05 Mar 1942
|
RAF Thorney Island
,
Hampshire
|
Temporary station
|
06 Mar 1942
|
31 May 42
|
RAF Leuchars
,
Fife
|
Main war station
|
01 Jun 1942
|
06 Jun 1942
|
RAF Portreath
,
Cornwall
|
To Ceylon via
Gibraltar
and
Malta
|
07 Jun 1942
|
Jul 1942
|
RAF Luqa
,
Malta
|
Temporary secondment for aircraft only
|
Jul 1942
|
Jan 1943
|
RAF Minneriya
,
Ceylon
|
Temporary station
|
Feb 1943
|
Mar 1944
|
RAF Vavuniya
,
Ceylon
|
Main war station
|
Apr 1944
|
Aug 1944
|
RAF Ratmalana
,
Ceylon
|
Main war station
|
Sep 1944
|
May 1945
|
RAF Vavuniya
,
Ceylon
|
Main war station
|
Jun 1945
|
Sep 1945
|
RAF Gannavaram
,
Vijayawada
|
Squadron disbanded
|
14 Jan 1952
|
6 Apr 1952
|
RAF St Eval
,
Cornwall
|
Squadron reformed, main station
|
7 Apr 1952
|
31 Mar 1957
|
RAF Kinloss
,
Moray Firth
|
Main station, squadron disbanded
|
7 Feb 1958
|
13 Nov 1959
|
RAF St Mawgan
,
Cornwall
|
Squadron reformed and disbanded
|
[10]
[3]
[2]
Commanding officers
[
edit
]
Appointed
|
Commander
|
Remarks
|
14 Jan 1918
|
Sqn Cdr/Maj William L Welsh DSC
|
later Air Mshl
|
19 Mar 1937
|
Sqn Ldr/Wg Cdr Dudley d'H Humphreys
|
|
May 1939
|
Wg Cdr Arthur P Revington
|
later Air Cdre
|
Jun 1940
|
Wg Cdr L H Anderson
|
|
Jul 1940
|
Sqn Ldr L B B King
|
later Gp Capt
[15]
|
Jul 1940
|
Wg Cdr Guy A Bolland
[16]
|
later Gp Capt
|
Mar 1941
|
Wg Cdr Leslie W C Bower
|
later Air Mshl
|
Jan 1942
|
Wg Cdr Howard R Larkin
[17]
|
|
9 Feb 1942
|
Sqn Ldr Taylor DFC, AFC
[5]
|
|
Feb 1942
|
Wg Cdr Samuel M Boal DFC
|
|
Apr 1942
|
Sqn Ldr Taylor DFC, AFC
|
|
Apr 1942
|
Wg Cdr W A L Davis CBE, DFC, AFC
|
|
Aug 1942
|
Fg Off C Buckley
|
|
Oct 1942
|
Fg Off W E M Price
|
|
Nov 1942
|
Wg Cdr A D W Miller
|
|
Mar 1943
|
Wg Cdr R J Walker
|
|
Mar 1944
|
Wg Cdr J Child
|
|
Aug 1944
|
Wg Cdr John G Lingard DFC
[11]
|
|
Aug 1945
|
Wg Cdr A F Binks DFC
|
|
14 Jan 1952
|
Sqn Ldr M A Ensor DSO, DFC
|
|
Mar 1954
|
Sqn Ldr P H Stembridge DFC, AFC
|
|
1 Feb 1958
|
unknown commander
|
|
[3]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
See Pine (1983), p. 266
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
See Dennis and Edwards (2016)
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
See Barass (2017)
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
See Rickard (2011)
- ^
a
b
c
See Aldridge (2013)
- ^
See Telegraph (2016)
- ^
a
b
See MaltaGC70 (2018)
- ^
See Denney (2005)
- ^
See Mackie (2017a)
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
See McNeill (1999)
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
See Nesbit (2014)
- ^
a
b
c
See Mackie (2017b)
- ^
a
b
See Burgess (2005)
- ^
See Banks (1938), p150, 192
- ^
See Quirke (2007), p105, 183
- ^
See Telegraph (2001)
- ^
See Banks (1938), p327, 1117
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Aldridge, Arthur (2013).
The Last Torpedo Flyers: the True Story of Arthur Aldridge, Hero of the Skies
. London: Simon and Schuster. 352pp.
ISBN
978-1471102752
- Banks, Sir Donald, ed. (1938).
The Air Force List, January 1938
.
London: HMSO. Archive retrieved from National Library of Scotland.
- Burgess, Jack, ed. (2005).
Well... You Wanted to Fly! A Collection of Aircrew Reminiscences
. Bognor Regis: Woodfield Publishing. 227pp.
ISBN
1-903953-80-4
.
- Nesbit, Roy C (2014).
An Expendable Squadron: The Story of 217 Squadron, Coastal Command, 1939-1945
. Bradford: Pen & Sword Aviation. 256pp.
ISBN
1-4738-2328-5
.
- Pine, Leslie G (1983).
A Dictionary of Mottoes
. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. 320pp.
ISBN
0-7100-9339-X
.
External links
[
edit
]
- Barass, Malcolm B (2017).
"No. 216 - 220 Squadron Histories".
Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation
.
- Denney, Glenn (2005).
"Chronology of the Siege of Malta, 1940-43".
Merlins over Malta ? the Defenders Return
.
- Dennis, Ian and Edwards, Martin (2016).
“217 Squadron, Coastal Command, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, 1942”.
Royal Air Force, Roll of Honour
.
- Mackie, John (2017).
"Flying with 22 and 217 Squadrons, RAF".
Library Ref 154, Aircrew Association, Scottish Saltire Branch
.
- Mackie, John (2017).
"No. 217 Squadron: Planned One-Way Missions".
Library Ref 019, Aircrew Association, Scottish Saltire Branch
.
- MaltaGC70 (2018).
"21-27 June 1942".
Malta War Diary: the Story of a George Cross
.
- McNeill, Ross (1999).
"No. 217 Squadron RAF".
RAF Coastal Command Index, RAF Commands
.
- Quirke, Robert (2007).
"160 Squadron RAF, 1945."
Public Records Office, Air 27, 1066-1067
.
- Rickard, John (2011).
"No. 217 Squadron (RAF): Second World War".
History of War
.
- Telegraph (2001).
"Group Captain Guy Bolland."
The Telegraph, Obituaries, 7 March 2001
.
- Telegraph (2016).
"Wing Commander Arthur Aldridge".
The Telegraph, Obituaries, 29 March 2016
.