Ferry Squadron is a former Royal Air Force squadron which operated between 1956 and 1958 at RAF Benson, the squadron was formed by the replacements, disbandments and mergers dating back to 1943.
| Ferry Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 16 April 1956 – 1 December 1958 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Role | Ferrying aircraft. |
History
editFirstly the Ferry Crew Pool Unit was formed at Filton Airport on 7 March 1943,[1] it was then disbanded and became No. 1 Ferry Crew Pool at RAF Lyneham.[2] On 16 March 1944 the pool was merged with No. 301 Ferry Training Unit to become No. 1 Ferry Unit at RAF Pershore, it was then disbanded at RAF Manston[3] on 17 May 1948 to become No. 1 (Overseas) Ferry Unit. Back at RAF Pershore the unit was renamed No. 1 (Overseas) Ferry Unit during September 1950. The unit was disbanded on 17 November 1952 at RAF Abingdon to become No. 1 (Long Range) Ferry Unit and No. 3 (Long Range) Ferry Unit.[4]
No. 1 (Long Range) Ferry Unit was formed at Abingdon and disbanded at RAF Benson on 1 February 1953 to become No. 147 Squadron RAF. Similarly No. 3 (Long Range) Ferry Unit was also formed at Abingdon and was disbanded on 1 February 1953 still at Abingdon to become No. 167 Squadron RAF.[5]
On 16 April 1956 the Ferry Support Squadron was formed at Benson replacing the Ferry Transport Flight. The Support Squadron's name was changed to the Ferry Squadron on 1 January 1958. The squadron absorbed Nos 147 and 167 Squadrons on 15 September 1958[2] and was disbanded at Benson on 1 December 1958.[6]
Aircraft types ferried
edit- Vickers Wellington II's
No. 1 Ferry Crew Pool
- Vickers Wellington II's
- de Havilland Mosquito III's
- Vickers Warwick I's
No. 1 Ferry Unit
- Bristol Beaufort I
- Lockheed Hudson I
- de Havilland Dominie I
- Lockheed Ventura II
- Miles Master II & III
- Douglas Boston IIIa & IV
- North American Mitchell III
- Vickers Warwick I & V
- Airspeed Oxford I & II
- Bristol Beaufighter I, VI, X and XI
- Percival Proctor III & IV
- Douglas Dakota III & IV
- Handley Page Halifax II, III, V, VI, VII & IX
- Vickers Wellington X, XIII & XIV
- de Havilland Mosquito III, VI, XIII, XVI, XIX, FB.26, NF.30 and PR.34
- Avro Lancaster III
- Miles Martinet I
- Hawker Tempest VI
- North American Harvard IIB
- Supermarine Spitfire VB, IX & F.22
- Avro Anson I, X, XI, XII & XIX
- de Havilland Hornet F.1
- Bristol Buckmaster I
- Bristol Brigand B.1
- Gloster Meteor T.7
1 (Overseas) Ferry Unit
- North American Harvard IIB
- Douglas Dakota IV
- Vickers Wellington X
- Hawker Tempest V
- de Havilland Mosquito III, VI, XVI and PR.34
- Avro Anson T.20
- Bristol Buckmaster I
- de Havilland Vampire F.3 & FB.5
- Gloster Meteor T.7 & F.8
- Vickers Valetta C.1
- de Havilland Hornet F.3
No. 1 (Long-Range) Ferry Unit
No ferry aircraft known
No. 3 (Long-Range) Ferry Unit
- Canadair Sabre F.4
No. 147 Squadron
- Canadair Sabre
- de Havilland Vampire FB.9
- de Havilland Venom FB.1
- Supermarine Swift
- Hawker Hunter
No. 167 Squadron
No ferry aircraft known
Ferry Support Squadron/Ferry Squadron
- Gloster Meteor F.8 & NF.11
- de Havilland Vampire FB.9 & T.11
- Vickers Varsity T.1
- Boulton Paul Balliol T.2
- de Havilland Venom FB.4
- Percival Provost T.1
- Auster AOP.9
- Gloster Javelin FAW.4 & FAW.9
- Supermarine Swift FR.5 & F.7
- Hawker Hunter T.7
- Scottish Aviation Pioneer CC.1
- English Electric Canberra B(I).8
References
editCitations
editBibliography
edit- Lake, A (1999). Flying units of the RAF. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.