No. 682 Squadron RAF was a photo reconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
| No. 682 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1 February 1943 – 14 September 1945 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Role | photo reconnaissance |
| Part of | Mediterranean Air Command[1] |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | No badge known to have been authorised[2] |
| Squadron Codes | No code(s) are known to have been carried by this squadron[3][4][5] |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Reconnaissance | Supermarine Spitfire de Havilland Mosquito |
History
editThe squadron was formed on 1 February 1943[6] at Maison Blanche, Algeria from No. 4 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) RAF. It was at first equipped with Spitfire PR.IVs and -shortly- Mosquito PR.IVs and PR.VIs, and later flew the Spitfire PR.XI in support of the campaign in Tunisia, Sicily, and then Italy. The squadron supported the invasion of Italy and carried out sorties over Yugoslavia including special reconnaissance for army and commando operations. In 1944 the squadron began to target southern France and it moved detachments to France in September 1944, receiving the superlative photographic reconnaissance version of the Spitfire, the PR.XIX. It returned to cover the Italian campaign and also operated over Greece. With the war over the squadron carried survey flights until it was disbanded on 14 September 1945 at Peretola, Italy.[3]
Aircraft operated
edit| From | To | Aircraft | Variant |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 1943 | May 1943 | Supermarine Spitfire | PR.IV |
| April 1943 | July 1943 | de Havilland Mosquito | PRs.IV & VI |
| April 1943 | September 1945 | Supermarine Spitfire | PR.XI |
| September 1944 | September 1945 | Supermarine Spitfire | PR.XIX |
Squadron bases
edit| From | To | Base | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 February 1943 | 6 June 1943 | RAF Maison Blanche, Algeria | |
| 6 June 1943 | 8 December 1943 | La Marsa, Tunisia | Detachment at Foggia, Italy |
| 8 December 1943 | September 1944 | San Severo, Italy | Detachments at Pomigliano, Italy; Alghero, Italy; Nettuno, Italy; Voltone, Italy; Follonica, Italy; Borgo, Italy; Le Luc, France; Y.23/Valence, France; Lyons/Bron, France; Malignano, Italy |
| September 1944 | 14 September 1945 | Peretola, Italy | Detachments at Dijon, France; Y.42/Nancy, France and RAF Hal Far, Malta |
Commanding officers
edit| From | To | Name |
|---|---|---|
| February 1943 | July 1943 | S/Ldr. A.H.W. Ball, DSO, DFC |
| July 1943 | July 1944 | S/Ldr. J.T. Morgan, DSO |
| July 1944 | March 1945 | S/Ldr. R.C. Buchanan, DFC |
| March 1945 | August 1945 | S/Ldr. H.B. Oldfield |
| August 1945 | September 1945 | S/Ldr. B.R. Kenwright, DFC |
See also
editReferences
editNotes
edit- ^ Delve 1994, p. 82.
- ^ Rawlings 1982, p. 245.
- ^ a b c d e Rawlings 1982, p. 246.
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 148.
- ^ Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 233.
- ^ a b c Halley 1988, p. 454.
- ^ a b Jefford 2001, p. 105.
Bibliography
edit- Bowman, Martin (1999). Mosquito Photo-Reconnaissance Units of World War 2. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-891-7.
- Bowyer, Chaz (1984). Mosquito Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-1425-6.
- Bowyer, Michael J.F.; Rawlings, John D.R. (1979). Squadron Codes, 1937–56. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
- Delve, Ken (1994). The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
- 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.
External links
edit
- Squadron Histories and more for Nos. 671–1435 Squadron on RAFweb Archived 30 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- History of 682 Squadron