No. 357 Squadron RAF
No. 357 Squadron RAF | |
---|---|
Active | 1 February 1944 – 15 November 1945 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Role | special operations |
Part of | , South East Asia Command[1] |
Motto(s) | Latin: Mortem hostibus (Translation: "We bring death to the enemy")[2][3] |
Insignia | |
Squadron Badge heraldry | A crocodile[2][3] |
Squadron Codes | No specific identity markings are known to have been carried[4] |
No. 357 Squadron was a special operations squadron of the Royal Air Force. During the Second World War it was involved in supplying Allied ground forces operating behind enemy lines, in the South-East Asian theatre.
History[]
The squadron was formed on 1 February 1944 at Digri, Bengal, from as an expansion of the Royal Air Force Special Duty Service. The squadron was equipped with Consolidated Liberator and Lockheed Hudson aircraft, which formed "A" Flight, whilst "B" Flight consisted of four Consolidated Catalina aircraft operated by the squadron from Red Hills Lake, Madras. The Catalina flight became No. 628 Squadron on 21 March 1944. On 15 September 1944, No. 357 Squadron moved to Jessore, Bengal. Operational flights dropping small numbers of agents and equipment into Malaya began in November 1944 using the squadrons Liberators. The flights in early 1945 were to locations in Kelatan and Perak. Later flights were reaching as far south as Batu Pahat and Kota Tinggi and covering 3,500 air miles with a flying times of over 22 hours - near the aircraft's maximum range.
Also early in 1945, the Hudsons were replaced by Douglas Dakotas, and "C" Flight was equipped with Westland Lysanders joined the squadron. The squadron disbanded on 15 November 1945.
Aircraft operated[]
From | To | Aircraft | Version |
---|---|---|---|
February 1944 | March 1944 | Consolidated Catalina | Mk.IV |
February 1944 | December 1944 | Lockheed Hudson | Mk.IIIa |
February 1944 | December 1944 | Consolidated Liberator | Mk.III |
September 1944 | October 1945 | Consolidated Liberator | Mk.VI |
December 1944 | November 1945 | Douglas Dakaota | Mks.III, IV |
January 1945 | March 1945 | Stinson Sentinel | |
March 1945 | November 1945 | Westland Lysander | Mk.IIIa |
Squadron bases[]
From | To | Base | Remark |
---|---|---|---|
1 February 1944 | 15 September 1945 | Digri, Bengal, British India | Dets. at RAF China Bay, Ceylon and RAF Redhills Lake, Madras, British India |
15 September 1945 | 15 November 1945 | RAF Jessore, Bengal, British India | Dets. at RAF Meiktila, Burma and RAF Mingaladon, Burma |
Commanding officers[]
From | To | Name |
---|---|---|
February 1944 | December 1944 | W/Cdr. J.R. Moore |
December 1944 | July 1945 | W/Cdr. L.M. Hodges, DSO, DFC |
July 1945 | November 1945 | W/Cdr. P.R. Gaskell, DFC |
References[]
Citations[]
- ^ Delve 1994, pp. 77, 84.
- ^ a b c d Rawlings 1982, p. 204.
- ^ a b c d Halley 1988, p. 386.
- ^ a b Rawlings 1982, p. 205.
- ^ a b Jefford 2001, p. 94.
Bibliography[]
- Delve, Ken (1994). The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
- Gwynne-Timothy, John R.W. (1991). Burma Liberators: RCAF in SEAC. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Next Level Press. ISBN 1-895578-02-7.
- 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.
- O'Brien, Terence (1987). The Moonlight War: the Story of Clandestine Operations in South-East Asia, 1944-5. London: Collins. ISBN 0-00-217803-6.
- Oughton, James D.; Hamlin, John; Thomas, Andrew (2007). The Liberator in Royal Air Force and Commonwealth Service. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 978-0-85130-362-8.
- 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[]
- Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
- Military units and formations established in 1944
- Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II
- Military units and formations of Ceylon in World War II
- Military units and formations disestablished in 1945