No. 652 Squadron RAF

No. 652 Squadron RAF
Active	1 May 1942 – 1 September 1957
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Role	Air Observation Post Squadron
Motto(s)	Latin: Sive aere sive campo (Translation: "In the air and in the field")^[1]
Insignia
Squadron badge heraldry	In front of wings conjoined in base, a gun barrel fesswise^[1]
Identification symbol	XM (Sep 1946 – 1951)^[2]^[3]
Aircraft flown
Reconnaissance	de Havilland Tiger Moth Taylorcraft Auster Auster AOP.6

No. 652 Squadron RAF was a unit of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and afterwards in Germany. Numbers 651 to 663 Squadrons of the RAF were Air Observation Post units working closely with Army units in artillery spotting and liaison. A further three of these squadrons, 664, 665 and 666, were AOP units of the Royal Canadian Air Force manned by Canadian and British personnel. Their duties and squadron numbers were transferred to the Army with the formation of the Army Air Corps on 1 September 1957.^[1]^[4]

History

A postwar restored DH-82A Tiger Moth.

Formation and World War II

No. 652 Squadron was formed at RAF Old Sarum, Wiltshire, on 1 May 1942 and went into action in Normandy on 7 June 1944 in support of the British Second Army and the Operation Overlord landings. Most of its pilots and observers came from the British Army, while maintenance was carried out by RAF personnel. The squadron moved with the Second Army through France, Belgium and the Netherlands into Germany.

Claim to fame

'C' Flight, No. 652 Squadron RAF has been credited with firing the last British shots of the war in Europe while directing artillery fire at the siege of Dunkirk on 7 May 1945, sharing in this action with No. 665 Squadron RCAF.

Post war service

After the German surrender it remained as part of the British Air Forces of Occupation, later of the 2nd Tactical Air Force, until September 1957, when it was merged into the Army Air Corps. It will be a Lynx Wildcat OCU Squadron in the future.^[5]

The original squadron is represented today by 652 Squadron of 1 Regiment, Army Air Corps

Auster AOP.6 silhouette.

Notable squadron members

Peter W. Wilkinson

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by 652 Squadron^[1]^[6]
From	To	Aircraft	Variant
May 1942	November 1942	de Havilland Tiger Moth	Mk.II
August 1942	March 1943	Taylorcraft Plus	C.2
October 1942	March 1943	Auster	Mk.I
March 1943	March 1944	Auster	Mk.III
February 1944	August 1946	Auster	Mk.IV
December 1944	December 1953	Auster	Mk.V
September 1946	September 1957	Auster	AOP.6
January 1956	September 1957	Auster	AOP.9

Squadron bases

Bases and airfields used by no.652 Squadron RAF, data from^[1]^[4]
From	To	Base	Remark
1 May 1942	15 June 1942	RAF Old Sarum, Wiltshire
15 June 1942	11 August 1942	RAF Bottisham, Cambridgeshire
11 August 1942	31 December 1942	RAF Westley, Suffolk
31 December 1942	20 February 1943	RAF Dumfries, Dumfriesshire, Scotland
20 February 1943	28 March 1943	RAF Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire
28 March 1943	2 July 1943	RAF Methven, Perth and Kinross, Scotland
2 July 1943	7 November 1943	RAF Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland
7 November 1943	25 March 1944	RAF Ipswich, Sufffolk
25 March 1944	29 April 1944	RAF Denham, Buckinghamshire
29 April 1944	7 June 1944	RAF Cobham, Surrey
6 June 1944	7 June 1944	Bény-sur-Mer, Calvados, France	Advance Party
7 June 1944	8 July 1944	Plumetot, Calvados, France
8 July 1944	1 August 1944	Reviers, Calvados, France
1 August 1944	13 August 1944	Blainville-sur-Orne, Calvados, France
13 August 1944	17 August 1944	Grentheville, Calvados, France
17 August 1944	23 August 1944	St-Pierre-sur-Dives, Calvados, France
23 August 1944	26 August 1944	Lisieux, Calvados, France
26 August 1944	3 September 1944	49 13'N 00 29'E, Calvados, France
3 September 1944	4 September 1944	Foucart, Seine-Maritime, France
4 September 1944	14 September 1944	Angerville-l'Orcher, Seine-Maritime, France
14 September 1944	17 September 1944	Héricourt-en-Caux, Seine-Maritime, France
17 September 1944	23 September 1944	Parfondeval, Seine-Maritime, France
23 September 1944	27 September 1944	Buken, Flemish Brabant, Belgium
27 September 1944	5 October 1944	Zoersel, Antwerp, Belgium
5 October 1944	13 October 1944	Het Geheul, Antwerp, Belgium
13 October 1944	19 October 1944	Turnhout, Antwerp, Belgium
19 October 1944	23 October 1944	51 17'N 04 39'E, Antwerp, Belgium
23 October 1944	1 November 1944	Maria ter Heide, Antwerp, Belgium
1 November 1944	4 November 1944	Brasschaat, Antwerp, Belgium
4 November 1944	10 November 1944	Roosendaal, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
10 November 1944	31 December 1944	Brasschaat, Antwerp, Belgium
31 December 1944	1 April 1945	Tilburg, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
1 April 1945	3 April 1945	Kleve, Westphalia, Allied-occupied Germany
3 April 1945	30 April 1945	Zutphen, Gelderland, Netherlands
1 May 1945	14 June 1945	Rhede, Westphalia, Allied-occupied Germany
14 June 1945	16 November 1945	Deilinghofen, Westphalia, Allied-occupied Germany
16 November 1945	29 April 1946	RAF Hoya, Province of Hanover, British Zone of Occupation
29 April 1946	1 December 1947	B.118/RAF Celle, Lower Saxony, British Zone of Occupation	Nos. 1902, 1903 & 1904 Flts.
1 December 1947	1 May 1949	B.156/RAF Luneburg, Lower Saxony, British Zone of Occupation	Nos. 1902, 1903, 1904 & 1905 Flts.
1 May 1949	1 September 1957	RAF Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany	Nos. 1901, 1904, 1905 & 1909 Flts.

References

Notes

1 2 3 4 5 Halley 1988, p. 445.
↑ Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 114.
↑ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 160.
1 2 Jefford 2001, pp. 102–105.
↑ http://www.janes.com/article/28343/british-army-helicopters-leave-germany
↑ Jefford 2001, p. 103.

Bibliography

Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. Combat Codes: A full explanation and listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied air force unit codes since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-84037-281-8.
Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE, BA, RAF(Retd.). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 1988 (second edition 2001). ISBN 1-85310-053-6.

External links

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