No. 310 Squadron RAF

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310th Fighter Squadron of the RAF
310. československá stíhací peruť RAF
№ 310 (Czechoslovak) Fighter Squadron
RAF310Sq.gif
Motto:
We Fight To Rebuild
We are fighting for reconstruction
Code:
NN
Originated:
July 12, 1940, Duxford
Dissolved
September 14, 1945,
Praha - Kbely

The 310th RAF Fighter Squadron was one of the four RAF air forces of the Czechoslovak Army in Exile that took part in the fighting of the British Air Force during World War II in Europe as units of the Royal Air Force (RAF) . The season made a significant contribution to the Battle of Britain .

history

The 310th Fighter Squadron was the first of all the Czechoslovak Royal Air Force squadrons to be formed in Great Britain and to take part in the fighting. It was created on July 10, 1940 in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, from members of the Czechoslovak Air Force who fled to France after the occupation of their country by the Wehrmacht and served there. After the collapse of France, they finally came to England. After retraining on British machines Hawker Hurricane Mk. I, she was ready for action on August 18, 1940 and took part in the battles of the Battle of Britain as part of No. 12 Fighter Group (12th Fighter Group) of Fighter Command . The squadron became involved in the first combat operations on August 26, 1940, and in the late summer and autumn of 1940 it was able to show 40 confirmed and 11 unconfirmed kills and 6 damaged enemy machines.

In 1942 the unit took part in battles over France, and later escorted various bomber flights and protected naval convoys. In May 1942 she was formed in Exeter together with the 312nd and 313rd squadrons of the Czechoslovak squadron. In June 1943 the squadron was relocated to Scotland and participated in the defense of Scapa Flow Bay in the Orkney Archipelago , where the main base of the British fleet was. On 8 November 1943, the squadrons were in the 84th group of the 2nd Tactical Air Force - incorporated to in the planned (2nd Tactical Air Force TAF) Operation Overlord - participate - in the invasion of Normandy. On July 3, 1944, however, the 310th Squadron was assigned to the Air Defense of Great Britain to secure the defense of the airspace over England and the Canal; Nevertheless, she also took part in operations across the continent, such as Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands and Operation Varsity - the allied crossing of the Rhine.

During the war operations, the unit changed bases several times and used different machines. Not only was it the longest-serving Czechoslovak squadron in the RAF, it was also the most successful: 54.5 enemy aircraft downed and 4 V1 missiles , 20 probable kills, and 32 enemy aircraft damaged.

In August 1945, the squadron was transferred to Czechoslovakia to help build the country's new air force. On February 15, 1946, it was officially disbanded as a unit of the Royal Air Force.

Overviews

bases

The 310th Squadron flew its missions from the following bases:

  • Duxford, Cambridgeshire (since July 10, 1940)
  • Martlesham Heath, Suffolk (since June 26, 1941)
  • Dyce, Aberdeenshire (since July 20, 1941)
  • Perranporth, Cornwall (since December 24, 1941)
  • Exeter, Devon (since May 7, 1942)
  • Redhill, Surrey (since July 1, 1942)
  • Exeter, Devon (since July 7, 1942)
  • Redhill, Surrey (since August 16, 1942)
  • Exeter, Devon (since August 21, 1942)
  • Castletown, Caithness (since June 26, 1943)
  • Ibsley, Hampshire (since September 19, 1943)
  • Mendlesham, Suffolk (since February 19, 1944)
  • Hutton Cranswick, Yorkshire (since February 21, 1944)
  • Mendlesham, Suffolk (since February 25, 1944)
  • Appledram, Sussex (since April 3, 1944)
  • Tangmere, Sussex (since June 22, 1944)
  • Lympne, Kent (since July 1, 1944)
  • Digby, Lincolnshire (since July 11, 1944)
  • North Weald, Essex (since August 28, 1944)
  • Bradwell Bay, Essex (since December 29, 1944)
  • Manston, Kent (since February 27, 1945)

Planes

Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX of the 310th Squadron ( National Technical Museum in Prague )

The squadron was equipped with various types of Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters:

Personnel and losses

Of the 9 commanders of the 310th Squadron, two were British, of the 10 commanders of Swarm A, two were British, and of the 14 commanders of Swarm B, three were British. The personnel losses of the 310th Squadron of the RAF during the war amounted to 31 people.

Commanders of the entire squadron

Alexander Hess 07/12/1940 - 02/28/1941
George DM Blackwood *) 07/12/1940 - 01/01/1941
František Weber 02/28/1941 - 04/07/1942
Jerrard J. Jefferies-Latimer *) 01/01/1941 - 07/07/1941
František Doležal 04/07/1942 - 01/15/1943
Emil Foit January 15, 1943 - January 13, 1944
Hugo Hrbáček 01/13/1944 - 05/21/1944
Václav Rada May 21, 1944 - September 15, 1944
Jiří Hartman 15.09.1944 - ČSR

Swarm Commanders "A"

Jaroslav Malý 07/12/1940 - 12/12/1940
Gordon J. Sinclair *) 07/12/1940 - 12/12/1940
František Doležal 12/12/1940 - 04/07/1942
Patrick BG Davies *) 12.12.1940 - 29.08.1941
Václav Bergman 04/07/1942 - 10/01/1942
Vladislav Chocholin 10/01/1942 - 02/01/1943
Hugo Hrbáček 02/01/1943 - 10/15/1943
Jiří Hartman October 15, 1943 - August 11, 1944
Miroslav Diviš August 11, 1944 - January 6, 1945
Karel Drbohlav 01/06/1945 - ČSR

Swarm Commanders "B"

František Rypl 07/12/1940 - 12/10/1940
Jerrard J. Jefferies *) 07/12/1940 - 01/01/1941
František Weber 12/10/1940 - 02/28/1941
MWB Knight *) February 15, 1941 - March 8, 1941
Svatopluk Janouch 02/28/1941 - 05/29/1941
Crelin W. Bodie *) March 8, 1941 - June 3, 1941
Miloslav Kredba May 29, 1941 - February 14, 1942
Emil Foit 02/14/1942 - 11/15/1942
František Burda November 15, 1942 - February 27, 1943
Jiří Hartman 02/27/1943 - 06/01/1943
Vladislav Chocholin 06/01/1943 - 09/24/1943
Bohuslav Kimlička September 24, 1943 - December 6, 1943
Václav Raba December 6, 1943 - May 21, 1944
František Bernard May 22, 1944 - ČSR

*) The Czechoslovak commanders were temporarily assigned British officers to ensure communication with the higher command structures.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Information from the portal rafcommands.com, online at: rafcommands.com/Fighter/310F.html ( Memento from March 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), compared with cz-raf.hyperlink.cz ( Memento from February 21, 2015 on the Internet Archives ), both accessed March 7, 2012
  2. ↑ No. 310 Czechoslovak Fighter Squadron , online at: cz-raf.hyperlink.cz/Units/310.html ( Memento from February 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ); see. also aircraft of seasons 310 - 330, rafweb.org / ... ( Memento of September 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), both accessed on March 6, 2012
  3. ↑ No. 310 Czechoslovak Fighter Squadron , online at: cz-raf.hyperlink.cz/Units/310 ( Memento of 21 February 2015, Internet Archive ); see. also the list of members of the squadron, List of Czechoslovak airmen at No. 310 Czechoslovak Fighter Squadron , online at: cz-raf.hyperlink.cz/Units/staff310 ( Memento of 22 February 2015, Internet Archive ), both accessed 9 March 2012
  4. ↑ Statistics of Czechoslovak Airmen in the Royal Air Force Voluntary Reserve , online at: cz-raf.hyperlink.cz/Units/cz_stat ( Memento of September 16, 2008 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 7, 2012

swell

See also

Web links

Commons : No. 310 (Czechoslovak) Squadron RAF  - collection of images, videos and audio files