No. 640 Squadron RAF
No. 640 Squadron RAF | |
---|---|
Active | 7 January 1944 – 7 May 1945 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Air Force |
Role | Bomber Squadron |
Part of | No. 4 Group, RAF Bomber Command[1] |
Base | RAF Leconfield, East Riding of Yorkshire |
Insignia | |
Squadron Codes | C8 (Jan 1944 – May 1945)[2][3] |
Aircraft flown | |
Bomber | Handley-Page Halifax |
Military unit
No. 640 Squadron RAF was a heavy bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
History
No. 640 Squadron was first formed at RAF Leconfield, East Riding of Yorkshire on 7 January 1944,[4] from 'C' Flight of No. 158 Squadron RAF. It was equipped with Halifax Mk.III bombers, and operated as part of No. 4 Group in Bomber Command. It re-equipped with Halifax VI bombers in March 1945, and was disbanded at RAF Leconfield on 7 May of that year.[5]
Operational highlights
- First Operational Mission 5 Halifaxes bombed Berlin while 3 others aborted on the night from 20 to 21 January 1944
- Last Operational Mission 18 Halifaxes bombed gun batteries on the island of Wangerooge on 25 April 1945[6]
Position | Name crew member | Known as |
---|---|---|
Captain | F/O R.Wakeman, DFC | Jimmy |
Navigator | P/O Reginald William Parr, DFC | Reg |
Bomb Aimer | F/O C.B.Morrison, RCAF, DFC | Cliff |
W/Op | F/Sgt. H.Bearyman | Harry |
Flt.Eng. | F/Sgt. P.McPhie | Peter |
Mid-upper Gunner | F/S R.Thomas | Tommy |
Rear Gunner | F/Sgt. E.G.Humphries | Eric |
Date (all dates are in 1944) | Off | Back | Target | Mission Detail | Bomb Load (lbs) | Individual Aircraft Code | Aircraft Serial No. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 August | 11:12 | 14:27 | Forêt de Nieppe | V-Weapon Sites. | 16×500 | X | |
7 August | 20:53 | 01:48 | May-sur-Orne | Army Support – Five aiming points in front of Allied ground troops in Normandy. | 9×1000 | H | NA573 |
9 August | 11:53 | 15:28 | Le Châtellier | Chemical works. | 4×500 | X | |
10 August | 20:50 | 03:50 | Dijon | A railway junction and the railway yards. | 4×500 | J | |
11 August | 18:22 | 22:07 | Étaples | Railway bridge. | 4×500 | Z | |
15 August | 09:40 | 13:45 | Eindhoven | Airfield | 4×500 | B | MZ561 |
16 August | 21:40 | 01:45 | Kiel | 4×500 | B | MZ561 | |
18 August | 22:20 | 03:00 | Sterkrade/Holten, Ruhr. | Ruhrchemie AG synthetic oil plant (SBC = small bomb container) | 1×2000, 4×SBC | B | MZ561 |
9 September | 06:44 | 11:09 | Le Havre | Abandoned – cloud. | 16×500 | G | |
11 September | 05:19 | 09:49 | Cadillac | 7×1000, 6×500 | K | ||
12 September | 16:15 | 20:50 | Münster | 1×2000 & Incendiary | P | MZ678 | |
17 September | 06:52 | 10:43 | Boulogne | German positions in preparation for an attack by Allied troops. | 9×1000, 4×500 | J | NP631 |
25 September | 06:35 | 10:36 | Calais | German defensive positions. | 9×1000, 4×500 | J | NP931 |
27 September | 09:29 | 13:03 | Calais | German defensive positions. | 9×1000, 4×500 | D | LW554 |
30 September | 09:45 | 14:22 | Bottrop, Ruhr. | Oil plant. | 16×500 | H | MZ344 |
6 October | 14:28 | 19:04 | Sterkrade/Holten, Ruhr. | Ruhrchemie AG Synthetic oil plant. | 16×500 | J | NP931 |
7 October | 11:45 | 16:03 | Kleve | Army support – Approach routes by which German units could threaten the vulnerable Allied right flank near Nijmegen. | 9×1000, 4×500 | J | NP931 |
15 October | 00:16 | 05:53 | Duisburg | 8×1000, 5×500 | K | MZ930 | |
15 October | 17:48 | 21:41 | Wilhelmshaven | 8×1000, 5×500 | K | MZ930 | |
25 October | 12:09 | 17:51 | Essen | Industrial concerns, particularly to the Krupps steelworks. | 9×1000, 4×500 | J | NP931 |
28 October | 09:45 | 13:05 | Walcheren | Gun positions at 5 places on the rim of the island. | 1×2000, 7×1000, 4×500 | L | NP931 |
31 October | 18:03 | 23:10 | Cologne | 1×2000, 6×1000, 5×500 | G | MZ404 | |
2 November | 16:05 | 22:00 | Düsseldorf | 1×2000 & Incendiary | J | NP931 | |
4 November | 17:34 | 22:34 | Bochum | Industrial areas, particularly the steelworks. | 1×2000, 6×1000, 5×500 | J | NP931 |
6 November | 11:42 | 16:42 | Gelsenkirchen | Nordstern synthetic-oil plant. | 1×2000, 6×1000, 5×500 | J | NP931 |
16 November | 12:43 | 17:30 | Jülich | Army support – cut communications behind the German lines. | 1×2000, 6×1000, 5×500 | J | NP931 |
21 November | 17:25 | 23:55 | Sterkrade/Holten, Ruhr. | Ruhrchemie AG Synthetic oil plant. | 16×500 | J | NP931 |
29 November | 02:26 | 08:22 | Essen | Industrial areas, including the Krupps works. | 1×2000, 16×500 | J | NP931 |
2 December | 17:35 | 00:07 | Hagen | Industrial areas – unknown at the time this included a factory making U-boat accumulator batteries. | 1×2000 & Incendiary | J | NP931 |
12 December | 16:24 | 21:58 | Essen | Industrial areas, including the Krupps works. | 1×2000, 4×1000, 6×500 | J | NP931 |
22 December | 15:05 | 21:33 | Bingen am Rhein | Railway yards. | 1×2000, 4×1000, 6×500 | J | NP931 |
24 December | 11:17 | 16:42 | Essen/Mülheim | Airfields. | 5×1000, 8×250 | J | NP931 |
Aircraft operated
From | To | Aircraft | Version |
---|---|---|---|
January 1944 | March 1945 | Handley-Page Halifax | Mk.III |
March 1945 | May 1945 | Handley-Page Halifax | Mk.VI |
Squadron bases
From | To | Name |
---|---|---|
7 January 1944 | 7 May 1945 | RAF Leconfield, East Riding of Yorkshire |
References
Notes
- ^ Delve 1994, p. 69.
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 27.
- ^ Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 65.
- ^ a b c Halley 1988, p. 443.
- ^ a b c Jefford 2001, p. 102.
- ^ a b c Moyes 1976, p. 290.
- ^ a b Reginald William Parr Flight Log 1944
- ^ "RAF History - Bomber Command 60th Anniversary". Archived from the original on 7 June 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2007.
- ^ "RAF History - Bomber Command 60th Anniversary". Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2008.
- ^ "RAF History - Bomber Command 60th Anniversary". Archived from the original on 11 June 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "RAF History - Bomber Command 60th Anniversary". Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
Bibliography
- 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.
- Moyes, Philip J.R. (1976). Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
- Norman, Bill (2005). Halifax Squadron: the Wartime Bombing Operations of No. 640 Squadron, Leconfield. Preston, Lancashire: Compaid Graphics/Bill Norman Publications. ISBN 0-9547325-1-0.
- Norman, Bill (1999). No. 640 (Halifax) Squadron, RAF Leconfield: a Diary of Wartime Bombing Operations. Warrington: Compaid Graphics/Bill Norman Publications. ISBN 1-900604-08-6.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to No. 640 Squadron RAF.
- History of No. 640 Squadron (broken link)
- No. 640 Squadron RAF movement and equipment history (broken link)
- Squadron histories for nos. 621–650 sqn of RAF Web (broken link)
- A Facebook group for relatives of squadron members
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attached to the RAF
during the First World War
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) | |
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Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) | |
Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) |
non-Commonwealth personnel
during the Second World War
|
Special Reserve | |
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Auxiliary Air Force |
(1924–1939)