No. 353 Squadron RAF
Encyclopedia
No. 353 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force
squadron, active during World War II
in the patrol and transport role.
, British India from 62 Squadron RAF
and 103 (Coast Defence) Flight, Indian Air Force
. The squadron was engaged in coastal patrols over the Bay of Bengal
equipped with Lockheed Hudson
aircraft. In August 1943 the squadron moved to Palam
and was assigned to transport duties. From 1944 onwards the squadron re-equipped with Douglas Dakota
s, and also operated a number of Avro Anson
aircraft, which were replaced with Expeditors
in January 1945. The squadron became fully Dakota equipped by April 1945, but disbanded at RAF Mauripur
on 1 October 1946.
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
squadron, active during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in the patrol and transport role.
History
No. 353 Squadron was formed on 1 June 1942 at Dum DumDum Dum
Dum Dum is a city and a municipality in North 24 Parganas district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is a neighbourhood in North-west Kolkata and the location of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, formerly Dum Dum Airport.Dum Dum is a well known place in greater Kolkata...
, British India from 62 Squadron RAF
No. 62 Squadron RAF
-World War I:No. 62 Squadron RAF was formed on 8 August 1916, at Filton from No. 7 Training Squadron. In May 1917 it equipped with the Bristol F2B, before being posted to France in January 1918. The squadron operated as fighter-reconnaissance unit until disbanding on 31 July 1919. Its wartime...
and 103 (Coast Defence) Flight, Indian Air Force
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
. The squadron was engaged in coastal patrols over the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
equipped with Lockheed Hudson
Lockheed Hudson
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
aircraft. In August 1943 the squadron moved to Palam
Indira Gandhi International Airport
Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport of the National Capital Region of Delhi, India, situated in West Delhi, 16 km southwest of New Delhi city centre. Named after Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, it is the busiest airport in India in...
and was assigned to transport duties. From 1944 onwards the squadron re-equipped with Douglas Dakota
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
s, and also operated a number of Avro Anson
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
aircraft, which were replaced with Expeditors
Beechcraft Model 18
The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas...
in January 1945. The squadron became fully Dakota equipped by April 1945, but disbanded at RAF Mauripur
RAF Mauripur
RAF Mauripur was a Royal Air Force station in British India outside of Karachi. It is now known as Masroor Airbase.British units continued to use the airfield after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, finally leaving in 1956 - Pakistan becoming a republic at this time, and the RAF airfields at Gan...
on 1 October 1946.
Aircraft operated
| From | To | Aircraft | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 1942 | October 1944 | Lockheed Hudson Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter... |
Mk.III |
| October 1944 | October 1944 | Lockheed Hudson | Mk.VI |
| April 1944 | September 1945 | Douglas Dakota C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and... |
Mk.I |
| April 1944 | October 1946 | Douglas Dakota | Mks.III, IV |
| August 1944 | January 1945 | Avro Anson Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was... |
Mks.I, X, XII |
| November 1944 | March 1945 | Vickers Warwick Vickers Warwick The Vickers Warwick was a multi-purpose British aircraft used during the Second World War. Built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands, Surrey, the Warwick was used by the Royal Air Force as a transport, air-sea rescue and maritime reconnaissance platform, and by the civilian British Overseas... |
Mk.III |
| January 1945 | July 1945 | Beechcraft Expeditor Beechcraft Model 18 The Beechcraft Model 18, or "Twin Beech", as it is better known, is a 6-11 seat, twin-engine, low-wing, conventional-gear aircraft that was manufactured by the Beech Aircraft Corporation of Wichita, Kansas... |
Mk.II |
Squadron bases
| From | To | Base | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 June 1942 | 24 February 1943 | RAF Dum Dum Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is an airport located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, serving the greater Kolkata metro area. The airport was originally known as Dum Dum Airport before being renamed in the honour of Subhas Chandra Bose... , Bengal Bengal Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous... |
Det. at RAF Cuttack Cuttack Cuttack is the former capital of the state of Orissa, India. It is the headquarters of Cuttack district and is located about 20 km to the north east of Bhubaneswar, the capital of Orissa. The name of the city is an anglicised form of Kataka that literally means The Fort, a reference to the... , Orissa Orissa Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April... |
| 24 February 1943 | 2 April 1943 | RAF Dhubalia, Bengal | Det. at RAF Jessore Jessore Airport -Airlines and destinations:-External links:*... , Bengal |
| 2 April 1943 | 24 August 1943 | RAF Tanjore, Thanjavur Thanjavur District Thanjavur District is one of the 32 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur.-Geography:... , Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh... |
Det. at St Thomas Mount, Madras, Tamil Nadu |
| 24 August 1943 | 1 May 1946 | RAF Palam Indira Gandhi International Airport Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport of the National Capital Region of Delhi, India, situated in West Delhi, 16 km southwest of New Delhi city centre. Named after Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, it is the busiest airport in India in... , Delhi Delhi Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census... |
Dets. at Dum Dum (renumbered to 52 Squadron No. 52 Squadron RAF No. 52 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron that saw service in both World War I and World War II.-First World War:No. 52 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed as a Corps Reconnaissance squadron at Hounslow Heath Aerodrome on 15 May 1916. It moved to France in November that year, being... on 1 July 1944) and Jiwani Jiwani Jiwani or Jwani is a town and commercial port that is located along the Gulf of Oman in the Gwadar District of the Balochistan province in Pakistan. It is located near the Pakistani border with Iran... , Balochistan |
| 1 May 1946 | 1 October 1946 | RAF Mauripur, Sindh Sindh Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can... |
Disbanded here |
Commanding officers
| From | To | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1 June 1942 | 1 July 1944 | W/Cdr. Wing Commander (rank) Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries... L.G.W. Lilly |
| 1 July 1944 | February 1945 | W/Cdr. C.E. Slee, MVO Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys... , AFC Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"... |
| February 1945 | March 1945 | S/Ldr. Squadron Leader Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these... F.M. Biddulph |
| March 1945 | October 1945 | W/cdr. A.M. Harding, DFC Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against... |
| October 1945 | 1 October 1946 | W/Cdr. P.B. Wood |