No. 532 Squadron RAF was one of the ten Turbinlite

Turbinlite

The Helmore/GEC Turbinlite was a 2,700 million candela searchlight fitted in the nose of a number of British Douglas Havoc night fighters during the early part of the Second World War and around the time of The Blitz....

 nightfighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

History

No. 532 Squadron RAF was formed on 2 September 1942 from 1453 (Turbinlite) Flight

No. 1453 Flight RAF

1453 Flight Royal Air Force was first formed in 1941 as a night-fighter unit at RAF Wittering, equipped with Douglas Turbinlite Havoc aircraft...

, based at RAF Wittering

RAF Wittering

RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire is the nearest town, the runways of RAF Wittering cross the boundary between Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire....

. 1453 Turbinlite

Turbinlite

The Helmore/GEC Turbinlite was a 2,700 million candela searchlight fitted in the nose of a number of British Douglas Havoc night fighters during the early part of the Second World War and around the time of The Blitz....

 Flight had previously operated in conjunction with No. 151 Squadron RAF

No. 151 Squadron RAF

-World War I:No. 151 squadron was founded at Hainault Farm in Essex on 12 June 1918, and was equipped with Sopwith Camel aircraft.During the five months in which 151 Squadron had taken part in hostilities overseas, the total number of hours flown by night was 1443 hrs 26 mins.Sixteen enemy aircraft...

 and No. 486 Squadron RNZAF

No. 486 Squadron RNZAF

486 Squadron was a fighter squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force during the Second World War. It was formed under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme and served in Europe under the operational command of the Royal Air Force.Second World War....

. It was disbanded at RAF Hibaldstow

RAF Hibaldstow

RAF Hibaldstow, near Hibaldstow, Lincolnshire, was built with greater things in mind, but it only became a satellite airfield for RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey in 1941. When the runways were constructed, some of the hardcore was made from material taken from demolished bungalows on the site.- History :The...

 on 25 January 1943, when the Turbinlite squadrons were, due to lack of success on their part and the rapid development of AI radar, thought to be superfluous.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 532 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Aircraft	Version
2 September 1943	25 January 1944	Douglas Havoc	Mks.I, II
2 September 1943	25 January 1944	Douglas Boston	Mk.III
2 September 1943	25 January 1944	Hawker Hurricane Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...	Mks.IIb, IIc

Squadron bases

Bases and airfields used by no. 532 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Base	Remark
2 September 1943	9 November 1943	RAF Wittering RAF Wittering RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire is the nearest town, the runways of RAF Wittering cross the boundary between Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.... , Northamptonshire Northamptonshire Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...	Det. at RAF Hibaldstow RAF Hibaldstow RAF Hibaldstow, near Hibaldstow, Lincolnshire, was built with greater things in mind, but it only became a satellite airfield for RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey in 1941. When the runways were constructed, some of the hardcore was made from material taken from demolished bungalows on the site.- History :The... , Lincolnshire Lincolnshire Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
19 November 1943	25 January 1944	RAF Hibaldstow, Lincolnshire

Commanding officers

Officers commanding no. 532 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Name
2 September 1943	25 January 1944	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... C.L.W. Stewart