No. 613 Squadron RAF
Encyclopedia
No. 613 Squadron was an Auxiliary Air Force later Royal Auxiliary Air Force
squadron formed on 1 February 1939 at the then new municipal airport at Ringway, nine miles south of Manchester
. The squadron served at first in the army cooperation role, and later during World War II
became a tactical bomber unit. After the war the squadron reformed as a fighter unit and as such flew until its last disbandment in March 1957.
on 1 February 1939 in the army cooperation role as part of No. 22 (Army Co-Operation) Group
. It was initially intended that the title 'East Lancashire' Squadron would be used, but this could have been confused with No. 611 Squadron RAF
, named 'West Lancashire', based at Liverpool's airport at Speke
. The link with the City of Manchester was therefore created.
The squadron was initially equipped with Hawker Hind
s. On 2 October 1939 the squadron moved from RAF Ringway to RAF Odiham
near Basingstoke
and Hawker Hector
s were delivered to the unit during November to replace the Hinds. From 2 April 1940, Westland Lysander
s served alongside the Hectors. The Hectors and Lysanders were used to dive-bomb German positions and drop supplies to friendly troops near Calais
during the late May 1940 Dunkirk evacuation.
. It re-equipped with the early Allison V-1710 powered Mark I version of the North American Mustang
in April 1942, continuing to operate within RAF Army Cooperation Command
.
On 15 October 1943 the squadron moved to RAF Lasham, Hampshire
and began to equip with the De Havilland Mosquito
when it joined No. 2 Group
as a day and night tactical strike unit. The squadron mainly flew night intrusion sorties, but also took part in daylight precision actions such as that against the Dutch Central Population Registry building on 11 April 1944, where the Germans held their Dutch Gestapo records.
The squadron disbanded at Cambrai
-Epinoy
, France, on 7 August 1945 by being renumbered to No. 69 Squadron
.
The squadron reformed on 10 May 1946 at RAF Ringway
(now Manchester Airport), as a fighter squadron within Reserve Command. The unit's home was in Ringway's Hangar No.7, which had been completed for the squadron in spring 1940, a few months after leaving the airport for wartime service elsewhere.
No. 613 Squadron was initially equipped with Supermarine Spitfire
FR.14's, replacing these in November 1948 by the higher performance Mark F.22's. North American Harvard aircraft were used in the dual training role. The Spitfires and their volunteer flying and ground crews were frequently detached to RAF Horsham St Faith
, Norfolk, and other RAF stations, for weekend exercises alongside regular RAF squadrons.
In April 1950, No. 613 Squadron was transferred to become a unit within RAF Fighter Command
. No. 613 re-equipped during February 1951 with the jet-powered De Havilland Vampire
FB.5. The Harvard T.2s were replaced by Gloster Meteor
T.7 twin-seat trainers. Initial training with the new jet aircraft was carried out at Avro
s nearby Woodford Aerodrome, with its longer runway, by courtesy of the squadron's honorary air commodore
, Sir Roy Dobson.
613's commanding officer, Squadron Leader Jack Wales DFC
, a test pilot for Avros, flew the unit's only Vampire FB.9, WR257 'A' between June 1954 and his death in December 1956 when flight testing the prototype Avro Shackleton MR.3
. WR257 had been built by Fairey Aviation
at Ringway - the only example of a jet aircraft being both built and based at the airfield.
After six further years of peacetime exercises, often detaching to operational RAF fighter stations, the unit disbanded for the final time at Ringway on 10 March 1957, on the same day as all other Royal Auxiliary Air Force flying units.
Royal Auxiliary Air Force
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force , originally the Auxiliary Air Force , is the voluntary active duty reserve element of the Royal Air Force, providing a primary reinforcement capability for the regular service...
squadron formed on 1 February 1939 at the then new municipal airport at Ringway, nine miles south of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. The squadron served at first in the army cooperation role, and later 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...
became a tactical bomber unit. After the war the squadron reformed as a fighter unit and as such flew until its last disbandment in March 1957.
Formation and early years
The squadron was formed at RAF RingwayRAF Ringway
RAF Ringway, was a Royal Air Force station near Manchester, UK, in the parish of Ringway, then in Cheshire. It was operational from 1939 until 1957.-Prewar years:...
on 1 February 1939 in the army cooperation role as part of No. 22 (Army Co-Operation) Group
No. 22 Group RAF
Number 22 Group is one of only three groups currently active in the Royal Air Force, falling under the responsibility of Deputy Commander-in-Chief in Air Command. Its current full title is Number 22 Group and it is responsible for RAF training policy and controlling the Royal Air Force College...
. It was initially intended that the title 'East Lancashire' Squadron would be used, but this could have been confused with No. 611 Squadron RAF
No. 611 Squadron RAF
No. 611 Squadron was a British Auxiliary Air Force later Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron first formed in 1936 and lastly disbanded in 1957.-Early years:...
, named 'West Lancashire', based at Liverpool's airport at Speke
Speke
Speke is an area of Liverpool, Merseyside, England, close to the boundaries of the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley. It is south east of the city centre and to the west of the town of Widnes....
. The link with the City of Manchester was therefore created.
The squadron was initially equipped with Hawker Hind
Hawker Hind
-See also:-Bibliography:* Crawford, Alex. Hawker Hart Family. Redbourn, Hertfordshire, UK: Mushroom Model Publications Ltd., 2008. ISBN 83-89450-62-3....
s. On 2 October 1939 the squadron moved from RAF Ringway to RAF Odiham
RAF Odiham
RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the historic small village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook HC2, HC2A and HC3...
near Basingstoke
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
and Hawker Hector
Hawker Hector
-See also:-Bibliography:* Air Transport Auxiliary Ferry Pilots Notes . Elvington, York, UK: Yorkshire Air Museum, 1996. ISBN 0-9512379-8-5....
s were delivered to the unit during November to replace the Hinds. From 2 April 1940, Westland Lysander
Westland Lysander
The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...
s served alongside the Hectors. The Hectors and Lysanders were used to dive-bomb German positions and drop supplies to friendly troops near Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
during the late May 1940 Dunkirk evacuation.
Tactical reconnaissance operations
In August 1941 the squadron became a tactical reconnaissance unit and it began re-equipping with the faster Curtiss TomahawkCurtiss P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...
. It re-equipped with the early Allison V-1710 powered Mark I version of the North American Mustang
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
in April 1942, continuing to operate within RAF Army Cooperation Command
RAF Army Cooperation Command
RAF Army Cooperation Command was a short-lived major command of the Royal Air Force during World War II, comprising the army cooperation units of the RAF.The command was formed on 1 December 1940 when No...
.
Mosquito operations
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
and began to equip with the De Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
when it joined No. 2 Group
No. 2 Group RAF
Number 2 Group is a Group of the Royal Air Force which was first activated in 1918, served from 1918–20, from 1936 through the Second World War to 1947, from 1948 to 1958, from 1993 to 1996, was reactivated in 2000, and is today part of Air Command....
as a day and night tactical strike unit. The squadron mainly flew night intrusion sorties, but also took part in daylight precision actions such as that against the Dutch Central Population Registry building on 11 April 1944, where the Germans held their Dutch Gestapo records.
The squadron disbanded at Cambrai
Cambrai
Cambrai is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Cambrai is the seat of an archdiocese whose jurisdiction was immense during the Middle Ages. The territory of the Bishopric of Cambrai, roughly coinciding with the shire of Brabant, included...
-Epinoy
Épinoy
Épinoy is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village situated southeast of Arras at the junction of the N43 and D21 roads.-Population:-Places of interest:* Traces of an old castle....
, France, on 7 August 1945 by being renumbered to No. 69 Squadron
No. 69 Squadron RAF
The name No. 69 Squadron has been used by the Royal Air Force for two quite different units.No. 3 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps was formed at Point Cook, Victoria, Australia on 19 September 1916. To avoid confusion with No. 3 Squadron, RAF, it was known to the British military as "No...
.
Postwar operations
RAF Ringway
RAF Ringway, was a Royal Air Force station near Manchester, UK, in the parish of Ringway, then in Cheshire. It was operational from 1939 until 1957.-Prewar years:...
(now Manchester Airport), as a fighter squadron within Reserve Command. The unit's home was in Ringway's Hangar No.7, which had been completed for the squadron in spring 1940, a few months after leaving the airport for wartime service elsewhere.
No. 613 Squadron was initially equipped with Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
FR.14's, replacing these in November 1948 by the higher performance Mark F.22's. North American Harvard aircraft were used in the dual training role. The Spitfires and their volunteer flying and ground crews were frequently detached to RAF Horsham St Faith
RAF Horsham St Faith
RAF Horsham St Faith was a Royal Air Force station near Norwich, Norfolk, England from 1939 to 1963. It was then developed as Norwich International Airport.-RAF Bomber Command use:...
, Norfolk, and other RAF stations, for weekend exercises alongside regular RAF squadrons.
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
. No. 613 re-equipped during February 1951 with the jet-powered De Havilland Vampire
De Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...
FB.5. The Harvard T.2s were replaced by Gloster Meteor
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...
T.7 twin-seat trainers. Initial training with the new jet aircraft was carried out at Avro
Avro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
s nearby Woodford Aerodrome, with its longer runway, by courtesy of the squadron's honorary air commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
, Sir Roy Dobson.
613's commanding officer, Squadron Leader Jack Wales 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...
, a test pilot for Avros, flew the unit's only Vampire FB.9, WR257 'A' between June 1954 and his death in December 1956 when flight testing the prototype Avro Shackleton MR.3
Avro Shackleton
The Avro Shackleton was a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft for use by the Royal Air Force. It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber with a new fuselage...
. WR257 had been built by Fairey Aviation
Fairey Aviation
The Fairey Aviation Company Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century based in Hayes in Greater London and Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Greater Manchester...
at Ringway - the only example of a jet aircraft being both built and based at the airfield.
After six further years of peacetime exercises, often detaching to operational RAF fighter stations, the unit disbanded for the final time at Ringway on 10 March 1957, on the same day as all other Royal Auxiliary Air Force flying units.
Aircraft operated
| From | To | Aircraft | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1939 | December 1939 | Hawker Hind Hawker Hind -See also:-Bibliography:* Crawford, Alex. Hawker Hart Family. Redbourn, Hertfordshire, UK: Mushroom Model Publications Ltd., 2008. ISBN 83-89450-62-3.... |
|
| November 1939 | June 1940 | Hawker Hector Hawker Hector -See also:-Bibliography:* Air Transport Auxiliary Ferry Pilots Notes . Elvington, York, UK: Yorkshire Air Museum, 1996. ISBN 0-9512379-8-5.... |
Mk.I |
| April 1940 | April 1942 | Westland Lysander Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War... |
Mks.I, II |
| January 1941 | June 1942 | Westland Lysander | Mk.IIIa |
| August 1941 | April 1942 | Curtiss Tomahawk Curtiss P-40 The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational... |
Mk.IIa |
| April 1942 | October 1943 | North American Mustang P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts... |
Mk.I |
| November 1943 | August 1945 | de Havilland Mosquito De Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"... |
FB.Mk.VI |
| December 1946 | December 1948 | Supermarine Spitfire Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s... |
FR.14 |
| November 1948 | March 1951 | Supermarine Spitfire | F.22 |
| November 1948 | April 1950 | North American Harvard T-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s... |
Mk.IIb |
| September 1949 | April 1950 | de Havilland Vampire De Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served... |
F.1 |
| April 1950 | March 1957 | Gloster Meteor Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force... |
T.7 |
| February 1951 | March 1957 | de Havilland Vampire | FB.5 |
| June 1954 | March 1957 | de Havilland Vampire | FB.9 |
Commanding officers
| From | To | Name |
|---|---|---|
| March 1939 | January 1940 | 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... E. Rhodes |
| January 1940 | July 1940 | S/Ldr. A.F. Anderson |
| July 1940 | June 1941 | 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... J.N.T. Stephenson |
| June 1941 | September 1942 | W/Cdr. Viscount Acheson Archibald Acheson, 6th Earl of Gosford Archibald Alexander John Stanley Acheson 6th Earl of Gosford , styled Viscount Accheson until 1954, was a British Peer.... |
| September 1942 | December 1942 | S/Ldr. C.L. Page |
| December 1942 | October 1943 | W/Cdr. C.B.E. Burt-Andrews |
| October 1943 | February 1944 | W/Cdr. K.H. Blair, 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... |
| February 1944 | June 1944 | W/Cdr. R.N. Bateson, DFC |
| June 1944 | December 1944 | W/Cdr. C. Newman |
| December 1944 | August 1945 | W/Cdr. P.B. Lucas Percy Lucas Percy Belgrave "Laddie" Lucas, CBE, DSO and Bar, DFC, , was a Royal Air Force Officer, left-handed golfer, author and Member of Parliament .-Early and family life:... , DSO Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September... , DFC |
| November 1946 | March 1951 | S/Ldr. J.S. Morton, DFC & Bar Medal bar A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the... |
| March 1951 | December 1956 | S/Ldr. J.B. Wales |
| December 1956 | March 1957 | None |