No. 691 Squadron RAF was a Anti-aircraft cooperation squadron of the Royal Air Force

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...

 from 1943 to 1949.

History

The squadron was formed on 1 December 1943 at RNAS Roborough

Plymouth City Airport

Plymouth City Airport is an airport located within the City of Plymouth north northeast of the city centre in Devon, England. The airport opened on this site in 1925 and was officially opened by the Edward VIII, as Prince of Wales, in 1931...

 from 1623 (anti-aircraft co-operation) Flight. It was tasked with anti-aircraft co-operation duties in the Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

 area operating a variety of aircraft in this role. Most of the work was to fly as training targets for Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 ships.
The squadron moved a number of times from the end of the war to RAF Exeter, RAF Weston Zoyland

RAF Weston Zoyland

thumb|C-47s of the 306th Troop Carrier SquadronRAF Station Weston Zoyland is a former World War II airfield in Somerset, England. The airfield is located approximately east-southeast of Bridgwater; about west-southwest of London...

, RAF Fairwood Common

RAF Fairwood Common

RAF Fairwood Common was a World War II aerodrome located at Fairwood Common on the Gower Peninsula to the west of Swansea. It is now the location of Swansea Airport.-History:...

, and finally to RAF Chivenor. Its existence ended there when it was renumbered to No. 17 Squadron RAF on 11 February 1949.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 691 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Aircraft	Variant
December 1943	March 1945	Fairey Barracuda Fairey Barracuda The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo- and dive bomber used during the Second World War, the first of its type used by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm to be fabricated entirely from metal. It was introduced as a replacement for the Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore biplanes...	Mk.II
December 1943	April 1945	Boulton Paul Defiant Boulton Paul Defiant The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force early in the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any forward-firing guns. It was a contemporary of the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc...	Mks.I & II
December 1943	March 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...	Mk.I
December 1943	February 1949	Airspeed Oxford Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery during the Second World War.-Design and development:...	Mks. I & II
March 1944	April 1945	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...	Mk.IIc
April 1945	May 1947	Vultee Vengeance Vultee A-31 Vengeance The Vultee A-31 Vengeance was an American dive bomber of World War II, built by Vultee Aircraft. The Vengeance was not used in combat by US units, however it served with the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, and Indian Air Force in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific.The...	Mk.IV
July 1945	August 1945	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...	Mk.Vb
August 1945	February 1949	Miles Martinet Miles Martinet |-See also:-Bibliography:* Amos, Peter. and Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0....
August 1945	February 1949	Supermarine Spitfire	Mk.XVI
November 1945	February 1949	North American Harvard	Mk.IIb

Squadron bases

Air bases and airfields used by no. 691 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Name	Remark
1 December 1943	21 February 1945	RNAS Roborough Plymouth City Airport Plymouth City Airport is an airport located within the City of Plymouth north northeast of the city centre in Devon, England. The airport opened on this site in 1925 and was officially opened by the Edward VIII, as Prince of Wales, in 1931... , Devon Devon Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...	Formed here
21 February 1945	1 August 1945	RAF Harrowbeer RAF Harrowbeer RAF Harrowbeer was a World War II Royal Air Force airfield situated in the parish of Buckland Monachorum, Devon in the UK.-Location:RAF Harrowbeer was located approximately nine miles NNE of the city of Plymouth and approximately six miles south of Tavistock, and also sits within the boundary of... , Devon
1 August 1945	31 January 1946	RAF Exeter, Devon
31 January 1946	4 October 1946	RAF Fairwood Common RAF Fairwood Common RAF Fairwood Common was a World War II aerodrome located at Fairwood Common on the Gower Peninsula to the west of Swansea. It is now the location of Swansea Airport.-History:... , Glamorgan Glamorgan Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...  (now County of Swansea Swansea Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands... ), Wales Wales Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
July 1946	4 October 1946	| RAF Weston Zoyland RAF Weston Zoyland thumb|C-47s of the 306th Troop Carrier SquadronRAF Station Weston Zoyland is a former World War II airfield in Somerset, England. The airfield is located approximately east-southeast of Bridgwater; about west-southwest of London... , Somerset Somerset The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...	Detachment
4 October 1946	11 February 1949	RAF Chivenor Royal Marines Base Chivenor Royal Marines Base Chivenor is a British military base used primarily by the Royal Marines. It is situated on the northern shore of the Taw estuary, adjacent to the South West Coast Path, on the north coast of Devon, England.... , Devon	Disbanded here

External links

• Nos. 671-1435 Squadron Histories on rafweb
• Aircraft and markings of No. 691 Squadron
• History of No. 691 Squadron