No. 226 Operational Conversion Unit RAF
Encyclopedia
No. 226 Operational Conversion Unit was a Royal Air Force
Operational Conversion Unit
. It was first formed in 1946 at RAF Molesworth
under No. 11 Group
of Fighter Command
by redesignation of No. 1335 Conversion Unit with the mission of training fighter pilots. The unit operated with a variety of types, as befitted its general fighting pilot training mission. Those types included the Gloster Meteor
, Hawker Tempest
, De Havilland Hornet
and De Havilland Vampire
.
From late 1948 into the '50s No 226 OCU was based at RAF Bentwaters
, Suffolk, training pilots to convert from Spitfires to Meteors Mk IV, using Mk VIII trainers. The unit also had several Harvard, Hornet and Vampire aircraft. At that time it was directed from Fighter Command Headquarters, Bentley Priory, via 11 Fighter Group at Hillingdon
.
Three years later the unit disbanded for the first time in August 1949 at RAF Driffield
by being redesignated as No. 203 Advanced Flying School.
The following month, September 1949, the unit was resurrected at RAF Stradishall
and No. 226 OCU's service began a new chapter. In No. 12 Group
, again in Fighter Command, the unit had the more specific mission of training Meteor pilots. This lasted until 1955 when the unit was disbanded for a second time. Continuing the tradition of training fighter pilots the OCU reformed in 1963 at RAF Middleton St George, flying the English Electric Lightning
with the redesignation of the Lightning Conversion Squadron. At little over eleven years later, at RAF Coltishall
, the OCU's association with fighters came to an end as it was disbanded.
The next area where 226 OCU saw service was Scotland
. Shifting emphasis to strike aircraft, 226 OCU reformed at RAF Lossiemouth
the day after disbandment and undertook its peacetime role training pilots for the Sepecat Jaguar
. Less well known was 226 OCU's wartime emergency role as a 'shadow squadron
' or reserve unit made up principally of the squadron's instructors. From 1975 until 1991 the unit's wartime role was as an operational squadron in the front line assigned to SACEUR with twelve Jaguar aircraft, eight WE.177
nuclear bombs, and a variety of conventional weapons. In a high-intensity European war the unit's role was to support land forces on the Continent, first with conventional weapons and secondly with tactical nuclear weapons as required, should a conflict escalate to that stage. The apparent mismatch between aircraft numbers and nuclear bombs was a consequence of RAF staff planners concluding that there would be one-third attrition of aircraft in an early conventional phase, leaving the remaining survivors numerically strong enough to deliver the unit's entire stockpile of eight nuclear bombs.
With the post-Cold War
drawdown of the RAF the OCU fell victim to defence cuts in 1991 and was disbanded for the last time by redesignation to No. 16 (Reserve) Squadron
, although the redesignated unit continued with both its peacetime and wartime roles exactly as before, in its new guise as No. 16 (Reserve) Squadron until retirement of the WE.177 weapon.
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...
Operational Conversion Unit
Operational Conversion Unit
An Operational Conversion Unit is a unit within an air force whose role is to support preparation for the operational missions of a specific aircraft type by providing trained personnel. OCUs teach pilots how to fly an aircraft and which tactics best exploit the performance of their aircraft and...
. It was first formed in 1946 at RAF Molesworth
RAF Molesworth
RAF Molesworth is a Royal Air Force station located near Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom with a history dating back to 1917.Its runway and flight line facilities were closed in 1973 and demolished to support ground-launched cruise missile operations in the early 1980s...
under No. 11 Group
No. 11 Group RAF
No. 11 Group was a group in the Royal Air Force for various periods in the 20th century, finally disbanding in 1996. Its most famous service was during 1940 when it defended London and the south-east against the attacks of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain.-First World War:No. 11 Group was...
of Fighter Command
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...
by redesignation of No. 1335 Conversion Unit with the mission of training fighter pilots. The unit operated with a variety of types, as befitted its general fighting pilot training mission. Those types included the 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...
, Hawker Tempest
Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. The Tempest was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, and one of the most powerful fighter aircraft used during the war....
, De Havilland Hornet
De Havilland Hornet
The de Havilland DH.103 Hornet was a piston engine fighter that further exploited the wooden construction techniques pioneered by de Havilland's classic Mosquito. Entering service at the end of the Second World War, the Hornet equipped postwar RAF Fighter Command day fighter units in the UK and was...
and 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...
.
From late 1948 into the '50s No 226 OCU was based at RAF Bentwaters
RAF Bentwaters
RAF Bentwaters, now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station about 80 miles NE of London, 10 miles ENE of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England...
, Suffolk, training pilots to convert from Spitfires to Meteors Mk IV, using Mk VIII trainers. The unit also had several Harvard, Hornet and Vampire aircraft. At that time it was directed from Fighter Command Headquarters, Bentley Priory, via 11 Fighter Group at Hillingdon
Hillingdon
Hillingdon is a suburban area within the London Borough of Hillingdon, situated 14.2 miles west of Charing Cross.Much of Hillingdon is represented as the Hillingdon East ward within the local authority, Hillingdon Council...
.
Three years later the unit disbanded for the first time in August 1949 at RAF Driffield
RAF Driffield
RAF Driffield was a Royal Air Force station situated near Driffield in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.Situated between Kelleythorpe and Eastburn on the A614 road, there stands an aerodrome. In recent times, it was known as Alamein Barracks and used as an Army driving school...
by being redesignated as No. 203 Advanced Flying School.
The following month, September 1949, the unit was resurrected at RAF Stradishall
Stradishall
Stradishall is a village and civil parish in the Borough of St Edmundsbury in the English county of Suffolk.The Royal Air Force operated an airfield near Stradishall, RAF Stradishall, which was operational between 1938 and 1970. The former airfield is now the site of two category C prisons: HMP...
and No. 226 OCU's service began a new chapter. In No. 12 Group
No. 12 Group RAF
No. 12 Group of the Royal Air Force was a command organization that exisited over two separate periods, namely the end of World War I when it had a training function and from just prior to World War II until the early 1960s when it was tasked with an air defence role.No. 12 Group was first formed...
, again in Fighter Command, the unit had the more specific mission of training Meteor pilots. This lasted until 1955 when the unit was disbanded for a second time. Continuing the tradition of training fighter pilots the OCU reformed in 1963 at RAF Middleton St George, flying the English Electric Lightning
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...
with the redesignation of the Lightning Conversion Squadron. At little over eleven years later, at RAF Coltishall
RAF Coltishall
The former Royal Air Force Station Coltishall, more commonly known as RAF Coltishall , was a Royal Air Force station, a military airbase, North-North-East of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, from 1938 to 2006....
, the OCU's association with fighters came to an end as it was disbanded.
The next area where 226 OCU saw service was Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Shifting emphasis to strike aircraft, 226 OCU reformed at RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Lossiemouth
RAF Lossiemouth is a Royal Air Force station to the west of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, Scotland. It is one of the RAF's biggest bases and is currently Britain's main base for Tornado GR4s. From 2013 the Northern QRA force of Typhoon F2 will relocate to Lossiemouth following the closure of...
the day after disbandment and undertook its peacetime role training pilots for the Sepecat Jaguar
SEPECAT Jaguar
The SEPECAT Jaguar is an Anglo-French jet ground attack aircraft, originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Armée de l'Air in the close air support and nuclear strike role, and still in service with several export customers, notably the Indian Air Force and the Royal Air Force...
. Less well known was 226 OCU's wartime emergency role as a 'shadow squadron
Shadow squadron
Shadow squadrons are additional squadron numbers allocated to RAF training, Operational conversion, and Operational and Weapons evaluation units...
' or reserve unit made up principally of the squadron's instructors. From 1975 until 1991 the unit's wartime role was as an operational squadron in the front line assigned to SACEUR with twelve Jaguar aircraft, eight WE.177
WE.177
WE.177 was the last air-delivered tactical nuclear weapon of the British Armed Forces. There were three versions; WE.177A was a boosted fission weapon, while WE.177B and WE.177C were thermonuclear weapons...
nuclear bombs, and a variety of conventional weapons. In a high-intensity European war the unit's role was to support land forces on the Continent, first with conventional weapons and secondly with tactical nuclear weapons as required, should a conflict escalate to that stage. The apparent mismatch between aircraft numbers and nuclear bombs was a consequence of RAF staff planners concluding that there would be one-third attrition of aircraft in an early conventional phase, leaving the remaining survivors numerically strong enough to deliver the unit's entire stockpile of eight nuclear bombs.
With the post-Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
drawdown of the RAF the OCU fell victim to defence cuts in 1991 and was disbanded for the last time by redesignation to No. 16 (Reserve) Squadron
No. 16 Squadron RAF
No. 16 Squadron is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force. It formed in 1915 at Saint-Omer to carry out a mixture of offensive patrolling and reconnaissance and was disbanded in 1919 with the end of the First World War...
, although the redesignated unit continued with both its peacetime and wartime roles exactly as before, in its new guise as No. 16 (Reserve) Squadron until retirement of the WE.177 weapon.