No. 1456 Flight RAF
Encyclopedia
No. 1456 Flight was formed at RAF Honiley
, Warwickshire
on 24 November 1941, equipped with Turbinlite
Douglas Boston and Douglas Havoc aircraft. On operations they cooperated with the Hawker Hurricane
s of 257 Squadron
. The flight was replaced with 535 Squadron
on 2 September 1942 but officially disbanded as late as 25 January 1943.
535 Sqn, which had taken over men and machines, carried on flying the Turbinlite Bostons and Havocs till the system was abandoned on 25 January 1943, when Turbinlite squadrons were, due to lack of success on their part and the rapid development of AI radar, thought to be superfluous.
RAF Honiley
RAF Honiley is a former Royal Air Force station located in Wroxall, Warwickshire seven miles southwest of Coventry, England. The station closed in March 1958, and after being used as a motor vehicle test track, is presently subject to planning permission from the Prodrive Formula One team for...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
on 24 November 1941, equipped with 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....
Douglas Boston and Douglas Havoc aircraft. On operations they cooperated with the 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...
s of 257 Squadron
No. 257 Squadron RAF
-In World War I:No. 257 Squadron was formed at Dundee on 18 August 1918 from Nos. 318 and 319 Flights. It flew both seaplanes and flying boats on anti-submarine patrols from Dundee until the end of the First World War and disbanded there on 30 June 1919....
. The flight was replaced with 535 Squadron
No. 535 Squadron RAF
No. 535 Squadron RAF was one of the ten Turbinlite nightfighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.-History:No. 535 Squadron was formed at RAF High Ercall, Shropshire on 2 September 1942, from No. 1456 Flight, as part of No. 9 Group RAF in Fighter Command...
on 2 September 1942 but officially disbanded as late as 25 January 1943.
535 Sqn, which had taken over men and machines, carried on flying the Turbinlite Bostons and Havocs till the system was abandoned on 25 January 1943, when Turbinlite squadrons were, due to lack of success on their part and the rapid development of AI radar, thought to be superfluous.
Aircraft operated
| From | To | Aircraft | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 November 1941 | 8 September 1942 | Douglas Havoc | Mk.I (Turbinlite) |
| 24 November 1941 | 8 September 1942 | Douglas Havoc | Mk.I |
| 24 November 1941 | 8 September 1942 | Douglas Havoc | Mk.II (Turbinlite) |
| 24 November 1941 | 8 September 1942 | Douglas Boston | Mk.II (Turbinlite) |
| 24 November 1941 | 8 September 1942 | Douglas Boston | Mk.III (Turbinlite) |
Flight bases
| From | To | Base |
|---|---|---|
| 24 November 1941 | June 1942 | RAF Honiley RAF Honiley RAF Honiley is a former Royal Air Force station located in Wroxall, Warwickshire seven miles southwest of Coventry, England. The station closed in March 1958, and after being used as a motor vehicle test track, is presently subject to planning permission from the Prodrive Formula One team for... , Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare... |
| June 1942 | 2 September 1942 | RAF High Ercall RAF High Ercall RAF High Ercall was an RAF air base situated to the east of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England.... , Shropshire Shropshire Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west... |
Commanding officers
| From | To | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 24 November 1941 | August 1942 | 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... I.E. Chalmers-Watson, 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"... |
| August 1942 | 2 September 1942 | S/Ldr. B.H. Moloney |