No. 222 Group RAF
Encyclopedia
No. 222 Group was a group
of the Royal Air Force
during the Second World War. Formed on 1 September 1941, based at Ceylon, however squadrons were based around the Indian Ocean
. The group undertook long-range bombing and mine-laying operations that took them as far afield as Sumatra
and Singapore
. The group was disbanded on 15 October 1945 becoming AHQ Ceylon.
Group (air force)
A group is a military aviation unit, a component of military organization and a military formation. Usage of the terms group and wing differ from one country to another, as well as different branches of a defence force, in some cases...
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...
during the Second World War. Formed on 1 September 1941, based at Ceylon, however squadrons were based around the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. The group undertook long-range bombing and mine-laying operations that took them as far afield as Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. The group was disbanded on 15 October 1945 becoming AHQ Ceylon.
Squadrons
The following squadrons formed part of No. 222 Group.- No. 17 Squadron (SpitfireSupermarine SpitfireThe 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...
) - No. 273 SquadronNo. 273 Squadron RAFNo. 273 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as reconnaissance unit in World War I and a torpedo bomber and reconnaissance unit in World War II.-Formation and World War I:No...
(Spitfire) - No. 205 SquadronNo. 205 Squadron RAFNo. 205 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit formed on 1 April 1918. Prior to this it had existed as No. 5 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service. In 1929, it became the first RAF squadron to be permanently based in Singapore, taking as its motto Pertama di Malaya . No...
(Catalina) - No. 209 SquadronNo. 209 Squadron RAFNo. 209 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force was originally formed from a nucleus of "Naval Eight" on 1 February 1917 at Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France, as No. 9 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service and saw active service in both World Wars, the Korean War and in Malaya...
(Catalina) - No. 259 SquadronNo. 259 Squadron RAFNo. 259 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed in Africa as a reconnaissance and anti-submarine unit in World War II.-World War I:No...
(Catalina) - No. 262 SquadronNo. 262 Squadron RAFNo. 262 Squadron RAF was an anti-submarine patrol squadron of the Royal Air Force between 1942 and 1945.-History:The squadron was officially formed on 29 September 1942 at RAF Hednesford, although this was a paper exercise as the squadron personnel and equipment were at that moment in transit to...
(Catalina) - No. 265 SquadronNo. 265 Squadron RAFNo. 265 Squadron RAF was an anti-submarine squadron of the Royal Air Force during two world wars.-Formation and World War I:Though the squadron was officially formed somewhere in August 1918 at Gibraltar from three former RNAS flights to perform anti-submarine patrols, there is no evidence that the...
(Catalina) - No. 321 SquadronNo. 321 Squadron RAFNo. 321 Squadron RAF was a unit of the Royal Air Force during World War II formed from the personnel of the Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service.-Formation:...
(Catalina) - No. 413 Squadron RCAFNo. 413 Squadron RCAF413 Transport and Rescue Squadron is an air force squadron of the Canadian Forces. It was originally a flying boat squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War...
(Catalina) - No. 230 SquadronNo. 230 Squadron RAFNo. 230 Squadron is an RAF squadron, currently based at RAF Benson.The squadron was part of Royal Air Force Germany, operating the Puma HC.1 there from 1980. Following the drawdown at the end of the Cold War, the squadron disbanded on 30 April 1992...
(SunderlandShort SunderlandThe Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers. It took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in northeast England....
) - No. 89 SquadronNo. 89 Squadron RAFNo. 89 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron, mainly active in the fighter role during its existence.-Formation and World War I:No. 89 squadron was formed on 1 September 1917 as a training unit at Netheravon. The squadron was not used for operations and remained a training unit...
(BeaufighterBristol BeaufighterThe Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
) - Nightfighter - No. 22 SquadronNo. 22 Squadron RAFNo. 22 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Sea King HAR.3 and HAR.3A at three stations in the southern United Kingdom. The squadron was originally formed in 1915 as an aerial reconnaissance unit of the Royal Flying Corps serving on the Western Front during First World War...
(Beaufighter) - Torpedo Bomber - No. 160 SquadronNo. 160 Squadron RAFNo. 160 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force unit during World War II, when it flew for four years in a number of roles including heavy bomber, minelaying, reconnaissance, special operations and transport unit in the Middle East and South-East Asian theatre of World War II.-World War I: False start:No...
(B-24 Liberator) - No. 217 SquadronNo. 217 Squadron RAFNo. 217 Squadron RAF was originally formed on 1 April 1918, from the No. 17 Naval Squadron at Bergues, near Dunkerque. It conducted daylight raids using Airco DH.4s on enemy bases and airfields in Belgium. The squadron was disbanded on 18 October 1919, after the end of World War I.No...
(BeaufortBristol BeaufortThe Bristol Beaufort was a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber....
) - No. 135 SquadronNo. 135 Squadron RAFNo. 135 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed to be a bomber unit in World War I and reformed as a fighter unit in World War II.-Formation and World War I:No...
(P-47 Thunderbolt) - No. 232 SquadronNo. 232 Squadron RAFNo. 232 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was active in both World War I and World War II in a variety of roles, having seen action as an anti-submarine patrol, fighter and transport squadron.-In World War I:...
(VenturaLockheed VenturaThe Lockheed Ventura was a bomber and patrol aircraft of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises...
) - No. 83 SquadronNo. 83 Squadron RAFNo. 83 Squadron RAF was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force squadron active from 1917 until 1969. It was operative during both World War I and World War II.-Establishment and early service:...
(WellingtonVickers WellingtonThe Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
) - No. 244 SquadronNo. 244 Squadron RAFNo. 244 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as an anti–submarine unit in World War I and a bomber unit in the Middle East in World War II.-Formation and World War I:No...
(Wellington) - No. 621 SquadronNo. 621 Squadron RAFNo. 621 Squadron RAF was a reconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II, flying from Somaliland and Aden. It was after the war stationed in Egypt and Palestine and tasked with air-sea rescue and was also active in Operation Sunburn, looking for illegal immigrants.-History:No...
(Wellington)
External links
- http://www.rafweb.org/Grp07.htm