No 279 Squadron RAF was a 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...

 air-sea rescue

Air-sea rescue

Air-sea rescue is the coordinated search and rescue of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people who have survived the loss of their sea-going vessel. ASR can involve a wide variety of resources including seaplanes, helicopters, submarines, rescue boats and ships...

 squadron of 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...

. The squadron

Squadron (aviation)

A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...

 was formed on 16 November 1941 and disbanded on 10 March 1946.

History

No 279 Squadron was formed at RAF Bircham Newton

RAF Bircham Newton

RAF Bircham Newton was a Royal Air Force airfield in the west of the county of Norfolk in the United Kingdom, eight miles west of Fakenham.-History:...

 on 16 November 1941. It was originally equipped with Lockheed Hudson

Lockheed Hudson

The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...

 fitted, from 1943, to carry Mark I airborne lifeboats. Detachments of the squadron were stationed at several RAF stations in the south-west of England between April 1942 and December 1943 to provide an air-sea rescue capability over the Bay of Biscay

Bay of Biscay

The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...

 and Western Approaches

Western Approaches

The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...

.

In October 1944 No 279 Squadron was transferred to RAF Thornaby

RAF Thornaby

RAF Thornaby was a former RAF Station located at the Teesside town of Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire. The station was created in the mid 1920s and came under the control of No. 18 Group, RAF Coastal Command in 1939. Being used mostly for reconnaissance work, anti shipping strikes, and attacks on...

 and re-equipped with Vickers Warwick

Vickers Warwick

The Vickers Warwick was a multi-purpose British aircraft used during the Second World War. Built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands, Surrey, the Warwick was used by the Royal Air Force as a transport, air-sea rescue and maritime reconnaissance platform, and by the civilian British Overseas...

 aircraft. The squadron subsequently deployed detachments to RAF airfields in the north of 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...

 to provide support to patrol and strike squadrons. Following the end of the war the Warwicks were replaced with Avro Lancaster

Avro Lancaster

The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...

s in September 1945. These were flown until the squadron was disbanded on 10 March 1946 at RAF Beccles by being renumbered to No. 38 Squadron

No. 38 Squadron RAF

No. 38 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was a bomber squadron formed in 1916 and was disbanded for the last time in 1967.-World War I :...

. A detachment had left in January 1946 for Pegu in Burma and upon arrival there around March was designated 1348 Air Sea Rescue Flight.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 279 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Aircraft	Version
November 1941	November 1944	Lockheed Hudson Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...	Mks. III, V, VI
November 1944	September 1945	Vickers Warwick Vickers Warwick The Vickers Warwick was a multi-purpose British aircraft used during the Second World War. Built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands, Surrey, the Warwick was used by the Royal Air Force as a transport, air-sea rescue and maritime reconnaissance platform, and by the civilian British Overseas...	ASR Mks.I, VI
April 1945	June 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...	Mks.IIc, IV
July 1945	September 1945	Supermarine Sea Otter Supermarine Sea Otter |-Survivors:No museum holds a complete aircraft. Australia's Museum of Flight has the nose section of JN200, a Sea Otter which served with the Royal Australian Navy.-See also:-References:...	Mk.II
September 1945	March 1946	Avro Lancaster Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...	ASR.3

Squadron locations

Airfields used by No 279 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Airfield	Remark
16 November 1941	14 October 1944	RAF Bircham Newton RAF Bircham Newton RAF Bircham Newton was a Royal Air Force airfield in the west of the county of Norfolk in the United Kingdom, eight miles west of Fakenham.-History:...	Posted
28 April 1942	29 May 1942	RAF Sumburgh RAF Sumburgh RAF Sumburgh was located on the southern tip of the mainland island of the Shetland Islands, and was home to half of No. 404 Squadron RCAF, ....	Detachment
29 June 1942	1942	RAF Benbecula	Detachment
15 July 1942	1942	RAF Leuchars RAF Leuchars RAF Leuchars is the most northerly air defence station in the United Kingdom. It is located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland, near to the university town of St Andrews.-Operations:...	Detachment
26 July 1942	15 August 1942	RAF Reykjavik Reykjavík Airport Reykjavík Airport Reykjavík Airport Reykjavík Airport (Icelandic: Reykjavíkurflugvöllur, is the chiefly domestic airport serving Reykjavík, Iceland. The airport lies two kilometres from Reykjavík's city centre. Possessing rather short runways, it normally only serves flights within Iceland and to... , Iceland Iceland Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...	Detachment
14 August 1942	15 August 1942	RAF Thorney Island	Detachment
15 August 1942	19 August 1942	RAF Chivenor	Detachment
23 August 1942	5 February 1943	RAF St Eval RAF St Eval RAF St Eval was a strategic airbase for the RAF Coastal Command in the Second World War . St Eval's primary role was to provided anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols off the south west coast of England...	Detachment
25 September 1942	1942	RAF Beaulieu RAF Beaulieu RAF Station Beaulieu was a World War II airfield in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. It was also known as Beaulieu airfield, Beaulieu aerodrome and USAAF Station AAF 408...	Detachment
5 February 1943	9 June 1943	RAF Davidstow Moor RAF Davidstow Moor RAF Davidstow Moor was an airbase at Davidstow near Camelford in Cornwall, United Kingdom from late 1942 until 1945. Despite a few periods of intense activity it was one of Coastal Command's less-used airfields.-History:...	Detachment
9 June 1943	14 December 1943	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...	Detachment
28 September 1943	1945	RAF Wick	Detachment
1 January 1944	1 August 1944	RAF Reykjavik, Iceland	Detachment
1 October 1944	September 1945	RAF Tain RAF Tain RAF Tain is a Ministry of Defence air weapons range on the Moray Firth near Tain in Scotland. Royal Air Force aircrews from RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Leuchars are trained in air weaponry on the range, along with NATO aircrew.-Facilities:...	Detachment
1 October 1944	September 1945	RAF Wick	Detachment
14 October 1944	3 September 1945	RAF Thornaby RAF Thornaby RAF Thornaby was a former RAF Station located at the Teesside town of Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire. The station was created in the mid 1920s and came under the control of No. 18 Group, RAF Coastal Command in 1939. Being used mostly for reconnaissance work, anti shipping strikes, and attacks on...	Posted
31 October 1944	27 December 1944	RAF Banff Banff -Places:In Canada:*Banff, Alberta, a town in Alberta, Canada**Banff Airport**Banff railway station **Banff National Park**Banff **Banff-Cochrane, another provincial electoral district...	Detachment
27 December 1944	September 1945	RAF Fraserburgh Fraserburgh Fraserburgh is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2001 Census at 12,454 and estimated at 12,630 in 2006. It lies at the extreme northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, around north of Aberdeen, and north of Peterhead...	Detachment
26 May 1945	September 1945	RAF Reykjavik, Iceland	Detachment
July 1945	September 1945	RAF Banff	Detachment
3 September 1945	10 March 1946	RAF Beccles	Posted

External links

• RAF Bircham Newton
• Squadron histories for nos. 276-280 Squadron on RafWeb's Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation