No. 358 Squadron RAF was a Bomber and Special duties 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...

 flying with South East Asia Command

South East Asia Command

South East Asia Command was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during World War II.-Background:...

 from 1944 to 1945.

History

The squadron was formed on 8 November 1944 at Kolar

Kolar

Kolara is a city in the South Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Kolar District. It is known for being one of the gold mining sites in India....

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 with personnel of the disbanded 1673 Heavy Conversion Unit. Its role was as a heavy bomber unit flying the Consolidated Liberator

B-24 Liberator

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...

. The squadron performed only one bombing mission on 13 January 1945, bombing Mandalay

Mandalay

Mandalay is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Burma. Located north of Yangon on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, the city has a population of one million, and is the capital of Mandalay Region ....

 and by then flying from Digri

Digri

Digri is a town In District Mirpurkhas, Sindh, Pakistan.Digri is named after then lived taller lady which was renowned as "dighi" in Sindhi means taller.*Geographical location: Mirpurkhas, Sind, Pakistan, Asia...

. Thereafter the squadron role changed to a special duties squadron, starting operations as such in the night from 22 to 23 January 1945. On 10 February 1945 the squadron moved to Jessore. For the rest of the war the squadron dropped agents and supplies to resistance groups in Japanese-held territory. After the Japanese surrender the squadron then dropped supplies to POW camps and repatriated released prisoners. It was disbanded on 21 November 1945 at Bishnupur

Bishnupur

-Kingdoms:*Bishnupur kingdom in what is today Bankura District, Bengal, India.-CD Blocks:* Bishnupur, Bankura - in Bankura district, West Bengal* Bishnupur I - in South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal...

.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 358 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Aircraft	Version
November 1944	December 1944	Vickers Wellington Vickers Wellington The 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...	Mk.X
December 1944	November 1945	Consolidated Liberator B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...	Mk.VI

Squadron bases

Bases and airfields used by no. 358 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Base
8 November 1944	3 January 1945	RAF Kolar, Karnataka Karnataka Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava... , British India
3 January 1945	10 February 1945	RAF Digri, Bengal, British India
10 February 1945	19 November 1945	RAF Jessore, Bengal, British India
19 November 1945	21 November 1945	RAF Bishnupur, Bengal, British India