No. 515 Squadron RAF
Encyclopedia
No. 515 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force
formed during the Second World War. It stood at the brink of Electronic countermeasures
(ECM) warfare, jamming enemy radar installations from October 1942. This was first done as only such squadron in the RAF, but later in the war together with other squadrons of No. 100 Group RAF
. The squadron disbanded after VE day
, when the need for such a specialised squadron had evaporated.
on 1 October 1942. The Flight, was equipped with former Defiant Mk.II
fighters, as part of No. 11 Group RAF
in Fighter Command
to perform radar jamming duties with Moonshine and Mandrel. They rebased to RAF Heston later that month, and began to be re-equipped with the Beaufighter Mk.IIf
in May 1943.
in Bomber Command
, and moved to RAF Little Snoring
. There they re-equipped with Mosquito Mk.VI
s in March 1944, and operated these for the remainder of the war. At the end of its existence 515 squadron had operated 1,366 operational sorties with the Mosquito with a loss of 21 aircraft. The squadron was disbanded at Little Snoring on the 10 June 1945, most of its crew going on to No. 627 Squadron RAF
.
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...
formed during the Second World War. It stood at the brink of Electronic countermeasures
Electronic countermeasures
An electronic countermeasure is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar or other detection systems, like infrared or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy...
(ECM) warfare, jamming enemy radar installations from October 1942. This was first done as only such squadron in the RAF, but later in the war together with other squadrons of No. 100 Group RAF
No. 100 Group RAF
No. 100 Group was a special duties group within RAF Bomber Command.It was formed on 11 November 1943 to consolidate the increasingly complex business of electronic warfare and countermeasures within one organisation. The group was responsible for the development, operational trial and use of...
. The squadron disbanded after VE day
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
, when the need for such a specialised squadron had evaporated.
Fighter Command
The squadron was formed from the Defiant Flight, also known as the Special Duties Flight at RAF NortholtRAF Northolt
RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station situated in South Ruislip, east by northeast of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. Approximately north of London Heathrow Airport, the station also handles a large number of private civil flights...
on 1 October 1942. The Flight, was equipped with former Defiant Mk.II
Boulton Paul Defiant
The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force early in the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any forward-firing guns. It was a contemporary of the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc...
fighters, as part of No. 11 Group RAF
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...
in 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...
to perform radar jamming duties with Moonshine and Mandrel. They rebased to RAF Heston later that month, and began to be re-equipped with the Beaufighter Mk.IIf
Bristol Beaufighter
The 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...
in May 1943.
Bomber Command
The squadron transferred in December 1943 to No. 100 Group RAFNo. 100 Group RAF
No. 100 Group was a special duties group within RAF Bomber Command.It was formed on 11 November 1943 to consolidate the increasingly complex business of electronic warfare and countermeasures within one organisation. The group was responsible for the development, operational trial and use of...
in Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
, and moved to RAF Little Snoring
RAF Little Snoring
RAF Little Snoring was a World War II era RAF Heavy Bomber airfield located just to the north of the Norfolk village of Little Snoring. The airfield remains open for general aviation use-Operational units and aircraft:* Heavy Conversion...
. There they re-equipped with Mosquito Mk.VI
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
s in March 1944, and operated these for the remainder of the war. At the end of its existence 515 squadron had operated 1,366 operational sorties with the Mosquito with a loss of 21 aircraft. The squadron was disbanded at Little Snoring on the 10 June 1945, most of its crew going on to No. 627 Squadron RAF
No. 627 Squadron RAF
No. 627 Squadron was a Royal Air Force Mosquito aircraft pathfinder bomber squadron that operated during the Second World War.-History:The squadron was formed on 12 November 1943 at RAF Oakington from part of 139 Squadron. It was equipped with the de Havilland Mosquito twin-engined fighter-bomber...
.
Aircraft operated
| From | To | Aircraft | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 1942 | December 1943 | Boulton Paul Defiant Boulton Paul Defiant The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force early in the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any forward-firing guns. It was a contemporary of the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc... |
Mk.II |
| June 1943 | April 1944 | Bristol Beaufighter Bristol Beaufighter The 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... |
Mk.IIf |
| February 1944 | April 1944 | de Havilland Mosquito De Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"... |
Mk.II |
| March 1944 | June 1945 | de Havilland Mosquito | Mk.VI |
Squadron bases
| From | To | Base | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 October 1942 | 29 October 1942 | RAF Northolt RAF Northolt RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station situated in South Ruislip, east by northeast of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. Approximately north of London Heathrow Airport, the station also handles a large number of private civil flights... , Middlesex Middlesex Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time... |
dets. 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.... , RAF West Malling RAF West Malling RAF West Malling was a Royal Air Force station near West Malling in Kent, England.Originally used as a landing area during the first World War, the site opened as a private landing ground and in 1930, then known as Kingshill, home to the Maidstone School of Flying, before being renamed West Malling... , RAF Tangmere RAF Tangmere RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, located at Tangmere village about 3 miles east of Chichester in West Sussex, England. American RAF pilot Billy Fiske died at Tangmere and was the first American aviator to die during World War II... and RAF Exeter |
| 29 October 1942 | 31 May 1943 | RAF Heston Heston Aerodrome Heston Aerodrome was a 1930s airfield located to the west of London, UK, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex... , Middlesex |
|
| 31 May 1943 | 15 December 1943 | RAF Hunsdon, Hertfordshire Hertfordshire Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and... |
|
| 15 December 1943 | 10 June 1945 | RAF Little Snoring RAF Little Snoring RAF Little Snoring was a World War II era RAF Heavy Bomber airfield located just to the north of the Norfolk village of Little Snoring. The airfield remains open for general aviation use-Operational units and aircraft:* Heavy Conversion... , Norfolk Norfolk Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county... |
|
Commanding officers
| From | To | Name |
|---|---|---|
| October 1942 | July 1943 | 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... S.R. Thomas, DFC Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against... , 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"... |
| July 1943 | January 1944 | W/Cdr. Wing Commander (rank) Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries... J.F. Inkster |
| January 1944 | December 1944 | W/Cdr. F.F. Lambert, DSO Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September... , DFC |
| December 1944 | June 1945 | W/Cdr. H.C. Kelsey, DFC |
See also
- List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
- Boulton Paul DefiantBoulton Paul DefiantThe Boulton Paul Defiant was a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force early in the Second World War. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any forward-firing guns. It was a contemporary of the Royal Navy's Blackburn Roc...
Operational history - Freya radarFreya radarFreya was an early warning radar deployed by Germany during World War II, named after the Norse Goddess Freyja. During the war over a thousand stations were built. A naval version operating on a slightly different wavelength was also developed as Seetakt...
, the German early-warning radar that was jammed using "Moonshine" and "Mandrel"