No. 519 Squadron RAF was a meteorological 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...

 during the Second World War.

History

No. 519 Squadron was formed on 15 August 1943 at RAF Wick from 1406 Flight, equipped with Handley Page Hampden

Handley Page Hampden

The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the Second World War. With the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane...

s and Supermarine Spitfire

Supermarine Spitfire

The 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...

s. It was tasked with collecting meteorological data from the northern waters of the North Sea

North Sea

In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

 all the way to Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

. It soon replaced the Hampdens 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...

s and Lockheed Ventura

Lockheed Ventura

The Lockheed Ventura was a bomber and patrol aircraft of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises...

s. It moved a number of times around Scotland but always retained the same North Sea mission. In November 1944 the squadron received the Boeing Fortress, which it operated to the end of the war. With the war over the squadron standardised on the Halifax Mk.III

Handley Page Halifax

The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...

, until it was disbanded at 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:...

 on 31 May 1946.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 519 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Aircraft	Version
August 1943	October 1943	Handley Page Hampden Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the Second World War. With the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane...	Mk.I
August 1943	January 1945	Supermarine Spitfire Supermarine Spitfire The 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...	Mk.VI
September 1943	October 1943	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, IIIa
October 1943	October 1944	Lockheed Ventura Lockheed Ventura The Lockheed Ventura was a bomber and patrol aircraft of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises...
July 1944	March 1945	Lockheed Hudson	Mks.III, IIIa
November 1944	September 1945	Boeing Fortress	Mk.II
October 1944	December 1945	Supermarine Spitfire	Mk.VII
August 1945	May 1946	Handley Page Halifax Handley Page Halifax The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...	Mks III, VI

Squadron bases

Bases and airfields used by no. 519 squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Base
15 August 1943	11 December 1943	RAF Wick, Caithness Caithness Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is... , 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...
11 December 1943	29 November 1944	RAF Skitten, Caithness, Scotland
29 November 1944	17 August 1945	RAF Wick, Caithness, Scotland
17 August 1945	8 November 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:... , Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use... , Scotland
8 November 1945	31 May 1946	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:... , Fife Fife Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire... , Scotland

External links

• No 500 - 520 Squadron Histories on rafweb
• History of No. 519 Squadron on raf.mod.uk