No. 577 Squadron was an anti-aircraft co-operation unit 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...

 formed during 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...

 and active from December 1943 till June 1946 in the defence of the Midlands

English Midlands

The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...

.

History

577 squadron was formed on 1 December 1943 at RAF Castle Bromwich from elements of nos.6, 7 and 8 anti-aircraft cooperation units (AACU). It operated a varied lot of aircraft on airfields and bases all over the Midlands and Wales. On 15 June 1946 the squadron disbanded at Castle Bromwich.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 577 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Aircraft	Version
December 1943	July 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...	Mk.IV
December 1943	June 1946	Airspeed Oxford Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery during the Second World War.-Design and development:...	Mks.I, II
May 1944	July 1945	Hawker Hurricane	Mk.IIc
November 1944	July 1945	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.I
April 1945	June 1946	Vultee Vengeance	Mk.IV
June 1945	August 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.Vb
June 1945	June 1946	Supermarine Spitfire	LF.16e
		Avro Anson Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...	Mk.I

Squadron bases

Bases and airfields used by no. 577 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Base	Remark
1 December 1943	15 June 1946	RAF Castle Bromwich, Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...	Dets. at RAF Wrexham RAF Wrexham RAF Wrexham was a World War II Royal Air Force station at Borras, on the outskirts of Wrexham North Wales and east of the city centre.Initially opened as a municipal aerodrome the airfield was used by the Royal Flying Corps during World War I and the Royal Air Force in World War II... , Wrexham Wrexham Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England... ; RAF Sealand RAF Sealand RAF Sealand was a former Royal Air Force station in Flintshire, north Wales and operated between 1916 and 2006.Under defence cuts announced in 2004 RAF Sealand was completely closed in April 2006. All remaining RAF units were moved to RAF Leeming... , Flintshire Flintshire Flintshire is a county in north-east Wales. It borders Denbighshire, Wrexham and the English county of Cheshire. It is named after the historic county of Flintshire, which had notably different borders... ; RAF Montford Bridge Montford Bridge Montford Bridge is a village in Shropshire, England, and also the name of the bridge in that village.It lies on the River Severn and is close to the town of Shrewsbury. Most of the village is in the Montford parish, but some is covered by the Bicton parish.... , Shropshire Shropshire Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west... ; RAF Shobdon Shobdon Aerodrome Shobdon Aerodrome is an airport west of Leominster, Herefordshire, England.-RAF Shobdon:Shobdon started as a British Army camp. Out of range of long range German Luftwaffe bombers, it acted as a reception point for casualties received from Southampton distributed to existing local hospitals... , Herefordshire Herefordshire Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the... ; RAF Bodorgan Bodorgan Bodorgan is a hamlet and a surrounding community area on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales, United Kingdom.According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, there are 1,503 residents in the electoral ward, 72.7% of them being able to speak Welsh: the local government community of Bodorgan, including the... , Anglesey Anglesey Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales... ; RAF Ipswich Ipswich Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell... , Suffolk Suffolk Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east... ; RAF Mona RAF Mona RAF Mona is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales. It is primarily used as a relief landing ground for RAF Valley. Mona was opened as a Royal Naval Air Service airship base in 1915. During World War II it was used as an air gunnery school, flying Avro Ansons. Today, Mona is... , Anglesey; RAF Fairwood Common RAF Fairwood Common RAF Fairwood Common was a World War II aerodrome located at Fairwood Common on the Gower Peninsula to the west of Swansea. It is now the location of Swansea Airport.-History:... , Glamorgan Glamorgan Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three... ; RAF Woodvale RAF Woodvale RAF Woodvale is a Royal Air Force Station located south of Southport, Merseyside in a small town called Formby. Although constructed as an all-weather night fighter airfield for the defence of Liverpool, it did not open until 7 December 1941... , Merseyside Merseyside Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool... ; RAF Atcham RAF Atcham RAF Atcham is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 5 miles E of Shrewsbury in Shropshire on the north eastern boundary of Attingham Park... , Shropshire; RAF Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle... , Cumbria Cumbria Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...  and RAF Hawarden, Cheshire Cheshire Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...