No. 684 Squadron RAF was a photo-reconnaissance

Aerial reconnaissance

Aerial reconnaissance is reconnaissance that is conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles or reconnaissance aircraft. Their roles are to collect imagery intelligence, signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence...

 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...

 from 1943 to 1946.

History

The squadron was formed on 29 September 1943 at RAF Dum Dum

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is an airport located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, serving the greater Kolkata metro area. The airport was originally known as Dum Dum Airport before being renamed in the honour of Subhas Chandra Bose...

 near Calcutta, (then) British India from the twin-engined elements of No. 681 Squadron RAF

No. 681 Squadron RAF

No. 681 Squadron RAF was a photo-reconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.-History:It was first formed out of No. 3 PRU, at Dum Dum in India on 2 January 1943, as part of RAF Far East Air Force...

. It operated in the photo-reconnaissance role with first the 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"...

 and the North American Mitchell

B-25 Mitchell

The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...

, and later also with the 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...

 and the 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...

. The squadron performed long range photo-reconnaissance in support of the Burma Campaign

Burma Campaign

The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...

. Near the end of the war the squadron also performed high-speed courier flights. It was disbanded on 1 September 1946 at RAF Seletar, Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 by being renumbered to No. 81 Squadron RAF

No. 81 Squadron RAF

No 81 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It flew Fighter aircraft during the Second World War, and reconnaissance aircraft in the Far East after the war, but was disbanded in 1970.-First World War:No...

.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 684 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Aircraft	Variant
September 1943	September 1945	North American Mitchell B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...	Mk.II (B-25C)
September 1943	December 1943	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
September 1943	February 1944	de Havilland Mosquito	Mk.VI
October 1943	February 1945	de Havilland Mosquito	Mk.IX
February 1944	May 1946	de Havilland Mosquito	Mk.XVI
May 1945	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.VI
July 1945	September 1946	de Havilland Mosquito	PR.34
July 1945	July 1946	Bristol Beaufighter	Mk.X
December 1945	September 1946	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...	PR.XI, PR.XIX

Squadron bases

Air bases and airfields used by no. 684 Squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Name	Remark
29 September 1943	9 December 1943	RAF Dum Dum Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is an airport located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, serving the greater Kolkata metro area. The airport was originally known as Dum Dum Airport before being renamed in the honour of Subhas Chandra Bose... , Bengal Bengal Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous... , British India	Formed here
9 December 1943	31 January 1944	RAF Comilla Comilla Comilla is a city in south-eastern Bangladesh, located along the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway. It is the administrative center of the Comilla District, part of the Chittagong Division. The Eastern Wing of Bangladesh Highway Police is located in Comilla.... , Bengal, British India
31 January 1944	5 May 1944	RAF Dum Dum, West Bengal, British India
5 May 1944	11 October 1945	RAF Alipore Alipore Alipore is headquarters of South 24 Parganas district and a neighbourhood in South Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal.Alipore, Kolkata, not to be confused with Alipore, Gujarat, is one of the poshest and costliest localities in Kolkata, along with the area Ballygunge... , Bengal, British India	Detachments at RAF Yelahanka Yelahanka Yelahanka is a suburb of Bangalore in the Indian state of Karnataka originally envisaged as a satellite town of Bangalore city, but now part of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.-Location:... , 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; RAF China Bay SLAF China Bay SLAF China Bay is a Sri Lanka Air Force base located at China Bay, Trincomalee. The airbase is situated close to the coast and has a long runway which is believed to be able to handle most modern aircraft... , Ceylon; RAF Cocos Islands Cocos (Keeling) Islands The Territory of the Cocos Islands, also called Cocos Islands and Keeling Islands, is a territory of Australia, located in the Indian Ocean, southwest of Christmas Island and approximately midway between Australia and Sri Lanka.... and RAF Mingaladon Yangon International Airport Yangon International Airport , located in Mingaladon, at north of downtown Yangon, is the primary international airport of Myanmar and the second largest airport in the country.... , Burma
11 October 1945	27 January 1946	Tân Sơn Nhất Airfield, Saigon Tan Son Nhut Air Base Tan Son Nhut Air Base was a Republic of Vietnam Air Force facility. It is located near the city of Saigon in southern Vietnam. The United States used it as a major base during the Vietnam War , stationing Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine units there... , Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...	Detachment at RAF Seletar, Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
27 January 1946	August 1946	Don Muang Airfield, Bangkok, Thailand Thailand Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...	Detachments at RAF Seletar, Singapore and RAF Baigachi, Bengal
August 1946	1 September 1946	RAF Seletar, Singapore	Disbanded here

Commanding officers

Officers commanding no. 684 squadron RAF, data from

From	To	Name
Sep 1943	Dec 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...  B.S. Jones
Dec 1943	Nov 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...  W.B. Murray
Nov 1944	Nov 1945	W/Cdr. W.E.M. Lowry, 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...
Nov 1945	Apr 1946	W/Cdr. K.J. Newman, DFC and Bar Medal bar A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...  (RNZAF Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force is the air arm of the New Zealand Defence Force... )
Apr 1946	Sep 1946	W/Cdr. J.R.H. Merrifield, 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 and Bar

External links

• No 671 - 1435 Squadron Histories
• History of 684 Squadron