No. 605 Squadron RAF

No 605 Squadron was formed as an Auxiliary Air Force Squadron. Initially formed as a bomber unit, it was one of the most successful participants of the Battle of Britain. It also had the distinction of being active during the Second World War at two fronts at a time, when the squadron was split up between Malta and the Dutch East Indies. In its last incarnation as an active flying unit, the squadron served as the first jet fighter unit in the post-war Royal Auxiliary Air Force; 616 having already flown Gloster Meteors during the war. No. 605 Squadron was reformed as a RAuxAF Logistic Support Squadron (LSS) on 1 Nov 2014 within No. 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing of the RAF A4 Force. On the 1 January 2019, the Reserve Logistic Support Wing (RLSW) was established with 501, 504 and 605 LSS Squadron's moving from No. 85 (Expeditionary Logistics) Wing RAF to form RLSW.

No. 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force
No. 605 Squadron badge
Active	5 October 1926 – March 1942 7 June 1942 – 31 August 1945 10 May 1946 – 10 March 1957 1 November 2014 –
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Auxiliary Air Force
Role	Logistics
Part of	No 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing , RAF A4 Force
Motto(s)	Latin: Nunquam Dormio (Translation: "I Never Sleep")[1][2][3]
Battle honours	Dunkirk* Battle of Britain, 1940* Malta, 1941* Eastern Waters, 1942* Fortress Europe, 1942–1943* Home Defence, 1944* France and Germany, 1944–1945* Honours marked with an asterisk* are those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard[4]
Commanders
Honorary Air Commodore	Viscount Bearsted (1928–1937)[5] William Lindsay Everard (1937–1947)[6] J.A.C. Wright (1947–1957)
Notable commanders	Archie McKellar, Eric William Wright, Peter Townsend, Bertie R. O'Bryen "Sammy" Hoare
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry	On a mount, a bear supporting a ragged staff[1][2][3]
Squadron Codes	HE (Apr 1939 – Sep 1939)[7] UP (Jan 1942 – Aug 1945)[8] RAL (May 1946 – 1949)[9] NR (1949 – Apr 1951)[10]

History

Formation and early years

No. 605 Squadron was formed on 5 October 1926 at RAF Castle Bromwich as a day bomber unit of the Auxiliary Air Force, recruiting in the Birmingham area. Initially equipped with DH.9As, it received Westland Wapitis in April 1930 and Hawker Harts in October 1934. The latter were replaced by Hawker Hinds in August 1936. On 1 January 1939 No. 605 squadron was re-designated as a fighter squadron and re-equipped with Gloster Gladiators.[11][12]

Second World War

A 605 squadron Hurricane Mk.I, RAF serial R4118, squadron code UP-W

Hawker Hurricanes began to arrive a few weeks before the outbreak of the Second World War, and the squadron took up its war station at RAF Tangmere with a mixture of six Hurricanes and ten Gladiators, completing re-equipment during October 1939. In February 1940 the squadron moved to Scotland, but returned south in May to fly patrols over northern France for a week before moving back to Scotland at RAF Drem. It again moved south again in September for the closing stages of the Battle of Britain. It then continued to operate from bases in the south, carrying out escort duties and fighter sweeps until posted overseas.

To the middle and far east

In November 1941, the squadron flew off the carrier HMS Argus to Malta, where it was retained as part of the island's defences, prior to continuing its journey to the Far East. Arriving in Singapore too late to prevent its capture, it moved to Sumatra and then to Java, in the event caught up in the Japanese invasion.[13] It operated any aircraft it could fly until it ceased to exist with its personnel either escaping in small groups or being captured. In the meantime, a small detachment of the squadron had been left on Malta during the transit journey to the Far East and a unit there which began operations on 10 January 1942[14] used the squadron number in its reports, which ended the following month, on being absorbed into No. 185 Squadron RAF.[11][12]

Reformation as night intruders

A new No. 605 squadron was formed at RAF Ford on 7 June 1942, equipped with Douglas Boston and Havocs in the intruder role. These were replaced with de Havilland Mosquitoes from February 1943 and it continued to operate this type until the end of the war. During this period, Peter Middleton, the grandfather of the Duchess of Cambridge, was a pilot on the squadron. At this time, the Mosquito pilots used their wing-tips to divert V1 flying bombs off course whilst en route to London.[15] The squadron moved to Belgium in March 1945 and then the Netherlands in April. The squadron disbanded by being re-numbered to No. 4 Squadron RAF on 31 August 1945 at Volkel Air Base.[11][12]

De Havilland Mosquito NF.30 of 605 Squadron in 1948

After the war

With the reactivation of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, No. 605 squadron was reformed on 10 May 1946 at RAF Honiley as a night fighter squadron, though its initial equipment of Mosquito NF.30s did not arrive until April 1947. In July 1948 the squadron's role was changed to that of a day fighter squadron, for which it received de Havilland Vampire F.1s, replacing them with Vampire FB.5s in May 1951. A little short of six years later the squadron was disbanded, along with all the flying units of the RAuxAF, on 10 March 1957.[11][12]

Present day

No. 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron was reformed as a RAF Reserve Logistics Support Squadron on 1 Nov 2014 within No. 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing of the RAF A4 Force. Based at RAF Cosford, near Wolverhampton. The first reservist recruiting event was 30 May 2015, recruiting drivers, chefs, suppliers and police, which will be broken down as 112 part-time and 14 full-time posts. They were fully operational by May 2018.[16]

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 605 Squadron RAF, data from[11][12][17][18]

From	To	Aircraft	Version
October 1926	June 1930	Airco DH.9	DH.9A
April 1930	December 1934	Westland Wapiti	Mk.IIa
February 1934	August 1936	Hawker Hart
August 1936	February 1939	Hawker Hind
February 1939	October 1939	Gloster Gladiator	Mks.I, II
August 1939	December 1940	Hawker Hurricane	Mk.I
December 1940	August 1941	Hawker Hurricane	Mk.IIa
August 1941	March 1942	Hawker Hurricane	Mk.IIb
July 1942	October 1942	Douglas Havoc	Mks.I, II
July 1942	March 1943	Douglas Boston	Mk.III
February 1943	July 1943	de Havilland Mosquito	Mk.II
July 1943	August 1945	de Havilland Mosquito	Mk.VI
April 1947	January 1949	de Havilland Mosquito	NF.30
July 1948	May 1951	de Havilland Vampire	F.1
April 1951	March 1957	de Havilland Vampire	FB.5

Squadron bases

Bases and airfields used by no. 605 Squadron RAF, data from[11][12][19][20][21][22][23]

From	To	Base	Remark
5 October 1926	27 August 1939	RAF Castle Bromwich, Warwickshire, England	First formation
27 August 1939	11 February 1940	RAF Tangmere, Sussex, England
11 February 1940	27 February 1940	RAF Leuchars, Fife, Scotland
27 February 1940	21 May 1940	RAF Wick, Caithness, Scotland
21 May 1940	28 May 1940	RAF Hawkinge, Kent, England
28 May 1940	7 September 1940	RAF Drem, Lothian, Scotland
7 September 1940	26 February 1941	RAF Croydon, Surrey, England
26 February 1941	31 March 1941	RAF Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, England
31 March 1941	1 July 1941	RAF Ternhill, Shropshire, England
1 July 1941	4 September 1941	RAF Baginton, Warwickshire, England
4 September 1941	31 October 1941	RAF Honiley, Warwickshire, England	Left to Far East from here on HMS Argus
5 November 1941	12 November 1941	RAF Gibraltar	to Malta via HMS Argus and HMS Ark Royal
12 November 1941	18 March 1942	RAF Hal Far, Malta	Dets. at RAF Luqa and RAF Ta Qali, 605 personnel joining No. 185 Squadron on 18 March
3 February 1942	10 February 1942	Batavia, Java, Netherlands East Indies
10 February 1942	14 February 1942	Palembang, Sumatra, Netherlands East Indies	605 personnel joined forces with Nos. 238 and 242 Squadron RAF on 14 Feb.
14 February 1942	February 1942	Tjililitan, Java, Netherlands East Indies
February 1942	March 1942	Tasik Malaya, Java, Netherlands East Indies	Dispersed from here
7 June 1942	15 March 1943	RAF Ford, Sussex, England	Second formation
15 March 1943	6 October 1943	RAF Castle Camps, Cambridgeshire, England
6 October 1943	7 April 1944	RAF Bradwell Bay, Essex, England
7 April 1944	21 November 1944	RAF Manston, Kent, England
21 November 1944	15 March 1945	RAF Hartford Bridge, Hampshire, England	Airfield name changed to RAF Blackbushe, December 1944
15 March 1945	28 April 1945	B.71/Koksijde, Belgium
28 April 1945	31 August 1945	B.80/Volkel, the Netherlands
10 May 1946	11 March 1957	RAF Honiley, Warwickshire, England	Third formation and last disbandment
1 November 2014	31 December 2020	RAF Cosford, Shropshire, England	Originally reformed as a General Support Squadron. Became a Logistic Support Squadron and part of No 38 Group on 1 Nov 14.
1 January 2021	Present	RAF Cosford, Shropshire, England	605 Squadron moved with A4(Force Elements) under the newly established Support Force as a part of No 2 Group.

Commanding officers

Commanding Officers of 605 Squadron include:[24][25][26]

From	To	Name
October 1926	March 1936	S/Ldr. J.A.C. Wright, AFC, TD
March 1936	December 1939	S/Ldr. Lord Willoughby de Broke, MC, AFC
December 1939	May 1940	S/Ldr G.V. Perry
May 1940	June 1940	F/Lt. R.G. Grant-Ferris, MP (acting)
June 1940	September 1940	S/Ldr. W.M. Churchill, DSO, DFC
September 1940	November 1940	S/Ldr. A.A. McKellar, DSO, DFC
November 1940	November 1940	F/Lt. C.F. Currant, DFC (acting)
February 1942	March 1942	S/Ldr. E.W. Wright, DFM (Batavia)
June 1942	August 1942	W/Cdr. P.W. Townsend, DSO, DFC
August 1942	May 1943	W/Cdr. G.L. Denholm, DFC
May 1943	September 1943	W/Cdr. C.D Tomalin, AFC
September 1943	April 1944	W/Cdr. B.R.O'B Hoare, DSO, DFC and Bar
April 1944	September 1944	W/Cdr. N.J. Star, DFC
September 1944	March 1945	W/Cdr. R.A.Mitchell, DFC and Bar
March 1945	April 1945	S/Ldr. A.G.Woods, DFC (acting)
April 1945	July 1945	W/Cdr. A.W. Horne, DFC, AFC
July 1945	May 1946	S/Ldr. I.F.McCall, DFC (acting)
May 1946	December 1947	S/Ldr. R.J. Walker, DSO
December 1947	July 1949	S/Ldr. R.C.T. Goodwin,
July 1949	August 1951	S/Ldr. J.A. Timmis,
August 1951	May 1956	S/Ldr. P.M.R. Walton,
May 1956	March 1957	S/Ldr. R.E. Tickner,
March 1957		All RAuxAF units disbanded
August 2014		Reformed as a Logistics Support and RAF Police Sqn
August 2014	November 2015	Wg Cdr. M. Sherburn,
November 2015	January 2016	Sqn Ldr. T. Newton, (acting)
January 2016	May 2019	Wg Cdr. P.N. Bell,
May 2019	July 2019	Wg Cdr. A.G. Kime, (acting)
July 2019	present	Sqn Ldr. C.J. Krolikowski,

References

Notes

1. Halley 1988, p. 422.
2. Rawlings 1976, p. 486.
3. Moyes 1976, p. 276.
4. Piper 1996, p. 223.
5. Piper 1996, p. 17.
6. Piper 1996, p. 33.
7. Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 14.
8. Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 102.
9. Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 138.
10. Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 77.
11. Halley 1988, p. 423.
12. Jefford 2001, p. 100.
13. Thomas 2003, pp. 68–69 and 46.
14. Thomas 2003, pp. 29 and 46.
15. "New lease of life for historic squadron at its RAF Cosford home". The Shropshire Star. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
16. "Disbanded squadron at RAF Cosford in Shropshire to re-form". BBC News. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
17. Moyes 1976, p. 277.
18. Piper 2003, pp. 95–96.
19. Rawlings 1976, p. 487.
20. Moyes 1976, pp. 276–277.
21. Piper 1996, pp. 241–242.
22. "Base overview on 605 website". Archived from the original on 23 December 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
23. Base overview on RAFcommands website
24. Piper 1996, pp. 239–240.
25. Rawlings 1976, p. 488.
26. Piper 2003, p. 94.

Bibliography

• Bowyer, Michael J.F.; Rawlings, John D.R. (1979). Squadron Codes, 1937–56. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
• Ford-Jones, Martyn R. (2004). Desert Flyer: The Log and Journal of Flying Officer William Marsh. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7643-0347-3.
• Halley, James J. (1980). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-083-9.
• Halley, James J. (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
• Hunt, Leslie (1972). Twenty-One Squadrons: The History of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, 1925–1957. London: Garnstone Press. ISBN 0-85511-110-0.
• Jefford, Wing Commander C.G. (2001). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912 (2nd ed.). Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
• Moyes, Philip J.R. (1976). Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
• Piper, Ian (2003). 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron. Shipston on Stour, Warwickshire, UK: 605 Squadron Association. ISBN 0-9529516-1-4.
• Piper, Ian (1996). We Never Slept: the Story of 605 County of Warwick, Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, 1926–1957. Kingsbury, Tamworth, Staffordshire, UK: Ian Piper. ISBN 0-9529516-0-6. (reprinted in 1997)
• Rawlings, John (1976) [1969]. Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft (2nd ed.). London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd. ISBN 0-354-01028-X.
• Thomas, Andrew (2003). Hurricanes Aces: 1941–45. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84176-610-0.

External links

• Sqn homepage
• Squadron histories for nos. 605–610 sqn on RAFweb
• Battle of Britain website page for 605 sqn
• Official 605 Sqn page on the RAF Website