History No. 66 Squadron RAF

1 history

1.1 in world war i
1.2 flying aces
1.3 second world war
1.4 post-war
1.5 on helicopters

history
in world war i

it first formed @ filton on 30 june 1916 training squadron equipped royal aircraft factory be2, be12s , avro 504. squadron received first sopwith pup on 3 february 1917, , deployed vert galand in somme, france on 12 march 1917. pups exchanged sopwith camels during october 1917 , squadron moved join no. 14 wing in italy.

during twelve months of fighting in italy squadron destroyed 172 enemy aircraft. on 13 march 1918 lieutenant alan jerrard engaged nineteen enemy aircraft on own, managed destroy 3 before forced land , taken prisoner, awarded squadron s victoria cross efforts.

at end of war squadron stayed on in italy few months, returning united kingdom in march 1919 , disbanded on 25 october 1919.

flying aces

the 21 aces had served squadron during great war were: william george barker vc, alan jerrard vc, peter carpenter, harry king goode, francis s. symondson, gerald alfred birks, charles m. maud, gordon apps, hilliard brooke bell, christopher mcevoy, harold ross eycott-martin, william myron macdonald, augustus paget, john oliver andrews, harold koch boysen, william carrall hilborn, thomas hunter, james lennox, walbanke ashby pritt, patrick gordon taylor and, john (jack) wallis bishop.

second world war

it reformed on 20 july 1936 c flight, no. 19 squadron raf @ raf duxford, being equipped gloster gauntlets, before slow conversion supermarine spitfires august 1938. squadron part of no. 12 group raf in fighter command , on readiness start of war in september 1939. first contact enemy attack on heinkel 111 of norfolk coast near cromer, german aircraft subsequently crashed in denmark. squadron moved raf horsham st. faith after germany invasion of belgium , netherlands, squadron destroyed first enemy aircraft on 12 may 1940 on hague. @ end of august squadron moved south of england part of battle of britain, operated raf kenley, raf gravesend, raf west malling , november raf biggin hill. time germans had stopped daylight bombing squadron had destroyed 20 aircraft 17 probables , damaged fifteen.

in april 1941 squadron moved raf perranporth in cornwall operate fighter sweep missions on channel, moved portreath in december 1941 , re-equipped spitfire v. in april 1942 squadron moved raf ibsley , involved in support combined operations @ dieppe. october 1942 squadron based @ raf zeals in wiltshire. moved raf sumburgh in shetland isles in april 1943 provide fighter cover british fleet based @ scapa flow before returning west country, firstly @ raf church stanton in somerset , perranporth in cornwall in october 1943.

in november 1943 squadron moved raf hornchurch , converted spitfire ix , moved north weald airfield in essex @ end of february 1944. squadron became part of second tactical air force , provided air cover invasion forces in normandy, being based in france 22 june. after break in south wales squadron continued support advancing allied forces being based @ abbeville in september 1944 , on grimbergen in belgium. in november squadron converted spitfire xvi before moving twente in netherland disbanded on 30 april 1945.

post-war

it reformed @ duxford on 1 september 1946, renumbering no. 165 squadron raf, spitfires. following northern spring, squadron converted meteors, flew 6 years before reequipping sabres. @ raf linton-on-ouse in march 1956 acquired hawker hunters, flew before being disbanded again on 30 september 1960 @ raf acklington.

on helicopters

it reformed @ raf odiham on 15 september 1961, belvedere trials unit equipped bristol belvedere helicopters. in june 1962 left uk seletar in singapore, provided heavy lift helicopter support forces operating in malaya. squadron disbanded on 17 march 1969.