No. 624 Squadron RAF

No. 624 Squadron RAF
Active	22 Sep 1943 - 5 Sep 1944 28 Dec 1944 - 30 Nov 1945
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Role	Special duties Mine spotting
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry	No official badge authorised[1]
Squadron Codes	As far as known no markings were carried by 624 sqn during either period of service[1]

No. 624 Squadron RAF was at first a special duties squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War II. It was later in the war tasked with mine-spotting, until disbanded at the end of the war.

History

Special duties

No. 624 Squadron was formed by raising No. 1575 Flight RAF to squadron status at Blida in Algeria, North Africa on 20 June 1943. The squadron continued to carry out special duties operations formerly done by 1575 flight into Italy, Southern France, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. These operations included supply dropping and the insertion of agents to the resistance. For these duties the squadron operated at first with Lockheed Venturas and Handley Page Halifaxes, and later Short Stirling Mk.IVs. As a result of the allied advances in France and Italy, the need for 624 squadron in this role had declined and it was therefore disbanded on 5 September 1944.^[2]

Mine spotting

624 squadron however was reformed on 28 December 1944 at Grottaglie in Italy. Equipped with Walrus amphibians, it was now tasked with the role of mine-spotting along the Italian and Greek coasts. It had detachments and bases at Foggia, Hassani, Falconara, Rosignano^{[disambiguation needed ]}, Treviso, Hal Far, Sedes^{[disambiguation needed ]} and Littorio^{[disambiguation needed ]}, until the squadron finally disbanded on 30 November 1945.^[3]

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 624 Squadron RAF, data from^[1][2][3]

From	To	Aircraft	Variant
September 1943	October 1943	Lockheed Ventura	Mk.II
September 1943	September 1944	Handley Page Halifax	Mk.II
September 1943	February 1944	Handley Page Halifax	Mk.V
June 1944	September 1944	Short Stirling	Mk.IV
January 1945	November 1945	Supermarine Walrus	Mk.I
March 1945	November 1945	Hurricane[1]	Mk.IIb
April 1945	November 1945	Avro Anson	Mk.I

Commanding officers

Officers commanding No. 624 Squadron RAF, data from^[1]

From	To	Name
September 1943	January 1944	S/Ldr. J.B. Austin, DFC
January 1944	September 1944	W/Cdr. C.S.G. Stanbury, DSO, DFC
December 1944	November 1945	S/Ldr. G.M. Gallagher

References

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Rawlings 1982, p. 243.
2. ^ ^{a b} Halley 1988, p. 439.
3. ^ ^{a b} Jefford 2001, p. 102.

Bibliography

• Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988 ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
• Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE, BA, RAF(Retd). RAF Squadrons: A Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2001. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
• Rawlings, John D.R. Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.

External links

• History of 624 Squadron on RAF website
• Squadron histories and more for nos. 621-650 sqn on RAFWeb
• History in the words of the unsung heroes who flew in 624 Squadron
• Memorial to 624 sqn personnel

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