- No. 464 Squadron RAAF
-
No. 464 Squadron RAAF 
No. 464 Squadron Mosquito aircraft setting out on a mission over France in August 1944Active 1 September 1942 – 25 September 1945 Country 
AustraliaAllegiance 
United KingdomBranch 
Royal Australian Air ForceRole Bomber squadron Part of No. 2 Group RAF, Bomber Command (September 1942 – July 1943)[1]
No. 2 Group RAF, 2nd Tactical Air Force (Jul 43 – Sep 45)[2]Motto Latin: Aequo animo
(Translation: "Equanimity")[3][4]Battle honours
- Fortress Europe, 1940–1944
- France and Germany, 1944–1945
- Normandy, 1944
- Rhine
Insignia Squadron Badge heraldry A demi piping shrike[3][4] Squadron Codes SB (August 1942 – September 1945)[5][6] Aircraft flown Bomber Lockheed Ventura
de Havilland MosquitoNo. 464 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force bomber squadron during World War II.
Contents
History
The Squadron was officially formed on 1 September 1942 at RAF Feltwell, Norfolk in the United Kingdom, under the Empire Air Training Scheme. No. 464 Squadron was initially equipped with Lockheed Ventura light bombers and participated in its first operation (Operation Oyster – the attack on the Philips radio valve factory at Eindhoven, Holland) on 6 December. The Squadron conducted raids over France during 1943 and was reequipped with the more suited de Havilland Mosquito aircraft in July.
Anzac Mosquitoes over Amiens; operation Jericho.
In early 1944 No. 464 Squadron concentrated on attacking V-1 flying bomb launch sites and gained a reputation for highly accurate bombing. This reputation lead it to be selected for Operation Jericho. In this mission, aircraft from the Squadron formed part of the force which breached the walls of a Gestapo prison at Amiens, France on February 18, 1944 allowing members of the French Resistance to escape. From June 1944 the Squadron attacked transport and communications targets to support the Allied invasion of Europe. The Squadron also participated in a number of precision attacks on Gestapo targets in occupied Europe. Most notable were the precision low-level attacks on the Aarhus University complex in Aarhus, Denmark (31 October 1944), Operation Carthage – the attack on the Shellhaus in Copenhagen, Denmark (21 March 1945) and on the Gestapo Headquarters in Odense, Denmark (17 April 1945).
No. 464 Squadron moved from England to France in February 1945 and continued day and night bombing missions until the end of the war. Following the German surrender a No. 464 Squadron aircraft carried German Colonel General Alfred Jodl to Berlin. No. 464 Squadron RAAF was disbanded at Melsbroek Air Base, Belgium on 25 September 1945.[4][7][8][9]
During its brief existence, the Squadron carried out 3,067 operational sorties, dropped 3,466,500 lbs of bombs and destroyed at least 11 enemy aircraft. In so doing it lost 102 members from the RAAF, RAF, RCAF, RNoAF and RNZAF and its members were awarded one DSO, three bars to the DFC, 36 DFCs, four DFMs and one US Air Medal.
Aircraft operated
Aircraft operated by no. 464 Squadron RAAF, data from[4][7][9] From To Aircraft Version September 1942 July 1943 Lockheed Ventura Mks.I & II July 1943 September 1945 de Havilland Mosquito Mk.VI Squadron bases
Bases and airfields used by no. 464 Squadron RAAF, data from[4][7][9] From To Base 1 September 1942 3 April 1943 RAF Feltwell, Norfolk 3 April 1943 21 July 1943 RAF Methwold, Norfolk 21 July 1943 31 December 1943 RAF Sculthorpe, Norfolk 31 December 1943 25 March 1944 RAF Hunsdon, Hertfordshire 25 March 1944 8 April 1944 RAF Swanton Morley, Norfolk 8 April 1944 17 April 1944 RAF Hunsdon, Hertfordshire 17 April 1944 18 June 1944 RAF Gravesend, Kent 18 June 1944 5 February 1945 RAF Thorney Island, West Sussex 5 february 1945 17 April 1945 B.87/Rosières-en-Santerre, France 17 April 1945 25 September 1945 B.58/Melsbroek, Belgium Commanding officers
Officers commanding no. 464 Squadron RAAF, data from[8] From To Name 1 September 1942 26 April 1943 Wing Commander Richard Hillyard 'Bob' Young, DSO, AFC, RAF 27 April 1943 5 January 1944 Wing Commander Henry John Walter 'Jack' Meakin, DFC, RAF 6 January 1944 21 June 1944 Wing Commander Robert Wilson 'Bob' Iredale, DFC, RAAF 22 June 1944 22 August 1944 (KIA) Wing Commander Gordon 'Peter' Panitz, DFC, RAAF 23 AUgust 1944 14 January 1945 Wing Commander Arthur Wellesley 'Bill' Langton, DFC, AFC, RAF 15 January 1945 27 September 1945 Wing Commander Noel Fraser Vincent, DFC, RAAF References
Notes
- ^ Delve 1994, p. 61.
- ^ Delve 1994, pp. 70, 78.
- ^ a b Moyes 1976, p. 257.
- ^ a b c d e Halley 1988, p. 483.
- ^ Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 92.
- ^ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 105.
- ^ a b c Moyes 1976, p. 258.
- ^ a b Boywer 1984, p. 109.
- ^ a b c Jefford 2001, p. 95.
Bibliography
- Bowyer, Chaz. Mosquito Squadrons of the Royal AIr Force. London: Ian Allan Ltd., 1984. ISBN 0-7110-1425-6.
- Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. Squadron Codes, 1937–56. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
- Delve, Ken. The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
- Eather, Steve. Flying Squadrons of the Australian Defence Force. Aerospace Publications, 1995. ISBN 1-87567-115-3. Pages 124–125.
- Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. Combat Codes: A full explanation and listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied air force unit codes since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-84037-281-8.
- 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, C.G. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- Lax, Mark Lax and Leon Kane-Maguire. The Gestapo Hunters: 464 Squadron RAAF, 1942–45. Banner Books, 1999. ISBN 1-87559-319-5.
- Moyes, Philip J.R. Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and Their AIrcraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1964 (2nd edition 1976). ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
External links
- 464 Squadron at RAAF Museum
- 464 squadron history on RAF website
- squadron histories and more for nos. 450–467 sqn on rafweb
Related content
Main series 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 20 · 21 · 22 · 23 · 24 · 25 · 26 · 27 · 28 · 29 · 30 · 31 · 32 · 33 · 34 · 35 · 36 · 37 · 38 · 40 · 41 · 42 · 43 · 60 · 66 · 67 · 71 · 73 · 75 · 76 · 77 · 78 · 79 · 80 · 82 · 83 · 84 · 85 · 86 · 87 · 92 · 93 · 94 · 99 · 100 · 102 · 107 · 292 · Fighter · Rescue and Communication · Seaplane · Berlin Air Lift
Article XV squadrons Joint Netherlands-Australian squadrons Categories:- RAAF squadrons
- Military units and formations established in 1942
- Article XV squadrons of World War II
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
