No. 1340 Flight RAF

No. 1340 (Special Duties) Flight RAF (1340 Flt) was a flight of the Royal Air Force. In its first formation in India it was equipped with Vultee Vengeance Mk. IIIs and a single North American Harvard. In its second formation in Kenya it flew Harvards built under licence in Canada by Noorduyn.

No. 1340 Flight
Harvard T-6H, with colour scheme similar to those flown by No. 1340 Flight RAF in Kenya.[1] [lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]
Active	1945 – 31 Mar 1946 23 Mar 1953 – 30 Sep 1955
Disbanded	30 September 1955
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Role	Bombing natives
Commanders
Notable commanders	Squadron Leader Charles "Porky" Jeffries
Aircraft flown
Bomber	Vultee Vengeance Mk. III
Trainer	North American Harvard II & IIB

Although Harvards were mostly used by the RAF as trainers or target tugs, the aircraft of 1340 Flt in Kenya were armed with 20 lb (9.1 kg) bombs and a machine-gun, for operations against the Mau Mau in Kenya in the early 1950s.

History

First formation

A Vengeance dive bomber of the RAAF in 1943

1340 Flt was first formed c1945 at the Indian Air Force base at Sulur, Kerala State, India. It was equipped with three Vultee Vengeance Mk. IIIs and a Harvard IIB.[3]

The flight was formed to carry out trials of mustard gas attacks for the Chemical Defence Research Department (India) (CDRD, now at Porton Down, Wiltshire), in preparation for expected similar attacks by the Japanese, who had already used it during the Second Sino-Japanese war.[4] The flight was nominally under the control of 225 Group in Bangalore, part of Air Headquarters, RAF India,[5] but flew under the direction of CDRD.

Operations

The Vengeances dropped 65-lb canisters and 500 lb clusters of mustard gas, and also sprayed it on Indian troops on the ground to test anti-gas protection such as gas capes and footwear. The unprotected troops, who may have been unaware of the danger, suffered many burns and blisters.[6]

The flight transferred to from Sulur to Cannonore (Kannur), Kerala State on 11 October 1945, where an airstrip was created on the maidan, a large public area overlooking the sea. There were two trials ranges, at Kumbla and Porkal, situated on the coast approx 40 miles (65 km) N. of Cannanore. Further chemical weapons trials continued until February 1946 when the surplus stocks of gas were dumped at sea. 1340 Flt disbanded on 31 March 1946.[3][lower-alpha 3]

Incidents

On 5 December 1945 W/Cdr Edmondes took off solo in his Harvard (FE965) to make a reconnaissance round the Porkal area. His engined failed, and he made a successful forced landing in a paddy field about 10 miles inland. He was unhurt.[7]

Second formation

Harvard trainers over Rhodesia 1943

The flight was re-formed on 23 March 1953 as No. 1340 Flight RAF at RAF Thornhill,[8] Gwelo, Southern Rhodesia (now Gweru-Thornhill Air Base, Zimbabwe), in response to the Mau Mau uprising in neighbouring Kenya.[3][9] The Harvard IIB aircraft came from No. 5 Flying Training School RAF (3rd Formation) based at Thornhill, part of the Rhodesian Air Training Group.[10][11] The Harvards had been previously temporarily based at No. 4 Flying Training School RAF at RAF Heany, near Bulawayo.[12][13]

Mau Mau uprising

The Mau Mau uprising occurred because native Kenyan cattle farmers, predominately the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru people, had been progressively pushed off their ancestral grazing lands by white settlers since 1902.

The situation was made more complex because the Kikuyu were divided into anti-colonial protesters and pro-British sympathisers.

Much of the air activity took place in the forested areas around Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Range north of Nairobi, where the Mau Mau fighters were hiding out.[14]

Kenya became independent in 1964.

Although some Harvards from Thornhill had been offered in February 1953 to the Kenyan authorities on the advice of General William "Looney" Hinde, the Director of Operations, a decision wasn't taken until the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, General Sir John Harding, visited Kenya to see the worsening security situation. Twelve Harvards from Thornhill were recommended to support two infantry battalions and an infantry brigade headquarters (39 Brigade), to restore security. Winston Churchill's cabinet endorsed the move on 10 March, and by the end of the month the establishment of 1340 Flight was formally approved.[10]

The flight arrived at RAF Eastleigh, Nairobi, Kenya, on 27 March 1953, commanded by Squadron Leader Charles G. St. David Jefferies,[10][15] equipped with 12 Noorduyn Harvard IIBs, eight operational and four in reserve, with two being serviced any one time.[16]

The aircraft were fitted with bomb racks under the wings to take eight 20 lb (9.1 kg) fragmentation bombs[17][18] and a single Browning .303 machine gun under the starboard wing,[9][15] with the ammunition carried inside the wing.[19] Because of the wooded terrain, the Harvards weren't used for two months because General Hinde thought they would be ineffective.[10]

The RAF was assisted by five Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer aircraft belonging to the Kenya Police Reserve Air Wing (KPRW). In October 1953 six RAF pilots were seconded to the KRPW to fly the Tri-Pacers. Being on secondment, the pilots adopted the attitude to discipline of the Kenya Police; it was somewhat more relaxed than that of the RAF. The Tri-Pacers weren't originally armed, although they were later fitted with a single rack for four 20 lb (9.1 kg) bombs behind the rear of cabin.[20][21]

1340 Flight, along with the KPRW Tri-Pacers deployed forward from Eastleigh to Nyeri airfield, which lay between Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Range, and a basic Operations Centre was set up in the nearby town of Mweiga. An RAF Regiment detachment eventually took over airfield defence from the RAF groundcrew.[15]

Operations

Working with the Army or local security forces on the ground, the Tri-Pacers would drop phosphorus grenades (e.g. No. 76 Special Incendiary Grenade) from the cockpit as markers, followed by the flight of eight Harvards which dropped their bombs on the target. From November 1953 various detachments of Avro Lincoln bombers were also stationed at RAF Eastleigh, armed with fourteen 500 lb (230 kg) bombs: No. 49 Squadron RAF, No. 100 Squadron RAF, No. 61 Squadron RAF, No. 214 Squadron RAF, and 49 Squadron again from December 1954.

There was a lack of coordination between the various armed services until May 1954 when Air Commodore Walter Beisiegel[22] was appointed as Senior RAF Officer (SRAFO). He stayed until September 1955 and improved the process of target-marking by the Piper Tri-Pacers and the bombing of the Mau Mau by the Harvards and Lincolns.[23]

No. 1340 Flight was disbanded on 30 September 1955. During the course of the Mau Mau emergency, the flight had dropped 21,936 20-lb. bombs and lost five aircraft in accidents.[24]

Incidents

On 19 April 1954 three Harvards were caught in a down-draught and crash-landed in the Aberdare Range.

Three Tri-Pacers were also lost to accidents.[24]

See also

• List of Royal Air Force aircraft independent flights
• List of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facilities in Southern Rhodesia

References

Notes

1. This is a Harvard T-6H painted as Prince Philip's KF729. It was built after 1945 by Canadian Car & Foundry and used by the Italian Air Force.[2] Currently (2018) at IWM Duxford.
2. Coincidentally, Harvard IIBs were powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp radial engine.
3. NB Kannur is not to be confused with Kunnur or Coonoor.

Citations

1. "Mau Mau campaign". FindModelKit. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
2. "Historic Aviation: Harvard KF 729". The Aviation Forum. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
3. Sturtivant 1957b, p. 280.
4. Danny42C (12 September 2012, 20:28). Gaining An R.A.F Pilots Brevet In WW II, p. 13. PPRuNe Military Aviation forum. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
5. Craven, Wesley Frank; Cate, James Lea (eds.). The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume Four: The Pacific, Guadalcanal to Saipan, August 1942 to July 1944. Washington, D. C.: Office of Air Force History. p. 461. ISBN 9781428915893.
6. "Military scientists tested mustard gas on Indians". The Guardian. 1 September 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
7. No 1340 (SD) Flight. Photo of 1340 flight's only Harvard (FE965) crashed in a paddy field in December 1945, with link to full story: plus a visiting Airspeed Oxford at Cannonore. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
8. "History of Thornhill Air Station". The Rhodesian Forces Web Site. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
9. "British Military Aviation 1953". RAF Museum. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
10. Chappell 2011, p. 87.
11. "The Rhodesia Air Training Group (RATG) 1940 – 1945". ZimFieldGuide.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
12. Wilson 2015, p. 77.
13. "Unit History: RAF Heany". Forces War Records. Missing or empty |url= (help)
14. See map, Ritchie 2011, p. 32.
15. Ritchie 2011, p. 34.
16. Wilson 2015, p. 69.
17. "British Explosive Ordnance - Introduction and Fragmentation Bombs: Fragmentation Bombs". WW2 Equipment Data. 28 November 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
18. Picture of bomb racks at Grant, Peter (23 August 2014). "More on the T-6 Texan's combat service". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
19. Buckmaster, Derek (22 September 2012). "CAC Wirraway Technical Details". Design Bureau. Retrieved 5 February 2018. Info from a page about the CAC Wirraway, similar to the Harvard, both developed from the NA-16 trainer.
20. Chappell 2011, p. 76.
21. Blackburn 1954, p. 708.
22. Air Commodore W K Beisiegel (26025) Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. RAFWeb. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
23. Chappell 2011, p. 88.
24. "British Military Aviation: 1955". RAF Museum. Retrieved 19 March 2018.

Sources

• Blackburn, Robert J. (12 November 1954). "Aircraft versus Mau Mau". Flight.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) p. 707 · p. 708 · p. 709 · p. 710 with lots of photos
• Chappell, Steve (2011). "Airpower in the Mau Mau Conflict: The Government's chief weapon" (PDF). Air Power Review. Spring 2011. Royal Air Force: Centre for Air Power Studies. 14 (1). ISSN 1463-6298.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Ritchie, Sebastian (2011). "The RAF, Small Wars and Insurgencies: Later Colonial Operations 1945-1975" (PDF). Royal Air Force Historical Society Journal. Air Power Studies (55). Retrieved 5 February 2018.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Sturtivant, R. C. (22 February 1957a). "Below Squadron Status, An Outline History of R.A.F. and F.A.A. 'Flights', Part 1". Flight: 217–218.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) p. 217 * p. 218
• Sturtivant, R. C. (1 March 1957b). "Below Squadron Status, An Outline History of R.A.F. and F.A.A. 'Flights', Part 2". Flight: 279–280.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) p. 279 * p. 280
• Wilson, Keith (2015). RAF in Camera: 1950s. Pen and Sword. ISBN 9781473827950.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Harvards in Kenya with photos