No. 296 Squadron RAF

No. 296 Squadron RAF was an transport squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. With sister squadrons 295 and 297 it formed 38 Wing, which later expanded to create No. 38 Group RAF.[1]

No. 296 Squadron RAF
Active25 January 1942 – 23 January 1946
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
RoleAirborne forces and Transport
Part ofNo. 38 Group RAF[1]
Motto(s)Prepared for all things[2][3]
EngagementsSicily, Normandy, Arnhem
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldryIn front of a sword in pale, the point downwards, a scroll[2][3]
Squadron CodesXH (Aug 1942 – Nov 1943)[4][5]
9W (Oct 1943 – Jan 1946)[6][7]
7C (Mar 1944 – Jan 1946)[8][9]

History

With the Airborne Forces
An Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk.V like the ones used by 296 Sqn.

No. 296 Squadron was formed at Ringway Airport near Manchester on 25 January 1942 from the Glider Exercise Unit as an airborne forces unit, equipped with obsolete Hawker Hectors and Hawker Harts, and moved to RAF Netheravon to concentrate on glider training. In June 1942 it began to receive the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and in October 1942 began flying leaflet dropping missions over France. In early 1943 the squadron converted to the Albemarle Mk.I and in Summer 1943 moved 32 aircraft to Froha, Algeria to take part in Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily, returning later in the year.

An example of the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle as used by 296 Sqn.

The Squadron was involved in the first part of the D-Day landings. On the night of 5/6 June 1944, as part of Operation Tonga, three Albemarles flew Pathfinder parachutists to Normandy followed by eight more loaded with paratroops of 5th Parachute Brigade. During 6 June the squadron returned with a further eight towing Horsa gliders. For Operation Mallard which immediately followed, 296 squadron despatched 19 aircraft towing gliders to Normandy. Other missions involved dropping SAS sabotage teams behind enemy lines. The Albemarle's last major mission came during the battle of Arnhem, where the squadron towed across forty-six gliders in two waves from Manston aerodrome without loss in the first two days of the battle. The Albemarles gave way in September 1944 to the Handley Page Halifax of which 30 were provided for Operation Varsity, the Rhine crossings. At the end of the war the squadron was used to ferry troops to Norway and Denmark to take the German surrender and to bring liberated POWs back to Britain.

With Transport Command

The squadron operated a mail service to India from December 1945 until it disbanded on 23 January 1946 at RAF Earls Colne, Essex.

Aircraft operated
Aircraft operated by No. 296 Squadron RAF, data from[3][10][11]
FromToAircraftVersion
January 1942August 1942Hawker HectorMk.1
January 1942August 1942Hawker Hart
June 1942March 1943Armstrong Whitworth WhitleyMk.V
January 1943November 1944Armstrong Whitworth AlbemarleMks.I, II
September 1944November 1944Armstrong Whitworth AlbemarleMks.IV, V
September 1944Mar 1945Handley Page HalifaxMk.V
February 1945January 1946Handley Page HalifaxMk.III
December 1945January 1946Handley Page HalifaxA.7

Squadron bases
Bases and airfields used by No. 296 Squadron RAF, data from[3][10][11]
FromToBaseRemark
25 January 19421 February 1942RAF Ringway, CheshireFormed here
1 February 194225 July 1942RAF Netheravon, WiltshireDet. at RAF Hurn, Dorset
25 July 194225 October 1942RAF Hurn, Dorset
25 October 194219 December 1942RAF Andover, Hampshire
19 December 194225 June 1943RAF Hurn, Dorset
3 June 194315 October 1943RAF Stoney Cross, HampshireGround echelon
3 June 194324 June 1943Froha, AlgeriaAir echelon
24 June 194315 October 1943Goubrine II, TunisiaAir echelon. Dets. at Cassibile, Sicily and Torrente Comunelli Airfield, Sicily
15 October 194314 March 1944RAF Hurn, DorsetDet. at RAF Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland
14 March 194429 September 1944RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire
29 September 194423 January 1946RAF Earls Colne, EssexDisbanded here

Commanding officers
Officers commanding No. 296 Squadron RAF, data from[10]
FromToName
January 1942October 1942S/Ldr. P.B.N. Davis
October 1942July 1943W/Cdr. P.R. May, AFC
July 1943August 1943W/Cdr. L.C. Bartram
August 1943October 1944W/Cdr. D.I. McInnies
October 1944February 1945S/Ldr. R.W. Jamieson
February 1945January 1946W/Cdr. T.C. Musgrave
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See also

References

Notes
  1. Delve 1994, p. 65.
  2. Rawlings 1982, p. 194.
  3. Halley 1988, p. 352.
  4. Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 114.
  5. Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 120.
  6. Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 113.
  7. Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 61.
  8. Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 28.
  9. Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 60.
  10. Rawlings 1982, p. 195.
  11. Jefford2001, p. 86.

Bibliography
  • Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. Squadron Codes, 1937–56. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens, 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.
  • 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, 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), 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. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
  • Rawlings, John D.R. Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company, 1982. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.
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