No 295 Squadron RAF was an airborne forces and transport squadron of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It was the first unit to be equipped with the

Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.41 Albemarle was a twin-engine transport aircraft developed by the British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth and primarily produced by A.W. Hawksley Ltd, a subsidiary of the Gloster Aircraft Company. It was ...

transport and glider tug aircraft.

History

With the Airborne Forces

Paras dropping from 295 Sqn RAF Whitley 1942

No. 295 Squadron was formed on 3 August 1942 at

RAF Netheravon The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) ...

as an airborne forces unit, equipped with Whitley Mk.Vs. These were from November 1942 used in leaflet dropping missions over France, supplemented in February 1943 with Halifax Mk.Vs, which they used in Operation Beggar. By October 1943 the squadron converted to the Albemarle Mk.I. With these aircraft the squadron shared – with 570 Sqn.- the honour of being the first to drop troops over Normandy on the eve of

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

, while other aircraft of the squadron towed gliders to the landing zones. ARMSTRONG WHITWORTH AW

The Albemarles gave way in July 1944 to the Stirling Mk.IV. The squadron used these aircraft during the

Battle of Arnhem The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity f ...

during

Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, ...

, again towing gliders. In early October 1944, Short Stirlings of the RAF's No 295 Squadron took up residence at

RAF Rivenhall Royal Air Force Rivenhall or more simply RAF Rivenhall is a former Royal Air Force station located in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately south-southeast of Braintree, Essex, England. Opened in 1942, it was used by bot ...

, with most of its operations consisting of supply drops to Norwegian resistance forces and similar activities over the Netherlands and Denmark. The last assault action with the Stirlings was on 24 March 1945, when the unit took part in

Operation Varsity Operation Varsity (24 March 1945) was a successful airborne forces operation launched by Allied troops that took place toward the end of World War II. Involving more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft, it was the largest ai ...

, the crossing of the Rhine. The Stirlings further provided service carrying troops to Norway to disarm the Germans there when the war was over. The squadron was disbanded at Rivenhall on 21 January 1946, whereupon the station was held on a care and maintenance basis. Short Stirling with a Horsa glider

With Transport Command

On that same day 190 squadron was renumbered to 295 squadron as a Transport Squadron (Rawlings claims 1 February, and does not mention the renumbering), flying Halifaxes of the A.7 type. It was soon disbanded however, on 31 March 1946 at

RAF Tarrant Rushton Royal Air Force Tarrant Rushton or more simply RAF Tarrant Rushton is a former Royal Air Force station near the village of Tarrant Rushton east of Blandford Forum in Dorset, England from 1943 to 1947. It was used for glider operations during W ...

, the same airfield where it had been reformed, and renumbered to 297 Squadron

With the Airborne Forces again

The squadron was reformed again as an airborne forces squadron on 10 September 1947 at

RAF Fairford Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an ...

, again flying Halifaxes, but now the A.9 type. After a little more than a year it disbanded again, at Fairford, on 1 October 1948, on 31 October 1948, or on 1 November 1948.

Aircraft operated

Squadron airfields

Commanding officers

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

Site with pages for all squadron of No 38 Group RAF

{{DEFAULTSORT:No 295 Squadron RAF 295 No. 295 Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1948