Air-Sea Warfare Development Unit RAF (ASWDU) was a research and development unit of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, within

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

, it was operational from December 1940 and disbanded in April 1970.

History

Coastal Command Tactical Development Unit

On the 22 October 1940, the Coastal Command Tactical Development Unit was formed at

RAF Carew Cheriton Royal Air Force Carew Cheriton, or more simply RAF Carew Cheriton, is a former Royal Air Force station located near Carew, Pembrokeshire. It was situated north west of Tenby. It covered and more, the same site of the First World War airship ...

. It was equipped with

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium/heavy bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the World W ...

V, a British medium

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

aircraft,

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and ...

I, an American

light bomber A light bomber is a relatively small and fast type of military bomber aircraft that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance. The earliest light bombers were intended to dr ...

and

coastal A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

Bristol Beaufort The Bristol Beaufort (manufacturer designation Type 152) is a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Bristol Blenheim, Blenheim li ...

I, a British twin-engined

torpedo bomber A torpedo bomber is a military aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes. Torpedo bombers came into existence just before the World War I, First World War almost as soon as aircraft were built that were capable of carryin ...

and

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of t ...

IA, a British twin-engined, long-range

medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...

. The unit was short lived with this identity and after two months it lost the ''Tactical'' from the title. On the 30 December 1940, the unit disbanded but immediately reformed, redesignating as the Coastal Command Development Unit.

Coastal Command Development Unit

For the initial radars to be effective, operational techniques and skilled operatives were required. The Coastal Command Development Unit undertook service trials of all radar equipment such as ASV (air-to-surface-vessel) radar for RAF Coastal Command

operations Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

. Although it had its own aircraft, it also used

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

s from RAF Pembroke Dock, a

Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat Maritime patrol aircraft, patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of ...

, a British

patrol bomber A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...

, was used fitted with ASV Mk. I for the first trial, and it was soon realised the value of the CCDU, therefore, its role changed to cover both service and tactical trials of all RAF Coastal Command aircraft and equipment. In January 1941, two

were used to investigate into the use of

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

and

depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon designed to destroy submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited ...

s for attacks on

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s and surface vessels by night with the aid of parachute lights, and later with

Leigh Light The Leigh Light (L/L) was a British World War II era anti-submarine device used in the Battle of the Atlantic. It was a powerful (22 million candelas) carbon arc searchlight of diameter fitted to a number of the British Royal Air Force' ...

s. The unit operated out of RAF Carew Chriton for around twelve months before moving to

RAF Ballykelly Royal Air Force Ballykelly, or more simply RAF Ballykelly, is a former Royal Air Force station which opened in 1941 in Ballykelly, County Londonderry. It closed in 1971 when the site was handed over to the British Army as Shackleton Barracks. ...

in December 1941. Around six months later it then moved to RAF Tain, during June 1942, and remained there for almost a year. In April 1943, the Unit took over

RAF Dale D, or d, is the fourth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''dee'' (pronounced ), plural ''dees''. History Th ...

relocating from

RAF Tain The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (R ...

. In September 1943, as part of the swap between the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy with Dale and Angle airfields, the Unit moved to

RAF Angle Royal Air Force Angle or more commonly RAF Angle, is a former Royal Air Force station located on the Angle Peninsula Coast, west of Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was operational from 1 June 1941 to 11 July 1946, having been used by both th ...

One of the key tests performed while at RAF Angle was to measure audibility of aircraft from

s on the surface. Utilising

(L/L) and radar search, it carried out trials to see how close to a

the different aircraft types the unit used could get, before they were audibly detected.

Air-Sea Warfare Development Unit

On 14 January 1945, the Air-Sea Warfare Development Unit formed at

RAF Thorney Island Royal Air Force Thorney Island, or more simply RAF Thorney Island, is a former Royal Air Force station located on Thorney Island, West Sussex, England, west of Chichester and east of Portsmouth, Hampshire. Station history The airfield was ...

by redesignating the Coastal Command Development Unit. The role of the ASDWU was to increase efficiency in

maritime Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...

by carrying out trials on the latest

equipment Equipment most commonly refers to a set of tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by ...

. It also contributed to the development through collaboration with other

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...

establishments. At the end of 1944, a similar unit was set up in

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(Sri Lanka) to conduct trials of equipment supplied to

South East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during the Second World War. History Organisation The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir ...

, lasting around twelve months. The unit moved to RAF Ballykelly in May 1948 and along with the trials work it also provided

aircrew Aircrew are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions In commercial aviatio ...

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or fitness that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one's capability, capacity, productivity and performance. I ...

for operational squadrons. It moved to

RAF St Mawgan Royal Air Force St Mawgan or more simply RAF St Mawgan is a Royal Air Force station near St Mawgan and Newquay in Cornwall, England. In 2008 the runway part of the site was handed over to Newquay Airport. The remainder of the station continu ...

during May 1951, and remained there for the next seven years, before returning to RAF Ballykelly in September 1958. While at RAF St Mawgan it operated the

Bristol Sycamore The Bristol Type 171 Sycamore is an early helicopter developed and built by the helicopter division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. The name refers to the seeds of the sycamore tree, ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', which fall with a rotating motion. ...

helicopter, between 1952 and 1955, for various trials. The Air Sea War Development Unit disbanded on 1 April 1970, at RAF Ballykelly, when control of all trials work for the

Hawker Siddeley Nimrod The Hawker Siddeley Nimrod is a retired maritime patrol aircraft developed and operated by the United Kingdom. It was an extensive modification of the de Havilland Comet, the world's first operational jet airliner. It was originally designed ...

maritime patrol aircraft A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over ...

fleet was assumed by the Central Trials and Tactical Organisation.

Aircraft operated

The Air-Sea Warfare Development Unit was equipped with numerous types and variants of aircraft: *

Supermarine Sea Otter The Supermarine Sea Otter was an amphibious aircraft designed and built by the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. It was the final biplane flying boat to be designed by the company, and the last biplane to enter service with both the R ...

I amphibious aircraft *

de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary traine ...

II biplane trainer aircraft *

IIIA light bomber, maritime patrol and coastal reconnaissance aircraft *

Consolidated Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

VI & VIII heavy bomber *

XIII & XIV long range medium bomber *

Vickers Warwick The Vickers Warwick was a British twin-engined bomber aircraft developed and operated during the Second World War that was primarily used in other roles. In line with the naming convention followed by other RAF heavy bombers of the era, it wa ...

I, II & V air-sea rescue and maritime reconnaissance aircraft *

Percival Proctor The Percival Proctor is a British radio trainer and communications aircraft of the Second World War. The Proctor is a single-engined, low-wing monoplane with seating for three or four, depending on the model. Design and development The Proctor ...

III radio trainer and communications aircraft *

General Aircraft Hamilcar The General Aircraft Limited GAL.49 Hamilcar or Hamilcar Mark I was a large British Military gliders, military glider produced during the Second World War, which was designed to carry heavy cargo, such as the Light Tank Mk VII Tetrarch, Tetrar ...

I military glider *

Hawker Typhoon The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor aircraft, interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems we ...

IB fighter-bomber aircraft *

Handley Page Halifax The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its or ...

II & III heavy bomber *

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufor ...

X multi-role aircraft *

Consolidated Catalina The Consolidated Model 28, more commonly known as the PBY Catalina (U.S. Navy designation), is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft designed by Consolidated Aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. In U.S. Army service, it was designated as the OA ...

IVB flying boat and amphibious aircraft *

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its airframe was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or " ...

VI multirole combat aircraft *

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), R ...

XII & XIX multi-role aircraft *

Sikorsky Hoverfly The Sikorsky R-4 is a two-seat light helicopter that was designed by Igor Sikorsky with a single, three-bladed main rotor and powered by a radial engine. The R-4 was the world's first large-scale mass-produced helicopter and the first helicopter ...

I helicopter *

V flying boat patrol bomber *

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to ...

III heavy bomber *

Bristol Brigand The Bristol Brigand was a British anti-shipping/ground attack/dive bomber aircraft, developed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as a replacement for the Beaufighter. A total of 147 were built and were used by the Royal Air Force in Malaya duri ...

TF. 1 anti-shipping/ground attack/dive bomber aircraft *

Avro Shackleton The Avro Shackleton was a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was developed by Avro from their Lincoln bomber, which itself had been a developm ...

GR.1, MR. 1, MR. 1A, MR.2 & MR. 3 long-range maritime patrol aircraft *

HR. 12 rescue and anti-submarine helicopter

Royal Air Force Stations

The Coastal Command Development Unit and then the Air-Sea Warfare Development Unit, operated from a number of Royal Air Force stations, throughout the UK: *Coastal Command Development Unit **

(October 1940 - December 1941) (''includes Coastal Command Tactical Development Unit'') **

(December 1941 - June 1942) **

(June 1942 - April 1943) **

(April 1943 - September 1943) **

(September 1943 - January 1945) *Air-Sea Warfare Development Unit **

(January 1945 - May 1948) **RAF Ballykelly (May 1948 - May 1951) **

(May 1951 - September 1958) **RAF Ballykelly (September 1958 - April 1970)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Air-Sea Warfare Development Unit Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1970 Royal Air Force units