No. 16 Operational Training Unit RAF
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No. 16 Operational Training Unit RAF (16 OTU) was a training unit of the Royal Air Force. It was formed at
RAF Upper Heyford Royal Air Force Upper Heyford or more simply RAF Upper Heyford is a former Royal Air Force station located north-west of Bicester near the village of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. In the World War II, Second W ...
on 8 April 1940 from the No. 4 Group RAF Pool, which comprised No 7 and No 76 Squadron, within No. 6 Group RAF, to train night bomber crews, for which it was equipped with
Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...
s and Herefords. Transferred to No. 7 Group RAF on 15 July 1940 until 11 May 1942 when No 7 Group was renumbered No. 92 Group RAF (92 Gp), 16 OTU converted to
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 ...
bombers in April 1942 and from March to December 1942 its headquarters moved to RAF Barford St John whilst runways were laid at Upper Heyford, disbanding on 1 January 1945. The unit re-formed within 92 Group the same day when the Mosquito Training Unit RAF (formerly No. 1655 (Mosquito) Conversion Unit) was re-designated as No. 16 Operational Training Unit RAF, remaining at Upper Heyford until 1 March 1946 when it moved to
RAF Cottesmore Royal Air Force Cottesmore or more simply RAF Cottesmore is a former Royal Air Force station in Rutland, England, situated between Cottesmore and Market Overton. On 15 December 2009, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth announced that the stati ...
, where it finally disbanded on 15 March 1947, its aircraft and personnel being used to create
No. 231 Operational Conversion Unit RAF No. 231 Operational Conversion Unit was a Royal Air Force Operational conversion unit that disbanded during April 1993. It was active twice, initially between March 1947 and December 1949, before reforming in December 1951. Operational history ...
(231 OCU) and No. 204 Advanced Flying School RAF (204 AFS).


References

{{RAF Operational Training units Operational training units of the Royal Air Force Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1947