No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit RAF
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No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (or 1 PRU) was a flying 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 ...
, first formed in 1940.


History

On 24 September 1939, 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 ...
formally took over the "Heston Flight", a civilian photo reconnaissance unit headed by
Sidney Cotton Frederick Sidney Cotton (17 June 1894 – 13 February 1969) was an Australian inventor, photographer and aviation and photography pioneer, responsible for developing and promoting an early colour film process, and largely responsible for the ...
based at
Heston Aerodrome Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, ...
.Nesbit, p. 84 The unit had previously been contracted by MI6 to perform clandestine photographic reconnaissance over Europe, using civilian-registered
Lockheed 12A The Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior, more commonly known as the Lockheed 12 or L-12, is an eight-seat, six-passenger all-metal twin-engine transport aircraft of the late 1930s designed for use by small airlines, companies, and wealthy private in ...
aircraft. The Flight was redesignated several times, first on 1 November 1939 as No. 2 Camouflage Unit,Ashworth 1992, p. 159. then on 17 January 1940 as the Photographic Development Unit, then on 18 June 1940 the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit,Ashworth 1992, p. 160.Lake 1999, p. 155. and finally on 14 November 1940, No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit.Ashworth 1992, p. 161. The unit was equipped with a variety of aircraft modified for the photographic reconnaissance role, including
Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...
s,
Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until the end of the war. ...
s,
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 ...
s and
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 " ...
s. On 18 October 1942, 1 PRU was disbanded and the individual Flights of the Unit were redesignated as five separate squadrons, Nos.
540 __NOTOC__ Year 540 ( DXL) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iustinus without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1293 ''Ab urbe condita''). The deno ...
,
541 __NOTOC__ Year 541 (Roman numerals, DXLI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Anicius Faustus Albinus Basilius, Basilius without colleague (or, less ...
,
542 __NOTOC__ Year 542 ( DXLII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. From this year forward, the appointment of particular Roman consuls was abandoned and the office was merged with that of Byzantine emperor. Thus, the co ...
,
543 __NOTOC__ Year Events By place Europe * Spring – Siege of Naples (542–543): The Byzantine garrison (1,000 men) in Naples surrenders to the Ostrogoths, pressed by famine and demoralized by the failure of two relief efforts. T ...
and
544 __NOTOC__ Year 544 ( DXLIV) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 544 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe fo ...
Squadrons. On 1 June 1982, the Unit was revived at
RAF Wyton Royal Air Force Wyton or more simply RAF Wyton is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is decommissioned and the station is now under the comm ...
Jefford 2001, p. 41. when No. 39 Squadron was disbanded and some of its
English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilla ...
PR.9 reconnaissance aircraft were transferred to a newly formed No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit.Lake 1999, p. 156. The Unit reverted to its previous identity on 1 July 1992, when it was renumbered No. 39 (1 PRU) Squadron. The photographic archive of 1 PRU was incorporated into the Allied Central Interpretation Unit and held at the Print Library at
RAF Medmenham RAF Medmenham is a former Royal Air Force station based at Danesfield House near Medmenham, in Buckinghamshire, England. Activities there specialised in photographic intelligence, and it was once the home of the RAF Intelligence Branch. Durin ...
before its move to
Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...
. Since 2008 it has been part of the archive of the
National Collection of Aerial Photography National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...
.Williams, Allan (2013) Operation Crossbow: The Untold Story of Photographic Intelligence and the Search For Hitler's V Weapons


See also

*
MI4 MI4 was established in 1915 as a section of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI). Section 4 was the designation for the Topographic Section, General Staff, later the Geographical Section, General Staff (GSGS) under the command of L ...


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Ashworth, Chris. ''RAF Coastal Command, 1936-1969''. Sparkford, Somerset, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1992. . * Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. ''Squadron Codes, 1937-56''. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. . * 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 Ltd., 2003. . * 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). . * Lake, Alan. ''Flying Units of the RAF: The ancestry, formation and disbandment of all flying units from 1912''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1999. . *Nesbit, Roy Conyers. 1996. ''Eyes of the RAF''. Sutton Publishing {{refend


External links


RAF Reconnaissance Aircraft Part 1





National Collection of Aerial Photography


1 PRU Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1992