No. 55 Operational Training Unit RAF (55 OTU) was an Operational Training 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 ...

, formed in November 1940 at

RAF Aston Down Aston Down is in Gloucestershire, South West England, east of Minchinhampton, southeast of Stroud and west of Cirencester. The nearest settlement is the large village of Chalford, 1 mile (1.6 km) to the northwest. The airfield was used ...

to train fighter pilots.

History

No. 55 Operational Training Unit RAF was an Operational Training Unit of the

, formed in November 1940 at

, in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, to train

fighter pilot A fighter pilot or combat pilot is a Military aviation, military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, Air-to-ground weaponry, air-to-ground combat and sometimes Electronic-warfare aircraft, electronic warfare while in the cockpit of ...

s, formed initially from No. 5 OTU, flying

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

single seat

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

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 ...

single seat fighter aircraft and

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. ...

, a twin-engined light

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 ...

.55OTU at rafcommands.com
Retrieved 9 May 2022 When the unit initially formed it was under the control of No. 10 Group, but at the end of December 1944, it was transferred over to No. 81 Group.55 OTU at rafweb.org
Retrieved 9 May 2022 From March 1941 No. 55 OTU was posted to

RAF Usworth Royal Air Force Sunderland'' or ''RAF Sunderland is a former Royal Air Force station in Sunderland. In 1958 the station was closed and the airfield became Sunderland Airport. Following the closure of the airport in 1984, the site has since b ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, flying Hawker Hurricane. In July 1941 one pilot was lost flying a Hurricane from

in Sunderland.Davies, Chris, Almost Forgotten (2012)
Retrieved 8 May 2022 In April 1942 the unit was transferred to

RAF Annan Royal Air Force Annan, or more simply RAF Annan, is a former Royal Air Force station located about north-east of the town of Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, which was operational during the Second World War. Station history Initially s ...

Dumfrieshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. In terms of historic counties it bor ...

, flying

Miles Master The Miles M.9 Master was a British two-seat monoplane advanced trainer designed and built by aviation company Miles Aircraft, Miles Aircraft Ltd. It was inducted in large numbers into both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA) durin ...

, a two-seat advanced trainer and

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 ...

fighter-bomber A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...

. Around one year later the unit was transferred to No. 9 Group. It disbanded on 26 January 1944, at RAF Annan, to become No. 4 Tactical Exercise Unit RAF. No. 4 Tactical Exercise Unit RAF was operational for only three months when it was disbanded and redesignated No. 3 Tactical Exercise Unit RAF, itself a reformation, on 21 March 1944, at RAF Annan. During 1944 the unit relocated to RAF Aston Down, where it disbanded after nine months of operations on 18 December 1944, to be redesignated No. 55 Operational Training Unit. In December 1944, when No. 55 OTU reformed at RAF Aston Down, it was part of No. 12 Group. The unit was equipped with over a hundred

aircraft, and acted as a ground attack training unit until it was disbanded in June 1945. No. 55 OTU can trace its existence back to No. 12 Group Pool RAF which formed on 15 September 1939 at RAF Aston Down. It operated with a variety of aircraft:

Gloster Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed privat ...

Avro Tutor The Avro Type 621 Tutor is a two-seat British radial-engined biplane from the interwar period. It was a simple but rugged basic trainer (aircraft), trainer that was used by the Royal Air Force as well as many other air arms worldwide. Design ...

Fairey Battle The Fairey Battle is a British single-engine light bomber that was designed and manufactured by the Fairey Aviation Company. It was developed during the mid-1930s for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a monoplane successor to the Hawker Hart and Ha ...

North American Harvard The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft, which was used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Ro ...

I and

I. It remained operational for around six months and then disbanded on 6 March 1940 to become No. 5 Operational Training Unit. No. 5 Operational Training Unit RAF was essentially a redesignation of No. 12 Group Pool, and it absorbed its aircraft but also operated with,

Boulton Paul Defiant The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter" to meet the RAF requirement for day and ...

Miles Magister The Miles M.14 Magister is a two-seat monoplane basic trainer aircraft designed and built by the United Kingdom, British aircraft manufacturer Miles Aircraft. It was affectionately known as the ''Maggie''. It was authorised to perform aerobatic ...

and

I. No. 5 OTU disbanded on 1 November 1940, at RAF Aston Down, to become No. 55 Operational Training Unit RAF.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

55OTU at rafcommands.com
Retrieved 9 May 2022

Retrieved 9 May 2022
55 OTU at wartimememories.com
Retrieved 9 May 2022 {{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 1945

History

See also

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links