No. 1 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (or 1 PRU) was a flying unit 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) and ...

, first formed in 1940.

History

On 24 September 1939, the

formally took over the "Heston Flight", a civilian photo reconnaissance unit headed by Sidney Cotton 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, Ne ...

.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 ind ...

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 used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

s, Bristol Blenheims, Lockheed Hudsons and

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame 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 (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. From this year forward, the appointment of particular Roman consuls was abandoned and the office was merged with t ...

, 543 and

544 __NOTOC__ Year 544 ( DXLIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 544 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era be ...

Squadrons. On 1 June 1982, the Unit was revived at RAF WytonJefford 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 Havil ...

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 before its move to Keele University. Since 2008 it has been part of the archive of the National Collection of Aerial Photography.Williams, Allan (2013) Operation Crossbow: The Untold Story of Photographic Intelligence and the Search For Hitler's V Weapons

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

History

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links