No. 681 Squadron RAF

Military unit

No. 681 Squadron RAF was a photo-reconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

History

It was formed out of No. 3 PRU, at Dum Dum in India on 2 January 1943,^[4] as part of RAF Far East Air Force. Initially it was mostly equipped with Hurricane PR.Mk.II and Spitfire PR.Mk.IV fighters, but there was also a Dutch element in 'C' flight that operated North American Mitchells, which belonged to the former Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force.^[4] The squadron re-equipped with Mosquito PR.IXs in August 1943, and Spitfire PR.XIs in October.

In November 1943 the twin-engined elements were used to form No. 684 Squadron RAF.^[7] 681 Squadron, which was now entirely equipped with the Spitfire PR.XI, moved to RAF Alipore, Bengal in May 1944, where the squadron was under No. 171 Wing RAF on 1 July 1944 [1], and RAF Mingaladon, Burma in June 1945, receiving Spitfire PR.XIX photo-reconnaissance aircraft in August of that year. The squadron moved to RAF Kai Tak, Hong Kong, in September 1945, when the war formally ended. Detachments from the squadron however were still located and kept busy at a wide range of airfields across the South-East Asian theatre of war. The squadron was disbanded by renumbering it to No. 34 Squadron RAF on 1 August 1946 at RAF Palam, Punjab, (then) British India.^[4][8][9]

Aircraft operated

Squadron airfields

Commanding officers

References

Notes

1. Delve 1994, p. 68.
2. Delve 1994, p. 77.
3. Delve 1994, p. 83.
4. Rawlings 1982, p. 245.
5. Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 148.
6. Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 233.
7. Rawlings 1982, pp. 245 and 247.
8. Halley 1988, p. 454.
9. Jefford 2001, p. 105.
10. Freeman 2005, p. 14.

Bibliography

• Bowman, Martin (1999). Mosquito Photo-Reconnaissance Units of World War 2. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-891-7.
• Bowyer, Chaz (1984). Mosquito Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-1425-6.
• Bowyer, Michael J.F.; Rawlings, John D.R. (1979). Squadron Codes, 1937–56. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
• Delve, Ken (1994). The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
• Flintham, Vic; Thomas, Andrew (2003). Combat Codes: A Full Explanation and Listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied Air Force Unit Codes since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84037-281-8.
• Freeman, Jon (2005). Photo Reconnaissance Spitfires in Worldwide Service (On Target Profiles 8). Wantage, Oxfordshire, UK: The Aviation Workshop Publications Ltd. ISBN 1-904643-15-9.
• Halley, James J. (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
• Jefford, C.G. (2001). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912 (2nd ed.). Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
• Rawlings, John D.R. (1982). Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.
• Thomas, Geoffrey (1999). Eyes for the Phoenix: Allied Aerial Photo-Reconnaissance Operations, South-East Asia, 1941–1945. Crowborough, East Sussex, UK: Hikoki Publications Ltd. ISBN 0-9519899-4-4.

External links

• Squadron Histories and more for Nos. 671–1435 Squadron on RAFweb Archived 30 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
• History of 681 Squadron
• No. 681 Squadron RAF movement and equipment history