Calling all Beaufighter experts…

Steve! It must have taken absolutely ages to type all that!

Thanks very much, it’s just what I was looking for – i’ll look into it hopefully on Saturday.

Cheers

Elliott

Elliott, sorry about the delay, had to type it up and I’m not very quick… 🙁

List of all operational Beaufighter Squadrons during 1943.

Sqn number
Type of aircraft and months operated
Role
Station and months in residence

Hope this helps.

Steve

———————————–

25 Sqn
Mk 1F
Night Air Defence
Church Fenton 4/42 – 1/43

29 Sqn
Mk 1F 11/40 – 5/43
Mk VIF 3/43 – 5/43
Night Air Defence
West Malling 4/41 – 5/43

68 Sqn
Mk 1F 5/41 – 3/43
Mk VIF 3/43 – 7/44
Night Air Defence and Intruder Ops
Coltishall 3/42 – 2/44

96 Sqn
Mk IIF 5/42 – 2/43
Mk VIF 9/42 – 11/43
Night Air Defence
Honiley 10/42 – 8/43
Church Fenton 8/43 – 9/43
Drem 9/43 – 11/43

125 Sqn
MkVIF 9/42 – 3/44
Night Air Defence
Fairwood Common 5/42 – 4/43
Exeter 4/43 – 11/43
Valley 11/43 – 3/44

141 Sqn
Mk 1F 6/41 – 6/43
Mk VIF 5/43 – 1/44
Night Air Defence and Intruder Ops
Ford 8/42 – 2/43
Predannack 2/43 – 4/43
Wittering 4/43 – 12/43
West Raynham 12/43 – 1/44

143 Sqn
Mk IIF 9/42 – 3/43
Mk XI 5/43 – 5/44
Coastal Command anti-ship ops
North Coates 8/42 – 8/43
St Eval 8/43 – 9/43
Portreath 9/43 – 2/44

144 Sqn
Mk VIC 1/43 – 5/43
TFX 5/43 – 5/45
Coastal Command anti-ship ops
Leuchars 3/43 – 4/43
Tain 4/43 – 5/43
Benson 7/43 – 8/43
Tain 8/43 – 10/43
Wick 10/43 – 5/44

219 Sqn
Mk 1F 9/40 – 5/43
Night Air Defence
Scorton 10/42 – 4/43
Catterick 4/43 – 5/43

235 Sqn
Mk VIC 7/42 – 10/43
Mk X 10/43 – 5/44
Coastal Command strike
Chivenor 7/42 – 1/43
Leuchars 1/43 – 8/43
Portreath 8/43 – 2/44

236 Sqn
Mk VIC 9/42 – 7/43
Mk X 7/43 – 5/45
Coastal Command Recce, Escort and strike
North Coates 9/42 – 5/45

248 Sqn
Mk VIC 9/42 – 6/43
Mk X 6/43 – 12/43
Coastal Command strike
Talbenny 12/42 – 1/43
Predannack 1/43 – 12/43

254 Sqn
Mk VIF 7/42 – 9/43
TFX 8/43 – 10/46
Coastal Command strike
North Coates 11/42 – 6/45

256 Sqn
Mk VIF 10/42 – 5/43
Night Air Defence
Woodvale 6/42 – 4/43
Ford 4/43 – 5/43

285 Sqn
Mk 1F 9/43 – 11/44
Target Towing
Woodvale 9/43 – 11/44

307 Sqn
Mk VIF 5/42 – 1/43
Night Air Defence
Exeter 8/41 – 1/43

404 Sqn RCAF
Mk IIF 9/42 – 4/43
Mk XI 3/43 – 11/43
TF X 9/43 – 3/45
Coastal Command Strike
Dyce 9/42 – 1/43
Chivenor 1/43 – 4/43
Tain 4/43
Wick 4/43 – 5/44

406 Sqn RCAF
Mk VIF 6/42 – 8/44
Night Air Defence
Middle Wallop 12/42 – 3/43
Valley 3/43 – 11/43
Exeter 11/43 – 4/44

409 Sqn RCAF
Mk VIF 6/42 – 4/44
Night Air Defence
Coleby Grange 7/41 – 2/43
Acklington 2/43 – 12/43
Coleby Grange 12/43 – 2/44

410 Sqn RCAF
Mk IIF 4/42 – 1/43
Night Air Defence
Acklington 9/42 – 1/43

455 Sqn RAAF
TF X 12/43 – 5/45
Coastal Command strike
Leuchars 12/43 – 4/44

456 Sqn RAAF
Mk IIF 9/41 – 3/43
Mk VIF 7/42 – 1/43
Night Air Defence
Bases unknown, possibly Valley / Woodvale?

488 Sqn RNZAF
Mk IIF 6/42 – 5/43
Mk VIF 3/43 – 9/43
Night Air Defence
Ayr 9/42 – 9/43

489 Sqn RNZAF
TF X 10/43 – 5/45
Coastal Command Strike
Leuchars 10/43 – 4/44

515 Sqn
Mk IIF 6/43 – 4/44
Radar Counter Measures
Hunsdon 6/43 – 12/43

604 Sqn
Mk 1F 9/40 – 4/43
Mk VIF 4/43 – 4/44
Night Air Defence
Predannack 7/42 – 2/43
Ford 2/43 – 4/43
Scorton 4/43 – 4/44

Thanks guys – info on Scottish and Northern English squadrons would be a massive help!

Elliott,

Haven’t got the book to hand (I’m at work 🙁 ), but I’ll trawl through tonight and post up Sqn Nos and locations for 1943. Haven’t got any comprehensive OTU data I’m afraid, but I do have one or two snippets which may or may not be of use.

Steve

Can I ask for the specific date you’re interested in? You mention circa 1943 in your original post, but the actual date would be helpful.

Hey Steve

I’m afraid not! I wish I did! I think that it’ll be a case of trawling through the operational record books.

What would be helpfull is a list of beau units in northern england and scotland… then i can just get cross eyed looking at microfilm at the PRO 🙂

Elliott,

Do you have a serial for the Beau, or perhaps crew names?

Steve

Hi everyone

Thanks for looking into it! The reason I ask is I am trying to tie down the ditching position of a Whitley. The crew were located in their dinghy by a beaufighter at 1am soon after ditching (according to a ditching report I have).

We know the rough area the aircraft came down in, and I am hopeful the ORB from the beaufighters squadron would give a more detailed long and lat.

The geographical area is southwest scotland.

I cannot be sure if the beaufighter was part of an Air sea rescue unit, but by this stage of the war ASR seems to have developed quite an efficient system. I am assuming all ASR units would have been part of coastal command – if so, there were several beaufighter OTUs attached to 17 group in Edinburgh. I wonder if one of these would have been tasked with finding the crew?

Any ASR boffs out there who might know better?

Thanks

Originally posted by chuck yeager
i seem to recal a beaufighter was blown up in 1966 that came from north coates. aparently it was found buried in the beech off cleethorps. i also seem to recal that their are a couple on the boming ranges at donna knook + a couple of lancasters but i think they are all below the low tide line so i dont think their can be much left of them any more info on these aircraft?

The North Coates Beau was one which bellied in on the flats while returning from a strike mission. I forget the serial. It was easily visible at low tide, but was finally destroyed in a controlled (?) explosion in the sixties, with the rather dubious excuse that it was a hazard to shipping. (Even though shipping never went anywhere near it because of the flats. Hmmm)

I don’t know anything about airframes at Donna Nook, but I certainly wouldn’t want to go prodding around there with all the ordnance that’s been dropped there over the years!!! 😮

Not Beaus, but might help.

Chap I’m currently researching was posted to a Bomber Defence Training Flight in 43, flying Wellington Mk.X – The Unit ORB has him undertaking a number of ASR searches – spcifically sent out to look for dinghys etc. The Bomber defence Flights were equipped with a mixed selecrtion of A/C – Martinets, Defiants, Tiger Moths etc, as well as Welingtons and later Stirlings. A Beau doesn’t really fit there, but it’s a scenario which might explain how a non ASR unit was undertaking ASR in an ‘odd’ A/C.
HTH

Cheers

i seem to recal a beaufighter was blown up in 1966 that came from north coates. aparently it was found buried in the beech off cleethorps. i also seem to recal that their are a couple on the boming ranges at donna knook + a couple of lancasters but i think they are all below the low tide line so i dont think their can be much left of them any more info on these aircraft?

Elliott,

Reading through my copy of Beaufighter Squadrons In Focus, by Simon Parry (ISBN 0-9538061-2-X), I can’t find any mention of a Squadron specifically tasked with the Air/Sea Rescue role while equipped with Beaufighters.

The only Squadron I’ve found which may possibly have had ASR as an official role is 236, who are listed as Coastal Command reconnaissance , escort and strike. They were based at Carew Cheriton (10/41 – 2/42), Wattisham (2/42 – 7/42), Oulton (7/42 – 9/42), and finally settled at North Coates (9/42 – 5/45).

Hope that helps.

Steve

Do seem to recall that quite a few sorties were flown after returning from operations to look for downed friends – if the squadron was close enough to the sea, etc.

Flood.

Is there a particular geographical area you’re interested in? The reason I ask is that one of the units I’ve researched (54 OTU) often sent aircraft out to look for ditched aircraft, etc. As such, its possible that the unit you’re looking for might simply be an operational squadron or an OTU, rather than a specific ASR Beaufighter unit.