63 Sqn Hurricanes and codes

Thank you for looking, I can only assume that if there is no recorded codes the they would have just worn the individual aircraft letters on the Mustangs, Hurricanes and Spitfires.

Can’t help with codes and you may already know this ? According to Robert Jackson’s book, 63 Squadron were allocated Hurricanes
from a production batch of 481 Mk.II A’s and B’s built by Gloster Aircraft in 1941. Serials started with either Z4*** or Z5***.

Eleven went to the Soviet Air force

At the outbreak of the war, 63 Sq was used as an elementary flying training unit until being absorbed into 12 OTU on 8th April 1940. This is according to Bomber Squadrons of the RAF – though I might query the choice of the word “elementary” as it was equipped with Ansons, but it would explain the lack of codes in this period – unless they were still using ON, of course..

63 Squadron reformed in June 1942. It was equipped with Mustang Is which suggests that it was in Army Cooperation Command not Fighter Command and engaged in the TacRecc role. These squadrons were given permission to stop using their squadron codes because pilots thought they made their aircraft too visible at low level. On 26th September 1942 a letter was sent to all the operational Commands including Middle East, lndia and West Africa. The letter informed them that it had been decided that with the exception of Bomber and Fighter Commands, all other Commands should dispense with the use of squadron codes for identification on security grounds. So squadron codes might not have been allocated for that reason.

Thinking that my bookshelf was bound to have an answer, I firstly turned to an obvious title:

‘Squadron Codes 1937-1956’ Michael Bowyer & John Rawlings (Pub 1979), who for 63 Sqdn list:
NE- pre-War at Upwood on Battle I, changed when moved to war footing to:
ON- still at Upwood on Battle IIs eg ON-R L4958 (the code ON- noted later as allocated to 124 Sqdn at Castletown 1941 on Spitfires)
Nothing listed for the main years of WWII that I could locate.
UB- Used by 164 Sqdn from May 1945 on return to UK and retained when re-numbered 63 Sqdn Sept 1946, used on Spitfires and Meteors until 1950.
So the NE- code suggested earlier appears to have been a short-lived allocation in 1938/39 and likely used on Fairy Battle aircraft only.

Well it seems Bowyer & Rawlings don’t help at all. So, turn to ‘The Squadrons of the R.A.F.’ JJ Halley (Pub 1980) which for 63 Sqdn shows a progression in the period 1937 to 1948 and conversion to jets: through Hind, Audax, Battle, Anson 1, Mustang 1, 1A, Hurricane IIC, IV, Spitfire VC and Spitfire LF16E equipment.
The period with Hurricanes was brief, lasting from March 1944 to May 1944 only, however a representative serial is provided as Z4967 coded ‘O’. The list of bases shows 63 Sqdn with short detachments at Tealing, Peterhead, Dundonald, Woodvale and Ballyhalbert for specific ‘spotting’ duties – Unit HQ may have been Turnhouse but the table presentation is unclear; then to Lee-on-Solent and conversion to Spitfires.

So a slight lead there, and I turn to ‘A History of RAF Woodvale’, Aldon Ferguson (MAS 2nd Ed, 1980), and yes, in the appendices mostly confirmation. He quotes a detachment from 63 Sqdn as arriving from Turnhouse 27/4/44 and leaving for Lee-on-Solent 28/5/44 with Hurricane and Spitfire Vb and again 3/7/44 to 30/8/44 from and to Lee-on-Solent with Spitfire Vb. Aldon could not quote a representative aircraft serial for 63 Sqdn while at Woodvale.

No positive help, but it would certainly appear that at the time 63 Sqdn rather briefly flew Hurricanes there was no two-digit Squadron code prefix in use. With only 3 months on Hurricanes (if the quoted information is correct) between Mustangs and Spitfires, and no identifiable unit code group, I think turning up a photograph is going to be far from easy! As JJ Halley quotes serial Z4967 coded ‘O’, was there ever an A-B RAF Z…. serials monograph to cross reference this snippet of info with?

Added on edit: Sorry, it seems I was typing as ‘Ossington’ was using and quoting the same source, so we crossed. Have left my comment as I had selected different information to quote.

The Bowyer/Rawlings book, “Squadron Codes 1937-56” lists UB for 164/63 Squadrons.
“From May 1945, when 164 Squadron returned to the UK and re-equipped with Spitfires, this code was used and retained when the squadron was re-numbered 63 in September 1946 and used until 1950, eg, Spitfire LF 16e UB:B-TE202; Meteor F 3 UB:f-EE292; Meteor F4 UB:B-VT198.”
Nothing about Hurricanes.

It’s surprising as most squadrons especially the longer established ones would have had codes so I wonder if they genuinely didn’t apply anything to their aircraft and that could be why I haven’t come across any photos yet.

Combat Codes lists it as nwc – no wartime codes

Wiki has a strange gap between 39 and 45 as do all the other usual sites.

NE?….

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._63_Squadron_RAF