97 Squadron in Far East

Just come across this thread.this is a page from my grandfather’s logbook.
F/sgt j wrigley dfm[ATTACH=CONFIG]254777[/ATTACH]

Bluenote

A final splitting-of-hairs point, and in no way disagreeing with Lauriebe: I believe that while Operation ‘Firedog’ covered operations by various units against communist insurgents in Malaya, the actual detachment of Lincoln units to Tengah was under Operation ‘Musgrave’. But I’m quite prepared to be proved wrong on that ….. .

Regards

Allan

Allan,

You are quite right, “Operation Firedog” was the code name used to cover all sorties flown by Commonwealth air forces against communist targets in the jungles of Malaya from July 1948 until July 1960.

The deployments of Lincolns, and later Canberras, to Malaya, were conducted under seperate operational codenames. Whilst in theatre, as I mentioned in my earlier post, they flew in support of 0p Firedog.

From 97 Squadron site

I believe this is 97sqn, I was told this was taken over Singapore by the veteran who allowed me to copy the image.

If you require any further info please pm me

See here 20th March 1950 http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/milestones-of-flight/british_military/1950.html

Bluenote

Eight Lincolns of 97 Sqdn were detached from Hemswell to Tengah between 28 Apr 48 and 8 Jun 48 on Operation ‘Red Lion II’. Unfortunately, as yet I haven’t been able to identify the purpose of ‘Red Lion II’, unless it was merely to prove that such a detachment was feasible.

Although the link provided by Lauriebe quotes the dates of March to June 1950 for a further detachment to Tengah by 97 Squadron, I can find nothing to confirm that. The detached squadron between those dates was 57 Sqdn from Waddington, replaced during June 1950 by 100 Sqdn also from Waddington.

A final splitting-of-hairs point, and in no way disagreeing with Lauriebe: I believe that while Operation ‘Firedog’ covered operations by various units against communist insurgents in Malaya, the actual detachment of Lincoln units to Tengah was under Operation ‘Musgrave’. But I’m quite prepared to be proved wrong on that ….. .

Regards

Allan

Bluenote,

Halfway down this page:

http://www.britains-smallwars.com/malaya/raf.html

you will see reference to 97 Sqn being at Tengah on 2 occassions post WWII:

April to June 1948 &

March to June 1950.

The first period, in 1948, is too early for Op Firedog. The Malayan Emergency was not declared until mid-June of that year and the first sorties of Firedog were flown in July 1948.

During the second period, they would have been flying sorties in support of Firedog.

Laurie.

Has 97 Squadron ever ventured to the Far East after WWII?

I happened to chance upon a caption in the Archives of 97 Sqn in Tengah.

As a Lincoln squadron in the early/mid 50s, there is every likelihood that they were detached to Tengah in support of ‘Operation Firedog’, the bombing of communist terrorist targets in the Malayan jungle at that time.

I’ll have a look through one or two of the books I have relating to that and see if I can find anything that mentions them.