Night Fighter Sqdn.

Thanks

No Problem Dog House 😉 , Its good to get some use of all these books that surround me in my room 😀 , I like to get the brain ticking over, Don’t use it you lose it :p , Cheers, Tally Ho! 🙂 Phil.

Thanks stormbird262 very interesting info and greatly appreciated. I have not been MIA just enjoying the early autumn breeze in the lonestar state. Although No. 87 sqdn. was not as famous as some of the other sqdns., it looks to me as it played an important role during the early years of the war.

😎

Hello Hello

Dog House Ldr 🙂 , Are you M.I.A :p , Cheers 😀 , Tally Ho! 😉 Phil. :diablo:

Last ones

Cheers 😉 , Tally Ho! Phil :dev2:

No.247

No.247 Sq RAF(RISE FROM THE EAST).
Formed RNAS Felixstowe August 1918, Flew F.2A flying boats, Anti-Submarine patrols over North Sea until Armistice, Disbanded there 22nd Jan 1919.
Re-formed specifically for Fighter defence of Plymouth 21st July 1940 at Roborough. Given Gloster Glads as airfield was quiet small, End of year got Hurricanes and flew day and night operations, Including some intruder Ops in 41, Served for over two years in Devon and Cornwall, Then early 43 began to convert to Typhoons at High Ercall, Operational Fairlop in April, By years end was a fighter-bomber Sq, 1944 flew intensive ops up to and during invasion of Normandy, Moving on to the beach-head a fortnight later, Continued as part of 2nd TAF in support of the armys advances across Belgium, Netherlands, Flying armed Recon mainly against communications targets.
August 45 back to England and for a short while flew Centaurus- Tempest F.Mk 2s, March 46 became first Sq to fly de Hav Vampire F.Mk1 jet fighters, Staying at Odiham June 46 becoming lead Sq on these types, Changing to F.Mk 3s and F.Mk 5s through to 1951, Then had Meteors F.Mk 8s and in 55 Hawker Hunter F.Mk 1s, Remained as part of Odiham Fighter Wing until Disbanded 31st Dec 1957 at this time flying Hunter F.Mk 6s.
Reformed as Bloodhound SAM Sq at Carnaby for air-defence 1st July 1960, Disbanded again 31st Dec 1963, And that ends there too, Not many Kill/ losses for you Dog House, To nackered now 🙁 , Some kind soul may post them for you, Cheers, Tally Ho! 😉 Phil. :diablo:

More

More 😉

More

More 😉

Not all No.87s But same type

Enjoy 😉

No.87 and No.247

Dog House, No one gave you very much, So heres something I have put together for you.
No. 87 Squadron RAF(MAXIMUS ME METUIT).
Beginnings at Central Flying School. At Upavon 1st September 1917, D Squadron of that august body provided a nucleus flight, No.87 and expanded to full squadron strength. 3 months later unit moved near London to equip with operational aircraft, Sopwith Dolphins.
Operational initiation set back 3 months by German offensive in March 1918, So No.87 flew to france to deliver its own Dolphins to other units as replacements. Pilots returned to Hounslow and began again, Month later No.87 went to France in its own right, Put to work in coastal area, Flying line patrols and patrols along the coast as far as the Dutch frontier, In May more urgent tasks, German reconnaissance planes at high-altitude, Which was what the Dolphin was made for, No.87 Finding and destroying 8 of them in its first 10 days on this task, Was its main priority until final Allied offensive Beginning in July, Then went over to offensive patrols, At times ground-attack sorties.
Spent 3 month in the Army of Occupation, Returning to England in Feb 1919, Disbanded Terhill 24th June 1919.
On 15 March 1937 nucleus from No.54 Sq, Moved to Tangmere to form new No.87, Worked up on Hawker Furys, Which was Tang’s standard mount, 3 months later moved to Debden and received Gloster Gladiators, Quickly became well known for putting up 3 aircraft performing aerobatics tied together, And were in much demand for the next year, This came to an end summer 38, Hawker Hurricanes replaced the Glads, Same time A flight went off to form No.85 Sq, And a new A flight was born. WW.2 started a year later went with No.85 to France as fighter arm BEF Air Component.
Little action first, Apart from occasional fights with German recon aircraft, All changed May 1940, When Germans blasted there way in to Belgium, Netherlands, France, No.87s Primary task protecting Westland Lysanders on Recon, Hampered 87s ops to destroy enemy aircraft and caused many losses with it, 12 days of fighting the unit pulled back to Debden for refit, To do this went north to Yorkshire, From here had first combat over UK, 11th July shot down 4 Bf 110s, Same time worked up as night-fighter Sq, End of July had one flight south on theses duties, The rest stayed at Church Fenton on day fighting duties, Nov 1940 moved south-west to concentrate on nightfighting, New year started a long-standing detachment at St Marys airfield as mentioned already, Main duties shipping raiders and bombers attacking convoys in the Western Approaches, Main body of Sq became longest serving Hurricane night-fighter Sq, Defending West Country cities as well as the Scillies islands, Niped over to France when suitable as mentioned on intruder attacks on German night bomber airfields, 41 and half 42 passed, with St mary’s Detach scoring a steady 2 victories a month, 87s last job for UK was ground-attack during Dieppe oper Aug 1942, Then nonoperational preparing to move overseas.
Gibraltar still with Hurras providing cover for TORCH convoys, On to Algiers not long after the landings in Nov 1942, Provided cover for army operations during the African campaigns, When that was over and done, Changed to Spitfires, Used to protect convoys on North African coast, Then Sep 43 across to Sicily for the assault on Italy, First on Bomber escort, Based Italy 44, Armed recon, then bomb racks on Spits for ground attack rest or 44, Winter slowed things down, Spring 45 escort for C-47s dropping supplies to partisans, then close support for 5th Army till end of hostilities, Moved on to Austria, Disbanded Zeltweg 30 Dec 1946.
Reformed again at Wahn 1 Jan 1952 Gloster Meteor NF.Mk 11s based near Cologne as Night-fighters, Defending the Ruhr and intercepting unidentified plots coming across the border, Five years later moved to Bruggen now with Gloster Javelins FAW.Mk 1s, Disbanded again Bruggen 3rd Jan 1961.
And that was it for No.87 start to finish, Heres some Pics aswell, No.247 coming soon.

You don’t want much, do you, Dog House?!
In June 1941, 87 Sqn began using IICs for night intruding on German bomber bases in the west of France from St Mary’s in the Scilly Isles. Much more information is contained in “The Hawker Hurricane” by Francis K Mason, see pages 110 onwards.

Hi all, thanks for the pics. I’m just looking for some additional background, i.e. when did the units form, combat history, lineage of aircraft in the squadrons,combat record kills vs. losses, just a bit more to info., just in case someone at the contest ask me a question about the paint scheme and markings.

Cats Eyes

Nice Pics Gents 🙂 , Thank’s Papa look’s better in colour 😀 , Snapper I’m thinking the same I don’t know what info Dog house is after :confused: , Cheers everyone, Tally Ho! 😉 Phil( p.s.As a teen I built a 1/24sc Hurra Cats eyes as Peter Townsends 85 Sq 🙂 , Looked mean as in black matt 😎 , Stepson disposed of it one day for me :p 🙁 )

I believe the squadron codes for this picture were sky, and the aircraft registration was red: I mention this since Matchbox made a 1/72 model in which the codes were red too, and I spent an age trying to confirm that these were valid.
Anyone know whether they were?

Flood

Here is a profile of a 247 Squadron Hurricane IIc with red codes. From Autumn ’41 onwards the codes were changed to a dull red to better mask them on moonlit nights. (Source: Camouflage and Markings of RAF fighters 1937-75)

Whose a/c are the 87 Sqdn markings for? Bee Beamont flew with 87 during the Battles of France and Britain, including as a nightfighter. What do you need to know?

87 Sqn Hurricane IIC

Here is the same picture but in colour, from page 79 of “The History of the Royal Air Force” by John D.R. Rawlings.

I believe the squadron codes for this picture were sky, and the aircraft registration was red: I mention this since Matchbox made a 1/72 model in which the codes were red too, and I spent an age trying to confirm that these were valid.
Anyone know whether they were?

Flood

G’day from Oz

Heres a pic 🙂 , I know quiet a bit about No.85 Cats eyes Squadron(Peter Townsend), But I can look up the others tommorow 🙂 , If know one beats me to it :rolleyes: , Cheers, Tally Ho! Phil 😉 (p.s. welcome to the forum 🙂 )