During the Second World War, thousands of Ulstermen and women served in the Royal Air Force, and many squadrons made use of airfields across Northern Ireland.
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Squadron Leader Robert William Stanley Marshall was a qualified doctor from Belfast who served with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve at his time of death.
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Aircraftman 1st Class Thomas Arthur Mewhort died at Campbell College Military Hospital in his hometown of Belfast on 20th September 1942. He was 44 years old.
Royal Air Force
The 3rd Tactical Air Force formed in South Asia in December 1943. Crews were comprised of airmen from many commonwealth nations including the Indian Air Force.
R.A.F. No. 11 Operational Training Unit formed on 8th April 1940 at R.A.F. Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, England. Crews trained on Vickers Wellington bombers.
R.A.F. 14 Squadron was the first British squadron to make use of the American-built Martin B-26 Marauder. These bombers saw action in the Mediterranean in 1944.
During the Second World War, R.A.F. 15 Squadron undertook several roles in different aircraft, becoming an early squadron to convert to the Short Stirling.
Sergeant Frederick Samuel Diplock of Belfast was serving in R.A.F. No. 15 Advanced Flying Unit in Yorkshire, England at his time of death on 6th September 1942.
R.A.F. No. 27 O.T.U. was formed at R.A.F. Lichfield, Staffordshire, England on 23rd April 1941. These units were the final stage of training for would-be crews.
No. 31 Mobile Field Hospital operated from Tunisia during the Second World War. Corporal William Henry McCormick of Derry~Londonderry was among the ranks there.
In May 1941, a detachment of 8 bombers of R.A.F. 37 Squadron was based in Palestine. Among the crew members was Belfast-born Sergeant Douglas George Campbell.
Royal Air Force 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, part of R.A.F. Bomber Command was one of only two squadrons to operate continuously throughout the Second World War.
R.A.F. 51 Squadron served in both Coastal Command and Bomber Command during the Second World War. Robert Victor Doak of Co. Armagh flew with them in 1942.
Royal Air Force No. 66 Air School was based at Youngsfield, Cape Town, South Africa in 1942 when Co. Antrim-born airman Henry Marcus Bolt trained there.
R.A.F. 76 Squadron fully reformed on 1st May 1941 at R.A.F. Linton-on-Ouse as a Handley Page Halifax bomber squadron with No. 4 Group, R.A.F. Bomber Command.
R.A.F. 77 Squadron flew in Coastal Command until 1942 when re-equipped with Handley Page Halifaxes, they formed a part of Bomber Command for raids over Europe.
During the Second World War, R.A.F. 86 Squadron was part of Coastal Command flying reconnaissance and rescue missions and carrying out anti-submarine strikes.
In mid-1943, R.A.F. 90 Squadron was flying operations over the Ruhr and Berlin in Germany, sustaining heavy losses of Short Stirling bombers and their aircrew.
In December 1942, R.A.F. 100 Squadron reformed at R.A.F. Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England as a night-time heavy bomber squadron flying Avro Lancasters from 1943.
In early 1940, R.A.F. 103 Squadron was in France, deployed with the R.A.F. Advanced Air Striking Force. The squadron sustained heavy losses during this time.
R.A.F. 104 Squadron reformed on 1st April 1941. A squadron detachment operated from Malta from October that year before moving to Kabrit, Egypt in early 1942.
In 1942, R.A.F. 106 Squadron began to convert from Avro Manchester planes to the Avro Lancaster bomber. The squadron completed thousands of sorties in wartime.
In 1942, R.A.F. 107 Squadron based at Great Massingham, Norfolk, England began converting to the Douglas Boston III bomber, using them for raids over Europe.
Royal Air Force 115 Squadron took part ina raids over occupied Europe during the Second World War. They were one of the first squadrons to use "Gee" navigation.
From December 1942 to October 1944, R.A.F. 142 Squadron took part in campaigns in North Africa and Italy after carrying out night raids over occupied Europe.
During late 1940, R.A.F. 144 Squadron operating Handley Page Hampden bombers carried out night-time raids over occupied Europe dropping both leaflets and bombs.
R.A.F. 158 Squadron operated as part of Bomber Command during the Second World War flying Vickers Wellingtons and Handley Page Halifaxes on raids over Europe.
R.A.F. 166 Squadron flew Mark I and Mark III Avro Lancaster bombers in the latter stages of the war. By 1945, the took part in day and night-time sorties.
During the Second World War, R.A.F. 207 Squadron carried out bombing raids over Germany. Sergeant George Fleck of Co. Antrim died on one such attack on Bremen.
During the Second World War, Belfast-born Wing Commander John Kane Rogers was a high-ranking officer in R.A.F. 208 Squadron based in North Africa and Palestine.
In February and March 1942, Royal Air Force 217 Squadron was under the command of Wing Commander Samuel McCaughey Boal D.F.C. of Ballymena, Co. Antrim.
Royal Air Force 218 (Gold Coast) Squadron flew many sorties in the bombing campaign over Germany during the Second World War with many Ulstermen in the crews.
Royal Air Force 219 Squadron reformed in October 1939 and during the early years of the Second World War, operated as a night-fighter squadron defending London.
By 1940, Royal Air Force 220 Squadron had converted to Lockheed Hudson Mark II light bombers carrying out "strike" or anti-shipping missions over the North Sea.
During early 1943, R.A.F. 243 Squadron operated from Algeria, flying sweeps in Supermarine Spitfires providing escorts for bombers during the Tunisia campaign.
On 19th November 1940, a photographer from the Belfast Telegraph captured a series of photos of R.A.F. 245 (Northern Rhodesian) Squadron in Northern Ireland.
Following the outbreak of the Second World War, R.A.F. 254 Squadron reformed in 1939. In the early stage of the conflict, they flew with Coastal Command.
R.A.F. 272 Squadron reformed on 19th November 1940 at R.A.F. Aldergrove, Co. Antrim, first equipped with Bristol Blenheims before converting to Beaufighters.
During the Second World War, Vickers Wellington HF208 came down in Éire. The graves of the six Polish crew members from R.A.F. 304 Squadron are in Belfast.
In 1943, R.A.F. 315 (City of Deblin) Squadron came to Northern Ireland. The Polish Squadron enjoyed Ulster hospitality as they undertook further training.
R.A.F. 487 (R.N.Z.A.F.) Squadron operated in Europe as part of Bomber Command in the Second World War. Many of its aircrews were drawn from New Zealand forces.
On 18th November 1940, a photographer from the Belfast Telegraph captured a series of photos of R.A.F. 502 (Ulster) Squadron based at Aldergrove, Co. Antrim.
R.A.F. 578 operated from Burn, North Yorkshire, England flying the Handley Page Halifax by mid-1944. Bramwell Blair of Portadown, Co. Armagh was an air gunner.
In May 1943, R.A.F. 611 Squadron was in the United Kingdom, flying Mark IX Supermarine Spitfires. Among the pilots was Belfast-born Victor Stephenson Neill.
R.A.F. 617 Squadron became one of the most famous in the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command when they undertook the famed Dambusters Raid on 16th-17th May 1943.
N0. 968 Barrage Balloon Squadron operated in Belfast from September 1940 to December 1943. At first they had 16 balloons but by 1943 this total was 40 balloons.
On 1st May 1943, Sergeant John Hunter of Belfast was among a crew from R.A.F. No. 1663 Heavy Conversion Unit killed when their Halifax bomber went down.
Royal Air Force 1942 Squadron formed in India during the Second World War. Later in the conflict, the squadron moved to Burma as part of R.A.F. No. 221 Group.
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Aircraftman 1st Class Andrew "Andy" McCormick of Lisburn, Co. Antrim died at his home as a result of illness following the Second World War on 3rd March 1947.
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Born in India, Flying Officer Alexander Arthur Fenwich Towry Steavenson died on 1st September 1941. His name is on the Groomsport War Memorial in Co. Down.
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Leading Aircraftman Kenneth McGregor Moore of Castlerock, Co. Londonderry died on 4th October 1942 while training with the Royal Air Force in Alabama, U.S.A.
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Corporal Robert Lynas of Portadown, Co. Armagh died on 14th May 1945 as a result of a fatal accidental gunshot wound while serving with the Royal Air Force.
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Aircraftman 2nd Class Samuel John Kerr of Portadown, Co. Armagh died on 26th November 1940 at a military hospital at R.A.F. Honington, Suffolk, England.
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Leading Aircraftman William James Bleeks of Portadown, Co. Armagh died on 20th June 1942 as a result of an incident in Scotland while serving with the R.A.F.
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Corporal William John Jess of Woodvale, Belfast served in the Royal Air Force and became a prisoner of war in Indonesia following the fall of Singapore in 1942.
