Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, Military units and formations established in 1942, Military units and formations of the Royal Air Force in World War II, Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
20 Jun 1942 – 15 Sep 1945
Air Observation Post Squadron
Latin: Ubique Speculabundus
(Translation: "The eyes of the guns are everywhere")[1]
Squadron badge heraldry
In front of two gun barrels in saltire, an eagle's head affrontée erased[1]
Aircraft flown
Taylorcraft Auster
No. 653 Squadron AAC
11 May 1958 – 19 Oct 1967
1 Nov 1971 – present
3 Regiment, AAC
RAF Wattisham, Suffolk
AgustaWestland Apache
No. 653 Squadron RAF was a unit of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Squadron Numbers 651 to 663 were Air Observation Post units working closely with British Army units in artillery spotting and liaison. A further three of these squadrons, 664–666, were manned with Canadian personnel. Their duties and squadron numbers were transferred to the Army with the formation of the Army Air Corps on 1 September 1957.[2][3]
3 Aircraft operated
No. 653 Squadron was formed at RAF Old Sarum, Wiltshire, on 20 June 1942.[4] In September 1942, the squadron was deployed to RAF Penshurst.[5] The squadron relocated to Normandy on 27 June 1944,[6] in support of the British Second Army and the Operation Overlord landings. Most of its pilots and observers came from the British Army, while maintenance was carried out by RAF personnel. The squadron moved with the Second Army through France and the Netherlands into Germany, and was disbanded at Hoya in Germany in September 1945, after the German surrender.[4]
Present[edit | edit source]
No. 653 Squadron came into being again in Cyprus on 11 May 1958, but now as a squadron of the Army Air Corps and served in Aden from 9 March 1961 till 1967,[7] and today it is represented 653 Squadron of 3 Regiment Army Air Corps, flying the Apache Attack Helicopter.
Aircraft operated[edit | edit source]
An Army Air Corps Auster AOP.5 Air Observation Post aircraft. One example is maintained by the Army Historic Aircraft Flight
Aircraft operated by no. 653 Squadron RAF, data from[4]
June 1942 September 1942 de Havilland Tiger Moth
Aug 1942 March 1943 Auster Mk.I
March 1943 April 1944 Auster Mk.III
February 1944 September 1945 Auster Mk.IV
July 1944 September 1945 Auster Mk.V
List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Halley 1988, p. 446. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Halley1988" defined multiple times with different content
↑ Halley 1988, p. 444.
↑ Jefford 2001, pp. 102–105.
↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Jefford 2001, p. 103.
↑ "Leigh in the War, 1939–45". Leigh and District Historical Society. September 1993. http://www.leighhistorical.org.uk/References/Leigh_at_War.pdf. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
↑ "No.653 Squadron". National Cold War Exhibition. http://www.nationalcoldwarexhibition.org/explore/squadron.cfm?number=653. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
↑ Farrar-Hockley 1994, p. 237.
Farrar-Hockley, General Sir Anthony (1994). "The Army in the Air: The History of the Army AIr Corps". Allan Sutton Publishing Ltd.. ISBN 0-7509-0617-0.
Halley, James J. (1988). "The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988". Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd.. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE, BA, RAF(Retd). (2001). "RAF Squadrons: A Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912". Airlife Publishing Ltd.. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
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Military units and formations of the Royal Air Force in World War II
Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons