No. 652 Squadron RAF

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No. 652 Squadron
Active 1 May 1942 - 1957
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
Role Air Observation
Motto Sive aere sive campo
Latin: "In the air and in the field"
Insignia
Heraldic crest "In front of wings conjoined in base, a gun barrel fesswise"

No. 652 Squadron RAF was a unit of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and afterwards in Germany.

Contents

[edit] History

Numbers 651 to 666 Squadrons of the RAF were Air Observation Post units working closely with Army units in artillery spotting and liaison.

No 652 Squadron was formed at Old Sarum, Wiltshire, on 1 May 1942 and went into action in Normandy on 7 June 1944 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 after the German surrender it remained as part of the British Air Forces of Occupation, later of the 2nd Tactical Air Force, until September 1957, when it was merged into the Army Air Corps. It is represented today by 652 Squadron of 1 Regiment, Army Air Corps

[edit] Aircraft Operated

[edit] Notable people

[edit] References

  • Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
  • Jefford, C.G. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). ISBN 1-85310-053-6.

[edit] See also

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