No. 354 Squadron RAF
Consolidated Liberator
Active10 May 1943 – 18 May 1945
CountryUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
RoleReconnaissance
Part ofNo. 225 Group RAF, South East Asia Command[1]
Insignia
Squadron CodesNo identity markings are known to have been carried[2]
Aircraft flown
PatrolConsolidated Liberator
ReconnaissanceConsolidated Liberator

No. 354 Squadron RAF was a general reconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

History

No. 354 squadron was first formed at Drigh Road, Karachi on 10 May 1943 as part of Coastal Command, and was posted to RAF Station Cuttack on 17 August 1943, where it received Liberator Mk.V bombers. Detachments of the squadron were located at Sigiriya and St Thomas Mount. The squadron redeployed to Minneriya in Ceylon on 12 October 1944, with detachments at Kankesanturai and Cuttack, and returned to Cuttack whilst maintaining a detachment at Kankesanterai in January 1945, where they received the Liberator Mk.VI. The squadron was disbanded on 18 May 1945 at RAF Cuttack.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 354 Squadron RAF, data from[2][3][4]
FromToAircraftVersion
August 1943August 1944Consolidated LiberatorMk.V
December 1943April 1944Consolidated LiberatorMk.IIIa
February 1944May 1945Consolidated LiberatorMk.VI

Squadron airfields

Stations and airfields used by No. 354 Squadron RAF, data from[2][3][4]
FromToAirfieldRemark
10 May 194317 August 1943RAF Drigh Road, KarachiFormed here
17 August 194312 October 1944RAF Cuttack, OrissaDet. at Sigiriya, Ceylon and St Thomas Mount, Madras, Tamil Nadu
12 October 19445 January 1945Minneriya, CeylonDet. at RAF Kankesanturai, Ceylon and Cuttack, Orissa
5 January 194518 May 1945Cuttack, OrissaDet. at Kankesanturai

Commanding officer

Officers commanding No. 354 Squadron RAF, data from[2]
FromToName
July 1943May 1944W/Cdr. K.J. Mellor, DFC
May 1944March 1945W/Cdr. D.T. MacPherson
March 1945May 1945W/Cdr. F.G. Paisey

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Delve 1994, p. 76.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Rawlings 1982, p. 204.
  3. 1 2 Halley 1988, p. 384.
  4. 1 2 Jefford 2001, p. 90.

Bibliography

  • Delve, Ken (1994). The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
  • Gwynne-Timothy, John R.W. (1991). Burma Liberators: RCAF in SEAC. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Next Level Press. ISBN 1-895578-02-7.
  • Halley, James J. (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
  • Jefford, C.G. (2001). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912 (2nd ed.). Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
  • Oughton, James D.; Hamlin, John; Thomas, Andrew (2007). The Liberator in Royal Air Force and Commonwealth Service. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 978-0-85130-362-8.
  • Rawlings, John D.R. (1982). Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.
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