No. 273 Squadron RAF

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No. 273 Squadron RAF
Active30 July 1918 – 5 July 1919
1 August 1939 – 30 April 1946
CountryUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
Motto(s)Toujours Prêt
(Always Ready)
Insignia
Squadron BadgeBlack widow spider on background including Asian swastika
Squadron CodesMS (Mar 1944 - Mar 1946)

No. 273 Squadron RAF was a

French Indo-China
(Vietnam). It was re-equipped with Spitfire Mk XIVs in November 1945.

The squadron was disbanded at the end of January 1946.

History

Formation and World War I

No. 273 Squadron

RNAS night airfield.[1] The squadron disbanded on 5 July 1919 at Great Yarmouth
.

Reformation in World War II

Squadron Leader Robert Hayes, Commanding Officer of No. 273 Squadron chats with Air Marshal Sir Guy Garrod, the Allied Air Commander in Chief, Air Command South East Asia, by a Spitfire Mark VIII at Cox's Bazar, 1944

The squadron reformed on 1 August 1939 at

China Bay in British Ceylon as a torpedo bomber squadron operating the Vickers Vildebeest. In March 1942, it equipped with the Fairey Fulmars (as the only RAF unit) and lost an aircraft during the Japanese attack on Ceylon on 9 April, shooting down several bombers in return.[2] It re-equipped with Hawker Hurricanes in August 1942[2] and then the Supermarine Spitfire Mk VIII
in March 1944.

From March 1944, pilots were given the new Spitfire Mk VIII to fly, and the squadron was moved up to British India to join in the war against Japanese imperial forces. From May 1944 through to the end of the war, it was recorded that 14 pilots were killed.

From March to early July 1944, was the period in which the major Japanese attacks (

Rangoon
before the monsoon rains started in earnest.

Along the coast, 273 Squadron was part of

Akyab
), and convoy patrols. At least one pilot was killed over this period.

Akyab was evacuated by the Japanese at the end of December 1944, and Ramree Island was then occupied by Allied forces in February 1945. From February through to early May, 273 Squadron was based at Ramree Island, where it supported army operations as they moved against Japanese forces further south down the coast. Again this was a period of intense fighting, when at least a further three other pilots were killed.

Rangoon was liberated by early May, and 273 Squadron moved into its new base at

Mingaladon (just outside Rangoon) in the middle of that month. There was then a six-week period of somewhat frustrating operations, taken up mainly with patrolling. The first three weeks of July however involved a further final period of intense fighting however, as Allied army units and the RAF decimated Japanese forces as they attempted to cross the Sittang River
, and head back towards Thailand. At least three other pilots were killed during these final operations.

In mid-September, 273 Squadron was transferred to

Don Muang, Siam (Thailand), and then moved to Tan Son Nhut, French Indo-China (Vietnam) at the end of that month. The squadron was re-equipped with Spitfire Mk XIVs in November 1945, used them in their only offensive operation on 11 December against Viet Minh in support of a surrounded French unit at Ban Me Thout
and then finally disbanded (at Tan Son Nhut) at the end of January 1946.

Badge design

A

black widow spider, together with the motto Toujours prêt. It was still awaiting final approval after several re-submissions when it had been rejected by Air Command South-East Asia and by the Inspector of RAF Badges. The squadron was disbanded before being issued a badge.[3] A campaign in 1996 to have the badge issued for the veterans of No. 273 Squadron was unsuccessful despite the backing of several MPs, and it was finally awarded to the squadron association in principle.[4] The badge is seen in the RAF Chapel at St Clement Danes
, London.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by No. 273 Squadron RAF.[5]
From To Aircraft Variant
Aug 1918 Mar 1919 Airco DH.4
Aug 1918 Mar 1919 Airco DH.9
Aug 1918 Mar 1919 Sopwith Camel
Aug 1939 Mar 1942 Vickers Vildebeest III
Mar 1942 Sep 1942 Fairey Fulmar II
Aug 1942 Nov 1942 Hawker Hurricane I
Aug 1942 Dec 1943 Hawker Hurricane IIB
Dec 1943 May 1944 Hawker Hurricane IIC
Mar 1944 Dec 1945 Supermarine Spitfire VIII
Nov 1945 Jan 1946 Supermarine Spitfire XIV

A Tachikawa Ki-54 was briefly pressed into service by the squadron in September and October 1945, due to a lack of suitable fuel for the unit's Spitfires.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Covehithe Airfield". Heritage Gateway. 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b Bussy, Geoffrey: Fairey Fulmar. Hall Park Books, Warpaint Series. No.41. p.30-32
  3. ^ "273 Squadron (Badge) (Hansard, 12 June 1996)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 12 June 1996. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  4. ^ "RAF Heraldry Trust, An update to the Trust Activities, August 1998". www.griffon.clara.net. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  5. ISBN 1-85310-053-6
    .
  6. ^ Thomas, Andy (July 2008). "Vietnam Prelude". FlyPast (324). Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing: 70–71.
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