No. 333 Squadron RNoAF

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333 Squadron Royal Norwegian Air Force
No. 333 (Norwegian) Squadron Royal Air Force
Norwegian Government in exile
Branch Royal Norwegian Air Force
BaseAndøya Air Station
Motto(s)Norwegian: For Konge, Fedreland og flaggets heder
("For King, fatherland, and the honour of the flag")
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldryIn front of a pair of wings elevated and conjoined in base a Viking ship affrontée
Squadron CodesKK (Sep 1944 – Nov 1945)

333 Squadron of the

Second World War
, formed in February 1942.

History

RAF gun camera footage. A Ju 88 under fire from a 333 Squadron Mosquito.

The Squadron was established as a

PBY-1b Catalinas at Woodhaven. The Mosquitoes were operated on shipping reconnaissance flights along the Norwegian coast, whilst the Catalinas carried out anti-submarine patrols to the north of Scotland. The squadron's Catalinas also operated in the 'Special Duties' role landing both personnel and supplies at points along the Norwegian coast.[1]
In September 1944 the Mosquito flight joined the Banff strike wing and acted in the Pathfinder role. However, on 30 May 1945 this flight was redesignated No. 334 (Norwegian) Squadron RAF and No. 333 became a pure Catalina unit.[2]

May 1942 : back from a mission over Norway. Nordahl Grieg 2nd from right

On their first mission to

Second World War
, the missions of 333 Squadron included dangerous search-and-destroy submarine missions, patrolling, and secret missions along the Norwegian coastline, behind the German defence lines. They landed and picked up agents, illegal radios, and transmitters. They also dropped Christmas presents to the Norwegian population, and did search and rescue missions.

Post-war

After the war, the squadron returned to Norway, being based at Fornebu, helping to rebuild the northern parts of the country, transporting people and equipment from the south to the north. The oil-activity, establishment of the Norwegian economic zone, and establishment of the coast-guard, created new demands on the squadron. They had to carry out surveillance of large sea areas, requiring new airplanes, the Lockheed P-3 Orion.

In the 1980s the squadron undertook search-and-destroy submarine missions along the coastline and in the

Russian Northern Fleet
was reduced by half, although it still has 67 operational submarines, and a large fleet of ships.

Today the squadron regularly does various missions, including surveillance of military maritime operations, patrolling the economic zone, controlling fishing and resources, submarine searches, and search and rescue missions. They also take part in international missions and training. The squadron is the only one that has been active continuously since World War II, and is today a part of the 133 Air Wing.

Aircraft operated

From To Aircraft Version
May 1942 Nov 1943 De Havilland Mosquito[1] Mk.II
May 1942 Feb 1945
Consolidated Catalina[1]
 Mk.Ib
Nov 1943 Feb 1945 De Havilland Mosquito[1] Mk.VI
May 1944 Nov 1945
Consolidated Catalina[1]
 Mk.IVa
1945 1954
Consolidated Catalina
 PBY-5 (Vingtor, Jøssing, Viking, Ulabrand)
1954 1961
Consolidated Catalina
 PBY-5A (21 aircraft in total) these were never owned by Norway, but were on loan to them
1961 1969
Grummann Albatross
 HU-16 (amphibious)
1969 1989
Lockheed Orion
 P-3B*
1989 2023
Lockheed Orion
 P-3N
1989 2023
Lockheed Orion
 P-3C Update III (Vingtor, Jøssing, Viking, Ulabrand)
2022 present Boeing P-8A Poseidon
  • = Two of the P-3Bs were modified to P-3N standard (Fritjof Nansen, Roald Amundsen, Gunnar Isachsen, Otto Sverdrup, Hjalmar Riiser Larsen, Bernt Balchen, Finn Lambrechts) Last operational flight with P-3C «Ulabrand» tok place 30 Jun 2023.[3]

Bases operated from

From To Base Remarks
May 1943 Aug 1944 RAF Leuchars[1]
May 1943 Jun 1945 Woodhaven, Scotland[1] Detachment
Aug 1944 Jun 1945 Banff[1]
Jun 1945 1963 Fornebu, Sola Detachments in
Skattøra, Andøya and Bodø
.
1963 30 Jun 2023 Andøya Air Station, Norway
30 Jun 2023 Present Evenes Air Station, Norway

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Halley 1988, p. 374.
  2. ^ Barrass, M. B. (2015). "No. 330–352 Squadron Histories". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  3. ^ "Kl. 13:33 tok P-8 Poseidon over stafettpinnen" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Armed Forces. Retrieved 25 August 2023.

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

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