No. 62 Squadron RAF
| No. 62 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 8 August 1916 – 31 July 1919 3 May 1937 – 15 March 1946 1 September 1946–10 August 1947 8 December 1947 – 1 June 1949 1 February 1960 – 31 January 1963 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Royal Air Force
|
| Motto(s) |
Latin: Insperato ("Unexpectedly") |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | A meteor |
| Squadron Codes |
62 May 1937 - Nov 1938 JO Nov 1938 - Sep 1939 PT Sep 1939 - Feb 1942 |
No. 62 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was originally established as a Royal Flying Corps squadron in 1916 and operated the Bristol F2B fighter in France during the last year of World War I. After the war the squadron was disbanded and it was re-established in 1937 as part of the buildup of the RAF in the late 1930s. During World War II the Squadron was deployed to the Far East, operating the Bristol Blenheim from Singapore and Malaya. In 1942 No. 62 Squadron was re-equipped with the Lockheed Hudson and it moved to Sumatra, then Burma and then India. After the close of World War II the squadron disbanded for the second time. It was briefly re-established from 1946 to 1947 as a Dakota squadron and operated out of Burma and India. It final incarnation was as a Bristol Bloodhound missile unit in the early 1960s.
No. 62 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was established at Filton, Gloucestershire on 8 August 1916 from elements of No. 7 Training Squadron. The unit received Bristol F2B fighter aircraft in May 1917 and was deployed to France in January 1918 with operations commencing from the aerodrome at Serny in early 1918. The squadron operated as fighter-reconnaissance unit until disbanding on 31 July 1919.
The first victory for the squadron was credited on 21 February 1918 near Armentières, Nord, France. Nicknamed "The Cheery 62s," the unit had its first encounter with Manfred von Richthofen's Circus on 12 March 1918, resulting in at least two aviators killed, four captured, and one wounded. No. 62 Squadron was one of the last two Bristol F.2 Fighter squadrons to serve at the Western Front, the other being No. 88 Squadron. The aircraft of both squadrons often escorted de Havilland planes on bombing missions. By the end of the war, No. 62 Squadron was credited with 76 enemy aircraft destroyed and 85 driven out of control. Ten aces served in the unit, including future Air Vice-Marshal William Ernest Staton as well as George Everard Gibbons, Thomas L. Purdom, Geoffrey Forrest Hughes, Thomas Elliott, Charles Arnison, Ernest Morrow, William Norman Holmes, Hugh Claye and Douglas Savage. The Squadron's victories came at a high price as 28 of its aviators were killed in action and three killed in accidents. In addition, 32 aviators became prisoners of war, 22 were wounded in action, and eleven sustained accidental injuries. This does not compare favorably with No. 88 Squadron, the last Bristol Fighter unit to reach the front. While that squadron was credited with 147 enemy aircraft destroyed, it only had two aviators killed, five wounded, and ten reported missing.
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