No. 692 Squadron RAF explained

Unit Name:	No. 692 (Fellowship of the Bellows) Squadron RAF
Dates:	1 January 1944 – 20 September 1945
Branch:	Royal Air Force
Role:	Light Bomber Squadron
Command Structure:	No. 8 Group RAF, Bomber Command
Garrison Label:	Base
Nickname:	Fellowship of the Bellows
Motto:	Latin Polus Dum Sidera Pascet (Translation: "So long as the sky shall feed the stars")
Notable Commanders:	S/Ldr. (then) S.D. Watts, the first pilot to drop a 4,000 lbs "Cookie".
Identification Symbol:	In front of a pair of wings conjoined in base, a dagger, point downwards
Identification Symbol Label:	Squadron Badge heraldry
Identification Symbol 2:	P3 (Jan 1944 – Jun 1945)
Identification Symbol 2 Label:	Squadron Codes
Aircraft Bomber:	de Havilland Mosquito

No. 692 Squadron RAF was a light bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

History

The squadron was formed on 1 January 1944 at RAF Graveley, Huntingdonshire as a light bomber unit, equipped with Mosquito Mk.IV bombers, as part of the Light Night Striking Force of No. 8 Group RAF in Bomber Command. It re-equipped with Mosquito Mk.XVI bombers from March 1944 and by June 1944 the squadron had completely switched over to the newer variant.

It was the first squadron to carry 4,000 lb bombs in Mosquitos, used in an attack on Düsseldorf. The squadron was also the first Mosquito unit to carry out minelaying operations. Most operations were at low level, including one mission when the squadron dropped 4,000 lb bombs into the mouth of tunnels in the Ardennes. At the end of the war the squadron was disbanded on 20 September 1945 at RAF Gransden Lodge, Cambridgeshire.The squadron had carried out 3,237 operational sorties (though one source claims a far lower number of sorties, 1,457) for the loss of 17 aircraft.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 692 Squadron RAF, data from!From !!To !!Aircraft !!Variant
January 1944	June 1944		Mk.IV
March 1944	September 1945	de Havilland Mosquito	Mk.XVI

Commanding officers

Officers commanding no. 692 Squadron RAF, data from!From !!To !!Name
January 1944	March 1944	W/Cdr. W.G. Lockhart, DSO, DFC
March 1944	July 1944	W/Cdr. S.D. Watts, DFC (RNZAF)
July 1944	September 1945	W/Cdr. J. Northrop, DFC, AFC

Squadron Airfields

Stations and airfields used by No. 692 Squadron RAF, data from!From !!To !!Name !!Remark
1 January 1944	4 June 1944		Formed here
4 June 1944	20 September 1945		Disbanded here

References

Bibliography

Book: Bowman, Martin . Mosquito Bomber/Fighter-Bomber Units, 1942–45 . Botley, Oxford, UK . Osprey Publishing . 1997. 978-1-85532-690-3.
Book: Bowyer, Chaz . Mosquito Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Shepperton, Surrey, UK . Ian Allan Ltd. . 1984 . 0-7110-1425-6.
Book: Bowyer, Michael J.F. . John D.R. . Rawlings . Squadron Codes, 1937–56 . Cambridge, UK . Patrick Stephens Ltd. . 1979 . 0-85059-364-6 .
Book: Falconer, Jonathan . Bomber Command Handbook, 1939–1945 . Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK . Sutton Publishing . 2003 . 0-7509-3171-X.
Book: Flintham . Vic . Andrew . Thomas . Combat Codes: A Full Explanation and Listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied Air Force Unit Codes since 1938 . Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK . Airlife Publishing Ltd. . 2003 . 1-84037-281-8.
Book: Halley, James J. . The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988 . 1988 . Tonbridge, Kent, UK . Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd.. 0-85130-164-9 .
Book: Jefford, C.G. . RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912 . 2001 . 2nd . Airlife Publishing Ltd. . Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK . 1-85310-053-6 .
Book: Moyes, Philip J.R. . Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft . London . Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd. . 1976 . 0-354-01027-1 .