No. 147 Squadron (RAF) during the Second World War

No.147 Squadron went through two incarnations during the Second World War, first as a Liberator bomber squadron that never received any aircraft and second as a home based transport squadron.

The squadron reformed for the first time on 17 October 1941 as a heavy bomber squadron to be equipped with the Liberator. The squadron's personnel began to assemble at St. Jean in Palestine in January 1942, but a shortage of the long-range Liberators meant that it never received any aircraft. Instead its personnel were used to provide maintenance parties for other units, before the squadron was disbanded on 15 February 1943.

The squadron reformed for a second time at Croydon on 5 September 1944, this time as a transport squadron within No.110 Wing. It was mainly equipped with the Douglas Dakota, but also received a small number of Ansons and Oxfords for shorter range missions. The squadron was used to provide regular transport flights between the UK and the newly liberated cities of France and Belgium, starting in September with Paris and Brussels.

Over the next few months the number of cities and distances being flown steadily increased. Marseille was added to the list of destinations in October, followed by Naples. Bordeaux came in November, while Gibraltar and Greece were added early in 1945. In February 1945 a flight of four Ansons was detached to Melsbroek and flew on the route between Paris and Brussels. Destinations in Germany were added as they fell into Allied hands, and after the war Czechoslovakia and Norway were also added to the list. By April 1945 the squadron was providing more than twenty scheduled flights

Some aircraft from the squadron were probably lost during Operation Bodenplatte, the large German attack on Allied airfields on 1 January 1945, when the squadron was visiting Evere airfield as it was attacked.

The squadron continued to provide a scheduled air transport service in the first year of peace, but by the autumn of 1946 enough commercial and national airlines had revived to allow the service to be suspended. On 13 September 1946 the squadron was disbanded.

Aircraft
September 1944-September 1946: Douglas Dakota IV
September 1944-September 1945: Avro Anson XII
April 1946-January 1946: Avro Anson C.19

Location
January 1942-August 1942: St.Jean d'Acre
August-November 1942: Aqir
November 1942-February 1943: Shandur

Duty
October 1941-February 1943: Provides maintenance parties, Middle East
September 1944 onwards: Transport squadron

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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (20 January 2011), No. 147 Squadron (RAF): Second World War, http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/35_wwII.html