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Aircraft - Locations - Group and Duty - Books
No.178 Squadron was a heavy bomber squadron that spent the entire Second World War operating in the Mediterranean. It was formed on 15 January 1943 at Shandur, Egypt, around a nucleus from No.160 Squadron, and managed the very rare feat of carrying out its first combat mission on the very same day.
The squadron followed the Allied armies as they advanced through Libya, before on 1 March 1944 moving to Italy, remaining there for the rest of the war. As well as carrying out bombing missions over North Africa, Italy and the Balkans, the squadron was used to drop supplies to partisans, even reaching as far as Poland on occasions. The squadron was disbanded without ever serving in Britain.
Aircraft
January-December 1943: Consolidated Liberator II
May-September 1943: Handley Page Halifax II
September-December 1943: Consolidated Liberator III
December 1943-November 1945: Consolidated Liberator VI
Location
15 January-4 March 1943: Shandur (Egypt)
4 March-1 October 1943: Hosc Raui (Ghemines) (Libya)
1 October 1943-1 January 1944: Terria (Libya)
1 January-1 March 1944: El Adem (Libya)
1 March-4 July 1944: Celone (Italy)
4 July 1944-25 August 1945: Amendola (Foggia basin, Italy)
Squadron Codes: C, Q, Y, T
Duty
January 1943-May 1945: Bomber squadron, Mediterranean Command
Consolidated B-24 Liberator (Crowood Aviation), Martin W. Bowman. A well balanced book that begins with a look at the development history of the B-24, before spending nine out of its ten chapters looking at the combat career of the aircraft in the USAAF, the US Navy and the RAF.
Halifax Squadrons of World War II , Jon Lake. This is a very good book on the combat record of the Handley Page Halifax. It covers much more than just its role as a front line bomber, with chapters on the Halifax with Coastal Command, the Pathfinders and SOE, amongst others. [see more]
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