No. 294 Squadron (RAF): Second World War

Aircraft - Locations - Group and Duty - Books

No.294 Squadron was an air-sea rescue squadron that served in the eastern Mediterranean from 1943 until 1945 and then in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea.

The squadron was formed on 24 September 1943 around an existing air-sea rescue flight, and inherited the older unit's Walruses and Wellingtons. At first it operated from Libya, Cyprus and Palestine, but detachments were posted to Greece after the Germans withdrew. A number of Vickers Warwicks arrived in November 1944 and these aircraft were used for a mix of air-sea rescue and anti-submarine warfare duties. At its peak the squadron operated nine Walruses and about twenty-five Wellingtons and Warwicks.

In June 1945 the squadron moved to Basra, and provided air-sea rescue cover over the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. It was disbanded on 8 April 1946.

Aircraft
September 1943-May 1944: Vickers Wellington IC
September 1943-April 1946: Supermarine Walrus I and II
March-November 1944: Vickers Wellington XI
May 1944-April 1946: Vickers Wellington XIII
November 1944-April 1946: Vickers Warwick I

Location
September-October 1943: Berka
October 1943-March 1944: Amriya South
March 1944-June 1945: Idku
June 1945-April 1946: Basra

Squadron Codes: G, Q, L, U, B

Duty
1943-1945: Air-sea rescue, Mediterranean
1945-1946: Air-sea rescue, Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea

Books

Help - F.A.Q. - Contact Us - Search - Recent - About Us - Privacy