No. 44 Squadron (RAF): Second World War

Aircraft - Location - Group and Duty - Books

No. 44 Squadron began the Second World War as a Hampden unit, having spent the first part of 1939 helping to convert No.5 Group from single engined to twin engined aircraft.

At the start of the war the squadron flew a number of sweeps over the North Sea, and was one of the squadrons used to drop leaflets over Germany. Bombing operations did not begin until the German invasion of Norway.

In December 1941 No.44 became the first squadron to receive the Avro Lancaster, carrying out the first Lancaster mission on 3 March 1942. The squadron spent the rest of the war as part of Bomber Command's main bombing force.

Aircraft
December 1937-February 1939: Bristol Blenheim I
February 1939-December 1941 :  Handley Page Hampden I
February-June 1939: Avro Anson I
December 1941-September 1945: Avro Lancaster I and Lancaster III

Location
16 June 1937-31 May 1943: Waddington
31 May 1943-30 September 1944: Dunholme Lodge
30 September 1944-21 July 1945: Spilsby

Squadron Codes:

Group and Duty
Bomber squadron with No. 5 Group

Books

Bomber Offensive, Sir Arthur Harris. The autobiography of Bomber Harris, giving his view of the strategic bombing campaign in its immediate aftermath. Invaluable for the insights it provides into Harris’s approach to the war, what he was trying to achieve and the problems he faced. Harris perhaps overstates his case, not entirely surprisingly given how soon after the end of the war this book was written (Read Full Review)
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Lancaster Squadron 1942-43, Jon Lake. This book looks at the early career of the Avro Lancaster. During this period the Lancaster was just one of a number of aircraft used by Bomber Command, important amongst them the Wellington, the Stirling and the Halifax. Only by the end of this period do we see the Lancaster begin to emerge as the most important aircraft in Bomber Command. Lake covers the wide range of activities performed by the Lancaster squadrons during this squadron, including the famous Dam Busters raid. [see more]
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Lancaster Squadrons 1944-45, Jon Lake. A well balanced look at the career of the Avro Lancaster in 1944-45, the period most famous for the systematic night bombardment of German cities. This was also the period that saw the Lancaster used to support the invasion of France, and the period that saw 617 Squadron drop Barnes Wallis's huge streamlined bombs with great precision. [see more]
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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (24 March 2007), No. 44 Squadron (RAF): Second World War, http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/44_wwII.html

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