No. 77 Squadron (RAF): Second World War

Aircraft - Locations - Group and Duty - Books

No. 77 Squadron reformed at Finningley on 14 June 1937 from B Flight of No. 102 Squadron. By the start of the Second World War the squadron was equipped with the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, which it used to drop leaflets over Germany. Bombing operations did not begin until March 1940 as the phoney war began to draw to an end.

From May to October 1942 the squadron and it's Whitleys were loaned to Coastal Command, where they were used to fly anti-submarine patrols from Chivenor in Devon.

In October 1942 the squadron returned to Bomber Command and converted to the Handley Page Halifax, which it would retain until the end of the war (eventually flying four different versions of the aircraft). From then until the end of the war the squadron took part in Bomber Command's strategic bombing campaign over Germany.

Aircraft
November 1938-October 1939: Armstrong Whitworth Whitley III
September 1939-October 1942: Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V
October-November 1942: Handley Page Halifax B.II
November-December 1942: Handley Page Halifax B.V
December 1942-May 1944: Handley Page Halifax B.II
April-June 1944: Handley Page Halifax B.V
May 1944-March 1945: Handley Page Halifax B.III
March-August 1945: Handley Page Halifax B.VI

Location
25 July 1938-15 April 1940: Driffield
15 April-4 May 1940: Kinloss
4 May-28 August 1940: Driffield
28 August-5 October 1940: Linton-on-Ouse
5 October 1940-5 September 1941: Topcliffe
5 September 1941-6 May 1942: Leeming
5 May-5 October 1942: Chivenor
5 October 1942-15 May 1944: Elvington
15 May 1944-31 August 1945: Full Sutton

Squadron Codes: KN

Group and Duty
September 1939-May 1942: Bomber squadron with No. 4 Group
May-October 1942: Coastal Command
October 1942 to 7 May 1945: Bomber squadron with No. 4 Group
From 7 May 1945: To Transport Command

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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Review of Halifax Squadrons by John lake 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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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (29 January 2008), No. 77 Squadron (RAF): Second World War, http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/77_wwII.html

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