No. 161 Squadron RAF

No. 161 Squadron RAF
Active	9 May 1918 - 17 August 1918 15 February 1942 – 2 June 1945
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Motto(s)	Liberate[1]
Insignia
Squadron badge heraldry	An open fetterlock
Squadron codes	MA Feb 1942 - 1945 JR Apr 1944 - 1945 (Lysander Flight only)

No. 161 (Special Duties) Squadron was a highly secretive unit of the Royal Air Force, performing missions as part of the Royal Air Force Special Duties Service. It was tasked with missions of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) during the Second World War. Their primary role was to drop and collect secret agents and equipment into and from Nazi-occupied Europe. The squadron had a secondary role in acting as the King's Flight.

History

The squadron was formed at RAF Newmarket on 15 February 1942 from 138 Squadron’s Lysander flight and a flight of Whitleys and Wellingtons.^[2] These were combined with pilots and aircraft from the King’s Flight to create the second SD squadron.^[3] The unit was commanded by Edward Fielden, an experienced pilot who had been the CO of the King’s Flight. He inherited two very experienced officers in Guy Lockhart and “Sticky” Murphy from 138.^[4] 161's A Flight was made up of six Lysanders, with Guy Lockhart as its commanding officer. A Flight undertook the pick-up operations. The squadron's B Flight flew two-engine Whitleys and Wellingtons, and did agent parachute drops and supply drop missions.

In April 1942 the squadron joined 138 Squadron at RAF Tempsford in Bedfordshire. It remained there for the duration of its service. In November 1942 the B Flight's Whitleys were replaced with the four-engine Halifax.^[5]

Following the end of the war in Europe, the squadron was disbanded 2 June 1945.^[6]

Aircraft

Several types of aircraft were used by the squadron in the course of their duties.

• Westland Lysander February 1942 - November 1944
• Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V February 1942 - December 1942
• Havoc I February 1942 - December 1943
• Handley Page Halifax B.Mk II September 1942 - December 1942
• Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle October 1942 to April 1943
• Handley Page Halifax B.Mk V November 1942 to November 1944
• Lockheed Hudson III / V October 1943-June 1945
• Short Stirling III and IV September 1943 - June 1945

The Lysanders and Hudsons were used for the landing and collection of agents, while the other types were used for parachuting agents and supplies.

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Ashworth, Chris (1995). RAF Bomber Command 1936-1968. Sparkford, Somerset: Stephens.
• Foot, M. R. D. (2004) [1966]. SOE in France. New York: Frank Cass Publishers.
• Oliver, David (2005). Airborne Espionage: International Special Duty Operations in the world wars. Stroud, U.K.: Sutton Publishers.
• Verity, Hugh (1978). We Landed by Moonlight. Shepperton, Surrey: Ian Allan Limited.
• Ward, Chris (2008). 3 Group Bomber Command. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation.

External links

Currently activeInactiveAustralian Flying Corps units
attached to the RAF
during the First World WarArticle XV (Commonwealth) air force units attached to the RAF during the Second World War

Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)	400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)	450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 466 467
Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF)	485 486 487 488 489 490

Squadrons formed from
non-Commonwealth personnel
during the Second World War

Argentine 164 Belgian 349 350 Czechoslovak 310 311 312 313 Dutch 320 (Netherlands) 321 (Netherlands) 322 (Dutch) French 326 327 328 329 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 Greek 13 335 336 Norwegian 330 331 332 333 334 Polish 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 315 316 317 318 663 United States 71 121 133 Yugoslav 351 352

Royal Auxiliary Air Force

Special Reserve	500 501 502 503 504
Auxiliary Air Force	600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 622

Fleet Air Arm of the RAF
(1924–1939)