1419 Flight, Royal Air Force

No.138 Squadron was formed on the 30th September 1918 as a fighter-reconnaissance squadron, but saw no action in WW1 and was disbanded on the 1st February 1919.
No.419 (Special Duties) Flight was formed at RAF North Weald on 21st August 1940 and was first RAF unit formed for clandestine air operations on behalf of the Special Operation Executive (SOE). It was initially equipped with Lysanders. The flight was renumbered 1419 Flight in March 1941, and then upgraded and renumbered as no.138 Squadron on the 25th August 1941 at RAF Newmarket.
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was formed to promote sabotage by stimulating subversive activities, spreading political discontent, disorganising and dislocating communications. The agents, ammunition and equipment to achieve this were dropped inside enemy territory. Many of the early agents were supplied from the Free French Intelligence service (BCRA) or the intelligence services of the European governments-in-exile based in London: Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Holland, Luxembourg, Norway and Poland. Their training and insertion was facilitated by the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), which also sent in its own agents.
For the rest of the war the squadron ranged from Norway to Yugoslavia and into Poland. Flying Whitleys and Lysanders, then Halifaxes and Stirlings it flew from Newmarket, Stradishall and Tempsford with agents, arms, explosives, radio sets and other sabotage equipment, dropping them at rendezvous points for local underground members. Less frequen was the pick-up in which the aircraft (always a Lysander) landed to collect some prominent public person, or an agent, or special plans and articles. During 1942 the squadron operated with the bomber force when not required for special duties.
In March 1945 No. 138 Squadron was switched from special duties to the main bomber force of No. 3 Group. It re-equipped with Lancasters and flew 105 sorties on 9 bombing missions, dropping approximately 440 tons of bombs on the enemy. No. 138 also carried out food-dropping operations over Holland and POW repatriation flights during which it brought home nearly 2,500 men before VE Day.
Airfields No.138 Squadron flew from:

RAF North Weald from 21st August 1940 (No.419 (Special Duties) Flight; Lysander, Whitley)
RAF Stradishall from September 1940 (419 Flight, renumbered 1419 Flight in March 1941)
RAF Newmarket, Cambridgeshire from 25th August 1941 (redesgnated as 138 (Special Duties) Squadron; Lysander III, Whitley V, Halifax II)
RAF Stradishall, Suffolk from 1st January 1942
RAF Tempsford, Bedfordshire from 11th March 1942 (Halifax V, Liberator III, Stirling IV)

detachment to Russia, March 1943.
detachment to Protville II in Tunisia, September - October 1943.

RAF Tuddenham Suffolk from 9th March 1945 (Bomber force; Lancaster I)

21st August 1940 Special Duties Flight formed

23rd August 1940 Agent dropped into Holland

3rd September 1940 Operations

10th September 1940 Special Duties flight relocated

11th October 1940 Crash on training

21st October 1940 Lysander lost in Scotland

18th February 1941 Special Op crashed in Belgium

16th March 1941 Special Duties Flight renumbered

11th April 1941 Crash landing at Tangmere

8th July 1941 Agents dropped in Normandy

25th July 1941 Crash landing near Newmarket

25th August 1941 Special Duties Squadron designated

25th Aug 1941 Reorganisation

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1419 Flight, Royal Air Force
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1419 Flight, Royal Air Force
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