Air Force Index

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No. 162 Squadron Royal Air Force    There were plans to form no.162 Squadron, to be equipped with the DH9A bomber, in May 1918, for a deployment to France in October, but these plans were suspended and finally cancelled on 17 August. No. 162 Squadron was formed at Kabrit, Egypt, on 4th January 1942, flying the Wellington. They undertook radio calibration flights across the Middle East for Air Ministry and Army Radio stations, and also reconnaissance flights to detect enemy radio and radar installations. They were also pressed into service as a bomber unit attacking enemy supplies and shipping. During the second battle of El Alamein the squadron was used over the battlefield to jam enemy tank radios. In 1944 they were used to destroy magnetic mines in harbours and coastal waters in North Africa. The Squadron was disbanded on 25th September 1944. 162 Squadron re-formed at Bourn in No 8 (Pathfinder) Group, on 17th December 1944, flying the Mosquito light-bomber with the Light Night Striking Force. No 162 Squadron flew a total of 913 operational sorties with the Pathfinders. In July 1945 the squadron transferred to Transport Command and operated a mail service to bases in Europe. Airbases where 162 Squadron was based: Signals Squadron: 4th January 1942: Kabrit 6th January - 12th April 1942: Shallufa Detachment to Aqir from 16th - 28th March 1942 12th April 1942 - 9th April 1943: Bilbeis Detachment to Cyprus from 22nd April - 18th May 1942 Detachment to Shallufa from 17th July - 16th August 1942 Detachment to Habbinaya from 31st July - 21st August 1942 Detachment to Lydda from 25th August - 10th September 1942 Detachment to Cyprus from 15th September - 14th October 1942 Detachment to Malta from 22nd September - 1st October 1942 Detachment to Rayak from 1st - 27th October 1942 Detachment to Aqir from 1st - 11th November 1942 Detachment to Habbinaya from 8th - 18th November 1942 Detachment to Shaibah from 8th November - 17th December 1942 Detachment to Hurghada from 19th - 22nd November 1942 Detachment to Western Desert (Mersa Matruh, Bengazi and various Landing Grounds) from 21st November 1942 - 26th March 1943 Detachment to Gambut from 23rd November 1942 - 26th February 1943 Detachment to Malta from 28th November - 14th December 1942 Detachment to Malta from 27th December 1942 - 9th January 1943 Detachment to Lydda from 9th - 29th January 1943 Detachment to Malta from 18th January - 25th February 1943 Detachment to Miserata from 29th January 1943 Detachment to Mellaha (Bengazi) from 1st March - 9th April 1943 Detachment to Malta from 10th - 26th March 1943 9th April - 27th August 1943: Benina Detachment to Gardabia from 3rd - 18th April 1943 Detachment to Malta from 11th - 30th April 1943 Detachment to Cyprus from 14th - 25th April 1943 Detachment to Gambut from 18th - 25th April 1943 Detachment to Malta from 9th - 15th May 1943 Detachment to Gambut from 13th - 22nd May 1943 Detachment to Aqir & St Jean from 15th - 30th May 1943 Detachment to Mellaha (Bengazi) from 21st May - 7th June 1943 Detachment to Cyprus from 1st - 12th June 1943 Detachment to Western Desert (Mersa Matruh, Bu Amud and various Landing Grounds) from 1st - 10th June 1943 Detachment to Malta from 5th - 18th June 1943 Detachment to Gambut from 7th June - 5th September 1943 Detachment to Malta from 20th - 25th June 1943 Detachment to Western Desert (Mersa Matruh and various Landing Grounds) from 11th - 27th July 1943 Detachment to Aqir & Beirut from 13th - 28th July 1943 Detachment to Savoia (Tripoli) from 25th July - 8th August 1943 Detachment to Lydda from 9th August - 27th September 1943 Detachment to Malta from 14th - 24th August 1943 27th August 1943 - April 1944: LG.91 Detachment to Cyprus from 5th - 27th September 1943 Detachment to Gambut from 14th - 19th September 1943 Detachment to Benina from 1st October - 12th December 1943 Detachment to Mersa Matruh from 11th October - 9th November 1943 Detachment to Gambut from 10th November 1943 - 18th January 1944 Detachment to Lydda from 14th November - 3rd December 1943 Detachment to Cyprus from 3rd - 24th December 1943 Detachment to Benina from 29th December 1943 - 31st January 1944 Detachment to Mersa Matruh from 6th - 31st January 1944 Detachment to Lydda from 10th January - 2nd March 1944 Detachment to Malta from 20th - 28th January 1944 Detachment to Gambut from 25th January - 27th May 1944 Detachment to Cyprus from 27th January - 10th March 1944 Detachment to St Jean from 2nd - 23rd March 1944 Detachment to Lydda from 23rd March - 28th April 1944 Detachment to Benina from 4th - 25th April 1944 25th April-September 1944: Idku Detachment to Cyprus from 10th May - 12th July 1944 Detachment to Benina from 19th - 25th July 1944 Detachment to Cyprus from 3rd - 27th August 1944 Detachment to St Jean from 27th August - 1944 Disbanded at Idku 24th September 1944. Pathfinder Squadron: Reformed 17th December 1944-July 1945: Bourn. Transport Command: from July 1945: Blackbushe   4th January 1942 New Squadron formed in Egypt 6th January 1942 Six aircraft but no personnel 7th January 1942 No accommodation 8th January 1942 First operation of new signals squadron 12th January 1942 Radio jamming tests 15th January 1942 Calibration 17th January 1942 Operation over Crete 11nd January 1942 Personnel transferred to new Squadron 23rd January 1942 Wireless operators posted 24th January 1942 Technical talk 31st January 1942 Reconnasance over Crete 1st February 1942 Still under canvas 3rd February 1942 Operation abandoned in bad weather 5th February 1942 Additional aircraft arrive 6th February 1942 New aircraft and staff 7th February 1942 Calibration and reconnaisance 10th February 1942 New postings 12th February 1942 More postings 15th February 1942 Engine failure 17th February 1942 Testing, training and posting 19th February 1942 Miscellaneous flying duties 24th February 1942 Night flying practice 1st March 1942 New Squadron designation 1st March 1942 Blenheims delivered 7th March 1942  Wellington lost on radar detection 9th March 1942 General flying duties 12th March 1942 Postings 12th April 1942 Signals Squadron relocated 20th April 1942  Detachment to Nicosia 29th April 1942 Blenheim crashed in Egypt 1st May 1942 Operations over Greece 3rd May 1942 Operations 8th May 1942 Search for missing Blenheim 9th May 1942 Operations 12th May 1942 Missing Blenheims located 18th May 1942 Detachment returns from Cyprus 24th May 1942 Operations 30th May 1942 Court of Enquiry 1st June 1942 Situation Report 3rd June 1942 Successful operation to Libya 6th June 1942 New aircrew posted 11th June 1942 Mathematics Classes 16th June 1942 Operations 21st June 1942 Operations on Greece and Crete 24th June 1942 Postings 29th June 1942 Move planned 1st July 1942 Blenheims transferred 2nd July 1942 Secret records destroyed 3rd July 1942 Blenheims dismantled 4th July 1942 Bombing ops 5th July 1942 Railway bombed 6th July 1942 Ops 7th July 1942 Tobruk bombed 8th July 1942 Move cancelled 9th July 1942 No operations 10th July 1942 Tobruk bombed 11th July 1942 Tests and Operations 15th July 1942 Tobruk bombed 16th July 1942 Night ops 17th July 1942 Unreliable aircraft 20th July 1942 Enemy aircraft engaged 22nd July 1942 Killed in road accident 24th July 1942 Postings 26th July 1942 Ships bombed 27th July 1942 New aircraft arrive 29th July 1942 Absconder returned to squadron 31st July 1942 Detachment to Habbiniya 1st August 1942 Situation Report 2nd August 1942 Tobruk bombed 3rd August 1942 Operations abandoned 4th August 1942 Calibration and bombing flights 8th August 1942 Routine operations 11th August 1942 Flights from Cyprus planned 13th August 1942 Bisley crew killed carrying aircraft spares for Churchill 14th August 1942 Concert Party visit to desert airbase 16th August 1942 Bomber detachment returned 18th August 1942 Search for R.D.F. Installation 20th August 1942 Crete bombed 21st August 1942 Poor cooperation 23rd August 1942 Enemy convoy reported 25th August 1942 Detachment to Lydda 26th August 1942 New air personnel arrive in Egypt 27th August 1942 New enemy landing ground discovered 29th August 1942 Tobruk bombed 31st August 1942 Reconnaissance over Athens 1st September 1942 Situation Report 4th September 1942 Detachment 6th September 1942 Air Raid 7th September 1942 Aircrew injured by flak 9th September 1942 Radio mast installed for tests 10th September 1942 Radio beacon test flights 12th September 1942 Detachment to Malta for RDF investigations 13th September 1942 Recce over Sicily and Tunisia 15th September 1942 Detachment to Cyprus 22nd September 1942 R.D.F. Investigations from Malta 23rd September 1942 Raid on Crete 24th September 1942 Dental inspections 28th September 1942 Shortage of serviceable aircraft 1st October 1942 Situation Report 6th October 1942 Attack on Crete 8th October 1942 Mysterious red ball of fire 13th October 1942 Court Martial 14th October 1942 Detachment returns from Cyprus 16th October 1942 Sand storm halts operations 18th October 1942 Stand-by for tank radio jamming operations 22nd October 1942 Good Report on R.D.F Calibration Flights 23rd October 1942 Tank R/T jamming operations begin 26th October 1942 Tand R/T jamming operations 27th October 1942 Malaria control 1st November 1942 Situation Report 2nd November 1942 Wellington lost on bombing raid 5th November 1942 Instruction to move received 6th November 1942 Postings 7th November 1942 Instructions to move 8th November 1942 Aircraft and aircrew move to 40 Squadron 10th November 1942 Wellington crews posted to 40 Squadron 11th November 1942 Signals Squadron loses last Wellington bomber 19th November 1942 Signal Squadron Detachments 22nd November 1942 Wellingtons returned to Signals Squadron 23rd November 1942 Detachments 28th November 1942 Enemy RDF installation discovered 1st December 1942 Squadron status uncertain 14th December 1942 Detachment returned from Malta 17th December 1942 Anti-submarine patrol 20th December 1942 'A' Flight reformed 23rd December 1942 Parade and Operations 24th December 1942 Concert 25th December 1942 Christmas Festivities 27th December 1942 Back to Malta 30th December 1942 Test flight reveals limited capability of enemy RDF 31st December 1942 Taranto Harbour bombed 1st January 1943 Promotions 9th January 1943 Detachments 29th January 1943 Bisley Lost 5th February 1943 Photo recce 12th February 1943 Postings and Operations 31st March 1943 Summary for March 1943 4th April 1943 Move in progress across Libya 9th April 1943 Squadron arrives at new base 11th April 1943 Detachments 13th April 1943 Showers provided 14th April 1943 Operations 15th April 1943 Wellington destroyed by fire 16th April 1943 Visit by A-O-C 212 Group 23rd April 1943 Aircraft movements 30th April 1943 Maintenance Problems 9th May 1943 To Malta 18th May 1943 Special Ops 31st May 1943 Continuing maintenance problems 14th June 1943 Preparation for paratroop attack 18th June 1943 Sabotage 30th June 1943 Aerodrome Defence Scheme 11th July 1943 Detachments 13th July 1943 Detachment 15th July 1943 Reconnaissance 17th July 1943 Reconnaissance 21st July 1943 Replacement aircraft 25th July 1943 Detachment 27th July 1943 RDF Reconnaissance 3rd August 1943 Additional ground crew support 9th August 1943 Relocation of Detachments 14th August 1943 Detachment 20th August 1943 RDF Recce flights 27th August 1943 On the move 31st August 1943 Recce 2nd September 1943 Replacement crew 5th September 1943 Detachment 5th September 1943 Detachment withdrawn 15th September 1943 Low level recce 26th September 1943 Air sea rescue search 30th September 1943 Situation Report 18th October 1943 Baltimore aircraft arrive 29th October 1943 Accident on Ground 31st October 1943 Situation Report 1st November 1943 Mosquito Trial 10th November 1943 Detachment for RDF investigations 17th November 1943 Mosquito trials 30th November 1943 Situation Report 12th December 1943 Final Duties for Blenheim V's 23rd December 1943 RDF Investigations from Gambut 24th December 1943 Return to base for Xmas 29th December 1943 Aircraft unserviceable 31st December 1943 Situation Report 15th January 1944 Successful recce with the Mosquito 25th January 1944 A Flight detachment to Gambut 29th January 1944 Crashed into the Med 31st January 1944 Situation Report 17th February 1944 Aircraft lost over Crete 29th February 1944 Situation Report March 1944 GRU transferred to 162 Squadron 31st March 1944 Situation Report 31st March 1944 Summary of operations 6th April 1944 Fiighter affiliation exercises 30th April 1944 Situation report 27th May 1944 Detachment returns 31st May 1944 Situation Report 30th June 1944 Situation Report 10th July 1944 Mosquito transferred away 11th July 1944 Wellington lost on RDF investigation 19th July 1944 New Aircraft destroyed 31st July 1944 Situation Report 31st August 1944 Monthly Report 24th September 1944 Signals Squadron disbanded 18th December 1944 New Pathfinder Squadron formed 22nd December 1944 New Squadron into action 7th January 1945 Aircraft abandoned over the Netherlands March 1945 Mosquitos fitted for Pathfinder role June 1945 Air Mail Service 11th June 1945 Air Mail service crashes If you can provide any additional information, please add it here. Logbooks Do you have a WW2 Flying Log Book in your possession? If so it would be a huge help if you could add logbook entries to our new database. Thank you. View Logbook entries Those known to have served with No. 162 Squadron Royal Air Force during the Second World War 1939-1945. Bareham DFM. Harold John William. Sgt. Hornell VC David Ernest. F/Lt. (d.24 June 1944) Mandelson Norman. Flt.Lt. (d.9th Nov 1945) McGown DFC and Bar William Lachlan. Flying Officer The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List Records of No. 162 Squadron Royal Air Force from other sources. The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website. Announcements 1st of September 2024 marks 25 years since the launch of the Wartime Memories Project. Thanks to everyone who has supported us over this time. The Wartime Memories Project has been running for 25 years. If you would like to support us, a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting and admin or this site will vanish from the web. 16th Jan 2025 - Please note we currently have a huge backlog of submitted material, our volunteers are working through this as quickly as possible and all names, stories and photos will be added to the site. If you have already submitted a story to the site and your UID reference number is higher than 265273 your information is still in the queue, please do not resubmit, we are working through them as quickly as possible. Looking for help with Family History Research?   Please read our Family History FAQs The free to access section of The Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers and funded by donations from our visitors. If the information here has been helpful or you have enjoyed reaching the stories please conside making a donation, no matter how small, would be much appreciated, annually we need to raise enough funds to pay for our web hosting or this site will vanish from the web. If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation. Want to find out more about your relative's service? Want to know what life was like during the War? Our Library contains an ever growing number diary entries, personal letters and other documents, most transcribed into plain text. Wanted: Digital copies of Group photographs, Scrapbooks, Autograph books, photo albums, newspaper clippings, letters, postcards and ephemera relating to WW2. We would like to obtain digital copies of any documents or photographs relating to WW2 you may have at home. If you have any unwanted photographs, documents or items from the First or Second World War, please do not destroy them. The Wartime Memories Project will give them a good home and ensure that they are used for educational purposes. Please get in touch for the postal address, do not sent them to our PO Box as packages are not accepted. World War 1 One ww1 wwII second 1939 1945 battalion Did you know? We also have a section on The Great War. and a Timecapsule to preserve stories from other conflicts for future generations. Want to know more about No. 162 Squadron Royal Air Force? There are:2208 items tagged No. 162 Squadron Royal Air Force available in our Library   These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. Flying Officer William Lachlan McGown DFC and Bar 514 Squadron, 162 Squadron Flying Officer William Lachlan McGown was pilot of Lancaster DS822 of 514 Squadron that came down at Le Celles Les Bordes in France on the night of 7th of June 1944. He parachuted down along with 3 colleagues and evaded capture. My wife's cousin flew with him on the fateful night when the Lancaster came down. He too was killed and laid to rest in Le Celles Les Bordes. France with a further two colleagues. F/O McGown returned to Britain and moved onto 162 Squadron. I understand he left the RAF in 11th April 1946 and return to his native Scotland where he passed away in 1984 aged 70 years, a true hero. I would like to hear of anything from living relatives of his second crew at 162 Squadron. Sinclair T Ronald Add to this record. Sgt. Harold John William "Bish" Bareham DFM. 82 Squadron Harold Bareham was commonly called Jack to his family and friends but "Bish" to his R.A.F. friends at Watton, he was my Father. He joined the R.A.F. as an apprentice in 1930 and was a Navigator for the Earl of Bandon, with 82 Squadron serving out of R.A.F. Watton at outbreak of WWII in 1939. Having survived the heaviest losses where twice the whole squadron was lost. Once he had to turn back because of fuel guage problems and the second time he made it back having the whole perspex front blown off and all maps and charts lost. He left 82 Squadron in July 1940 being one of only 3 crew remaining who were there on 3rd September 1939. He was awarded the DFM for two citations earned at R.A.F. Watton as a Sergent Navigator. Subsequently in 1941 Jack converted to Pilot and got his Wings having done a quick conversion on of all aircraft, The Blenheim! He then went on to fly Mosquitoes on the Ball-Bearing businessman run up to Scandinavia. Then in 1941 he volunteered to go back onto Ops and was transferred to Squadron 162 flying Hampdens. He was shot down over Rotterdam in January 1942 after losing his tail and rear-gunner to flack! Ordering a bailout, the Naviator ended up in the sea and was drowned, the second pilot landed on the beach and Jack hit a house the town and slid down the snow on the rooftop and ended up in a snow drift. His war was over. He spent 3.5 years in Stalag III and was a digger of the tunels in the Great Escape. Whilst he suffered 2 cave-ins during this process, he was numbered in the 200 due to escape, I believe number 143 or 147? After the cave-ins he was put in charge of "Soil distribution in the gardens" and a keen horticulturalist, the internees grew much produce under his stewardship! He was instrumental in getting the first operational radio set operational in the camp and was responsible for semaphoring the "News from London" to the American Camp next door. Later they used an unscrewable cricket ball which he threw to a Mr Cody from California, as he had arrived at Stalag III at roughly the same time and they had made friends. Jack spent time in the camp building a clock out of gramophone needles and cocoa tins! It took 18 months to build and kept better time than officer's Rolexes which they ordered and had delivered from Swizerland! The movement took 8 hours to wind down, and was wound up at lights out at 10pm and rewound before stopping at Revallie! The weights were coffee tins and the pendulum a potato! It kept time within a minute every 3 weeks. it struck every hour on a bell from a pushbike! designed and built from tins and needles. The balanstaf was made from half a razorblade. On its first performance on Christmas Day 1943, the apparatus was suspended between two tables and it made its first continuous "tick-tock" to raputuous applause and thumping on the tabletop! Whereupon the whole thing colapsed into a heap of pieces and another 2 weeks work to reassemble for it to chime in the New Year on January 1st 1944. When leaving the camp on the forced march in Febuary 1945, Jack was asked if he was taking his clock? He said to friends and collegues that a tin of Bully Beef was worth more to carry than an old clock! So it was wound up for the last time. Everyone in Jack's hut checked their Rolexes (If they had them) Saluted the clock and closed the door behind them. It was left for the Russians who liberated the camp to make of it as they would!? Jack decided on the forced march, that whilst others might take tins of food with them from Red Cross Parcels, Jack would take little food but many tins of coffee and cigarettes with which he could trade for food and which were light on the sledge. It was February 1945 and the snow was thick on the ground. Carrying too much weight was a problem. Warm clothes were a must and Jack made a sledge from the back of a chair (as depicted in his painting) which was towed behind them. This Jack stacked high with coffee and cigarettes as useful currency at the time. When arriving at a chateau from where they were liberated, a truck overtook them on the approach road to the castle, loaded with swedes. One fell off the back of the truck and was snapped up by a POW. That fellow POW was billetted with Jack and shared bunk beds, Jack on top. This POW shared the raw swede with Jack and both agreed it was the best food ever. That fellow POW who pocketed the swede that fell off the back of the lorry, was no other than Anthony Barber, the now Late Sir Anthony Barber, who became the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 1970s. After the war, Jack trained on Spitfires and then Vampires and Meteors, serving in UK and Germany. He rose to rank of Squadron Leader before retiring from the R.A.F. in 1953. He then joined B.O.A.C. in 1954, now British Airways as a Pilot Instructor. Firstly on Link Traniners, then Boeing 707 436s, then V.C.10s then back to Boeing 707 336s until his retirement in 1979 after 24 years service. He died on 15th May 1992 aged 78 years, leaving a wife, a son, two daughters and three grandchildren. I enclose a picture of the three surviving crew from one of the missions that suffered the worst mission casualty record of any R.A.F. Squadron during WWII having lost the whole squadron nearly twice over, and Jack's crew being the only crew to survive from beginning of WWII to July 1940. I am in the process of putting together all documentation and his first hand recollections as well as stories he told both to my late mother and myself, regarding his life's work. I will make available a copy for anyone who wants it for historical research purposes only and not for commercial gain whatsoever! There is much more than written here. However, in the late 1980s and 90s there was a museum set up at R.A.F. Watton to which my father contributed a substantial amount of memorabelia and photographs. The Museum closed in 1997/8 and since then I've not been able to trace the whereabouts of all the contents of the Museum. I believe a Mr Julian someone or other was running it, but what happened to him or the contents of the Museum including R.A.F. Watton's Role of Honour Wall-board, where my father's name and his D.F.M. are recorded, remains a mystery!! Julien Bareham Add to this record. Flt.Lt. Norman Mandelson 162 Squadron (d.9th Nov 1945) Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) Norman Mandelson was the son of Samuel and Rose Mandelson, of Mold, Flintshire. He was 26 when he died and is buried in the Marsa Jewish Cemeterty in Malta. S Flynn Add to this record. Recomended Reading. Available at discounted prices.

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