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No. 180 Squadron Royal Air Force
No 180 Squadron was formed on the 13th September 1942 at West Raynham, Norfolk as a light-bomber squadron equipped with Mitchells. From Foulsham it flew its first operational mission, a raid on oil targets at Terneuzen, Belgium; two of six aircraft failed to return, one captained by the CO, W/C Hodder AFC.
No 180 joined No 2 TAF during 1942-3 and attacked strategic communications targets in cooperation with the army. It moved to Belgium before the armistice, and then into Germany as part of the occupational forces, until renumbered as No 69 Squadron in March 1946.
Airfields
No. 180 Squadron
flew from:
- RAF West Raynham, Norfolk from 13th September 1942. (formed, Bomber Command. Mitchell II)
- RAF Foulsham, Norfolk from 19th October 1942 (transferred to 2TAF the 1st June 1943)
- RAF Dunsfold from August 1943-April 1944
- Swanton Morley during April 1944
- RAF Dunsfold from April-October 1944
- B.58 Melsbroek, Belgium from October 1944-30th April 1945
- B.110 Achmer, Germany from 30th April-June 1945:
- June 1945: RAF Fersfield
- B.110 Achmer from June-September 1945.
13th September 1942 New light bomber squadron formed
19th October 1942 Move to RAF Foulsham
22nd January 1943 Oil installations
27th February 1943 Shot down
25th May 1943 Two bombers lost over Abbeville
26th May 1943 Mitchel bomber crashed in the Channel
May 1943 Transfer to 2TAF
31st May 1943 One drowned when bomber ditched
13th June 1943 Shot down by naval flak
August 1943 New airbase
30th August 1943 Two airmen killed but two evaded
26th November 1943 Three Mitchells lost
7th January 1944 Mid-air collision
9th February 1944 Flying bomb site bombed
April 1944 Night bombing training
21st April 1944 Two aircraft lost during training
23rd April 1944 Crashed on night training exercise
6th June 1944 D-Day maximum effort
6th June 1944 Invasion
10th June 1944 Attack on the HQ of Panzergruppe West
20th June 1944 Crashed over Amiens
30th June 1944 Unexplained crash
23rd July 1944 Bomber lost
24th July 1944 Attack
9th August 1944 3 Mitchell bombers lost
13th August 1944 Operations over Falaise
21st August 1944 Shot down over Normandy
25th August 1944 Ditched in the Channel
30th August 1944 Flying accident
9th September 1944 Shot down over Boulogne
14th September 1944 Crash on take-off
17th September 1944 Operation Market Garden
6th October 1944 Crashed after mid-air collision
18th October 1944 Move to Belgium
29th October 1944 Aircraft shot down
11th November 1944 Collision over the airfield
3rd December 1944 Air Gunner lands damaged bomber
3rd December 1944 Pilot shot in accident
22nd December 1944 Bomber strike on German army positions
1st January 1945 Operation Bodenplatte
1st January 1945 Airfield attacked
13th March 1945 Bomber shot down over Germany
15th March 1945 Shot down over Germany
21st March 1945 Two Mitchells hit by flak
30th April 1945 Move
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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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.
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Those known to have served with No. 180 Squadron Royal Air Force during the Second World War 1939-1945. - Atkinson Joseph Henry. P/O. (d.25th May 1943)
- Coleman Charles Robert. WO.
- Dixon Fredrick Burgess. W.O. (d.26th Nov 1943)
- Hanafy John Theodore. Sqd.Ldr. (d.25th May 1943)
- Hodder Ernest George. P/O.
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. 180 Squadron Royal Air Force from other sources.
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Want to know more about No. 180 Squadron Royal Air Force? There are:2044 items tagged No. 180 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. |
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W.O. Fredrick Burgess Dixon 180 Squadron (d.26th Nov 1943) Warrant Officer (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) Frederick Dixon,
died on the 26th of November 1943
aged 23 serving with 180 Squadron, Royal Air Force.
He was a rear gunner on a Mitchell Bomber and was part of an attack on a V1 bomb site near Cherbourg. They attacked in the early hours of the morning but the weather obscured the target. They returned later but the Germans anticipated this and brought in additional anti aircraft batteries and he was shot down.
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P/O. Joseph Henry Atkinson 180 Squadron (d.25th May 1943) Flying in a B25 Michell over France from RAF Foulsham, Joseph Atkinson was shot down over or near Abbevile. He was adopted by my parents as his mother had died, so he was a brother to me although he was ten years older.
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WO. Charles Robert Coleman 180 Squadron Charles Coleman served in the RAF towards the end of the Second World War. He was a navigator bomber and saw most of his friends killed during active service. He trained in Canada and flew in many raids over Europe, crash landed once at the edge of the runway and was shot down by enemy fire once. For a long time he kept his flak jacket which was covered with bullet holes. He was extremely lucky to survive but, until he was an old man, he would not speak of his experiences. When he was about 80 he suddenly started to speak of a cockpit full of blood and it turned out this was another RAF plane flying in formation with his plane which he watched as it was shot down - that pilot paid the ultimate price. I have several precious pictures of his squadron and of the Mitchell bombers he used to fly in.
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Sqd.Ldr. John Theodore Hanafy 180 Squadron (d.25th May 1943) John Theodore Hanafy died aged 25, born in Bromley in 1918 he was the son of John (real name Mohammad) Zaky Hanafy and the late Agnes May Hanafy (nee South) of Jarrow
John is buried in Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension. He iscommemorated at Cambridge University Peterhouse World War 2 War Memorial
and also on the WW2 Roll of Honour Plaque in the entrance of Jarrow Town Hall.
From other research: The following is posted on the Airfield Information Exchange website blog but is only an assumption:
A 1943 B25 Mitchell crash which has left three crewmembers buried in a local (Pende) cemetery. The aircraft, part of a flight of Mitchells of 180 Squadron (based then at Foulsham) came down on 25 May 1943 near Pende, ten minutes from St.Valery-sur-Somme. They had semi-successfully attacked Abbeville airfield, which had by then become the home of the "Abbeville Boys", a gang of Focke-Wulf 190's who played havoc with allied bombers. Three of the four-man crew of the B-25 are buried at Pende, Gunners DRN Reynolds and J Palmerley and Navigator RJ Fowler, yet the pilot, Squadron Leader JT Hanafy lies in Abbeville Cemetery, and I am again puzzled as to why the team has been separated in this way.
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