ROYAL AUXILIARY AIR FORCE I 100 th ANNIVERSARY
611 ( West Lancashire ) Squadron RAuxAF
611 ( West Lancashire ) Sqn formed in 1936 at RAF Speke ( now Liverpool John Lennon Airport ). It was one of 21 Auxiliary Air Force Sqns set up in peacetime to bolster the rapidly expanding Royal Air Force rising to the threat of Nazism . Initially manned by local personnel from Liverpool and West Lancashire , 611 Sqn gelled into a fighting machine , was equipped with Spitfires , and mobilised to take a very active part in World War 2 . 611 Sqn ’ s notable contributions include
Ground Crew working on a Spitfire in October 1939
supporting the withdrawal from Dunkirk and playing a prominent role in the Battle of Britain in 1940 , covering the ill-fated Dieppe landing in 1942 , shooting down the 1000 th enemy aircraft by a Biggin Hill based sqn in 1943 , and being one of , if not the first , RAF day fighter sqns over the D Day beaches in 1944 .
1941 – 611 Tally Board 1943 – 611 over Biggin Hill
611 Sqn were the first RAF sqn to make friendly contact with Russian aircraft over Berlin in 1945 . In addition , the Squadron supported both RAF and USAAF bombers over the full range of their bombing sorties , including attacks on Hitler ’ s ‘ Eagle ’ s Nest ’ at Berchtesgaden in Bavaria . By the end of the war , 611 Sqn had destroyed approximately 250 enemy aircraft ; this came at the cost of 55 air and ground crew who lost their lives 1939 - 1945 . The Sqn honours them , plus 4 personnel who lost their lives in the post-war period , with a memorial stone in Liverpool ’ s St John ’ s Gardens .
Among 611 Sqn ’ s many notable wartime pilots and aces was Flight Lieutenant Eric Lock DSO DFC , one of the RAF ’ s most successful Allied pilots during the Battle of Britain ; he is commemorated on the Memorial after losing his life in 1941 .
Flt Lt Eric Lock
Sir Barrie Heath DFC , who served with 611 Sqn during the Battle of Britain with a number of aerial victories , survived the war and later pursued a very successful post-war career in manufacturing , rising to become chairman of the industrial conglomerate GKN .
611 Sqn returned home , flying Spitfires out of RAF Woodvale ( its modern-day home on the West Lancashire coast ) from 1946 until 1951 , then Gloster Meteor jet fighters from RAF
611 Sqn Meteors
Hooton Park on the Wirral . Despite supporting the regular RAF very effectively and at very little cost with its ‘ weekend flyers ’, all RAuxAF flying units , including 611 Sqn , were disbanded on 10 March 1957 .
611 Sqn reformed at RAF Woodvale 56 years later to the day on 10 March 2013 , as part of the Ministry of Defence ’ s Future Reserves 2020 programme to ensure UK Armed Forces are structured to meet future 611 on Annual Continuous
Training in Cyprus in 2015 challenges and threats . The Sqn now exists as a RAuxAF General Support Sqn ( GSS ) within the RAF ’ s No 2 Group . It has rapidly and successfully developed to full operating capability . At the heart of its success is the quality of its reservist cadre , recruited to fill roles across 10 different ground trades . These specialisations include Air Operations , Intelligence , Ground Engineering , Logistics , Media , Personnel Support and Training .
The reservists come from a diverse range of backgrounds : many are specialists with years of experience in their own civilian fields , some are experienced ex-regulars , some are recent graduates who are looking for a taste of RAF Reserve service before joining for a regular career . They are all dedicated to giving up their spare time to train , backfill and mobilise in support of RAF operations in the UK and around the world .
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