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Lysander L4762 |
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Type : Lysander Mark : Mk 1 Last Flew : 28th April 1939 |
| Known information | |
| 28th April 1939 | Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location:Denham Cause Navigational exercise, stalled in a turn, pilot Fg Off Greville-Bell was killed |
| Squadrons for : Lysander Mk 1 L4762 | ||
| A list of all squadrons known to have flown Lysander Mk 1 L4762. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
| Squadron | Info | |
No.13 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 10th January 1915 Adjuvamus tuendo - We assist by watching | No.13 Sqn RAF 13 Squadron formed at Gosport on 10 January 1915 and moved to France in October. Initially it provided army co-operation duties but subsequently it included bombing raids, pioneering formation bombing on 25 November 1916 in a raid on Achiet-le-Grand.. Aircraft types operated during the war included the Martinsyde G.100, the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2, the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8, both the SPAD VII and SPAD XIII, and the Sopwith Dolphin. The squadron disbanded on 31 December 1919 The unit reformed at RAF Kenley on 1 April 1924 and inter-war years saw the squadron operate from various UK bases equipped with a variety of aircraft types including the Bristol F.2, Atlas, Audax and Hector. By January 1939 the squadron was equipped with Lysanders and moved to France on 2 October until late May 1940 when it withdrew to UK bases. In May 1941 No. XIII Squadron changed role and theatre, flying a variety of bomber aircraft including the Bristol Blenheim and Douglas Boston in the Mediterranean until the end of the War. On 1 September 1946 No 680 Squadron at Ein Shemer, Palestine was renumbered No 13 Squadron. The unit operated as a photographic reconnaissance squadron. Still operating in this capacity it moved to Egypt, Cyprus and Malta. It returned to the UK in October 1978 and disbanded on 1 January 1982. No 13 Squadron reformed at RAF Honington on 1 January 1990 equipped with reconnaissance Tornado aircraft. As the Allied Coalition began to deploy forces to the Gulf in the latter part of 1990, in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, it quickly became apparent that the unique night reconnaissance capability of the Tornado could provide vital intelligence to the Allied commanders. As a result, on 15/16 January 1991, immediately before hostilities commenced, 6 aircraft were deployed to Dharhan in Saudi Arabia. During the first nights of the War, the Reconnaissance Wing successfully discovered several of the elusive Scud sites, giving rise to the now famous 'Scudhunters' nickname. By the end of the War, some 128 reconnaissance sorties had been flown by the detachment. However, this was not the Squadron’s only contribution to the coalition victory, for the Squadron was also fundamental to the success of the Tornado/TIALD (Thermal imaging And Laser Designation) combination. 72 successful TIALD missions were flown. No 13 Squadron and its Tornado GR4s have since taken part in Operation Telic, in which Coalition forces, led by the United States overthrew the Iraqi regime, led by Saddam Hussein. The Squadron’s latest deployment has taken them from their RAF Marham home to Al Udeid Air Base during late 2005, supporting continuing Coalition operations in Iraq. | |
| Aircraft type : Lysander | ||
| A profile page including a list of all art prints for the Lysander is available by clicking the aircraft name. | ||
| Aircraft | Info | |
Lysander 
Manufacturer : Westland Aircraft Production Began : 1938 Retired : 1946 Number Built : 1786 | Lysander The first Lysanders entered service in June 1938, equipping squadrons for army co-operation and were initially used for message-dropping and artillery spotting. When war broke out in Europe, the earlier Mk Is had been largely replaced by Mk IIs, the older machines heading for the Middle East. Some of these aircraft, now designated type L.1, operated with the Chindits of the British Indian Army in the Burma Campaign of the Second World War. Four regular squadrons equipped with Lysanders accompanied the British Expeditionary Force to France in October 1939, and were joined by a further squadron early in 1940. Following the German invasion of France and the low countries on 10 May 1940, the Lysanders were put into action as spotters and light bombers. In spite of occasional victories against German aircraft, they made very easy targets for the Luftwaffe even when escorted by Hurricanes. Withdrawn from France during the Dunkirk evacuation, they continued to fly supply-dropping missions to Allied forces from bases in England; on one mission to drop supplies to troops trapped at Calais, 14 of 16 Lysanders and Hawker Hectors that set out were lost. 118 Lysanders were lost in or over France and Belgium in May and June 1940, of a total of 175 deployed. With the fall of France, it was clear that the type was unsuitable for the coastal patrol and army co-operation role, being described by Air Marshal Arthur Barratt, commander-in-chief of the British Air Forces in France as "quite unsuited to the task; a faster, less vulnerable aircraft was required." Nevertheless, throughout the remainder of 1940, Lysanders flew dawn and dusk patrols off the coast and in the event of an invasion of Britain, they were tasked with attacking the landing beaches with light bombs and machine guns.[9] They were replaced in the home-based army co-operation role from 1941 by camera-equipped fighters such as the Curtiss Tomahawk and North American Mustang carrying out reconnaissance operations, while light aircraft such as the Taylorcraft Auster were used to direct artillery. Some UK-based Lysanders went to work operating air-sea rescue, dropping dinghies to downed RAF aircrew in the English Channel. Fourteen squadrons and flights were formed for this role in 1940 and 1941. In August 1941 a new squadron, No. 138 (Special Duties), was formed to undertake missions for the Special Operations Executive to maintain clandestine contact with the French Resistance. Among its aircraft were Lysander Mk IIIs, which flew over and landed in occupied France. While general supply drops could be left to the rest of No. 138's aircraft, the Lysander could insert and remove agents from the continent or retrieve Allied aircrew who had been shot down over occupied territory and had evaded capture. For this role the Mk IIIs were fitted with a fixed ladder over the port side to hasten access to the rear cockpit and a large drop tank under the belly. In order to slip in unobtrusively the Lysanders were painted matte black; operations almost always took place within a week of a full moon, as moonlight was essential for navigation. The aircraft undertook such duties until the liberation of France in 1944. The Lysanders flew from secret airfields at Newmarket and later Tempsford, but used regular RAF stations to fuel-up for the actual crossing, particularly RAF Tangmere. Flying without any navigation equipment other than a map and compass, Lysanders would land on short strips of land, such as fields, marked out by four or five torches. They were originally designed to carry one passenger in the rear cockpit, but for SOE use the rear cockpit was modified to carry two passengers in extreme discomfort in case of urgent necessity. The pilots of No. 138 and from early 1942, No. 161 Squadron transported 101 agents to and recovered 128 agents from Nazi-occupied Europe. The Germans knew little about the British aircraft and wished to study one. Soldiers captured an intact Lysander in March 1942 when its pilot was unable to destroy it after a crash, but a train hit the truck carrying the Lysander, destroying the cargo | |
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