Difference between revisions of "Royal Air Force"

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==31 Squadron Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force==
 
==31 Squadron Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force==
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31 Squadron was the first operational military unit in Indian skies
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31 Squadron, formed in 1915, was the first operational military unit in Indian skies. During the [[First World War]] it was operational in the North West Frontier region of India . During the [[Second World War]] it saw action in Iraq and Burma.  
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<ref> Naval and Military Press publication [http://www.naval-military-press.com/history-of-no.31-squadron-royal-flying-corps-and-royal-air-force-in-the-east-from-its-formation-in-1915-to-1950..html ''History Of No.31 Squadron Royal Flying Corps And Royal Air Force in the East from its formation in 1915 to 1950'']</ref>
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"Upon its foundation, 31 squadron was sent to Bombay for war service in India, flying its first operation in its BE 2C aircraft early in 1916. In 1917, based at [[Risalpur]], it was employed in operations against the Mahsud tribesmen of the north-west Frontier who, urged on by their Mullahs, had risen against the British Raj. The 31st helped put down the revolt by bombing and machine-gunning Mahsud villages and columns. In 1919, after quelling riots by Sikhs around Amritsar, the squadron was employed in Afghanistan where tribesmen had declared a new Jihad against the British. The squadron carried out almost daily bombing attacks, including one raid on the Afghani Amir's palace in his capital Kabul. The bombing helped to demoralise the Afghanis who sued for peace. ‘Peacekeeping' operations with new Bristol aircraft continued sporadically in the troubled north-west region where tribesmen continued their resistance to British rule. In the Second World War, equipped with Valencia and DC2 aircraft, the squadron countered the pro-Axis coup in Iraq in 1941, flying in material and evacuating casualties from Habbaniya airfield. In 1942, following the Japanese entry into the war, it performed the same funcrtion in Burma. Flying Dakota aircraft, 31 helped supply the first and second Chindit expeditions behind enemy lines launched from Imphal by General Orde Wingate. In 1943-44 the squadron maintained its vital supply role in turning back the Japanese offensives in the Arakan area. In the latter stages of the war, 31 was involved in the rescue and repatration of Allied Prisoners of War and Chinese ‘Comfort women' from Japanese captivity."<ref> Naval and Military Press publication [http://www.naval-military-press.com/history-of-no.31-squadron-royal-flying-corps-and-royal-air-force-in-the-east-from-its-formation-in-1915-to-1950..html ''History Of No.31 Squadron Royal Flying Corps And Royal Air Force in the East from its formation in 1915 to 1950'']</ref>
 
  
 
==North West Frontier==
 
==North West Frontier==

Revision as of 07:26, 14 April 2014

Records

The Lists were initially published on a monthly basis. Currently available (at April 2012) are
  • 1919 February-August, November, December
  • 1938 January-September, November, December
  • 1939 January (catalogued 1929), February-December
  • 1940 February-June, August, October, December
  • 1941-1943 January, March, May, July, September, November
  • 1944 January, March, May, July, October
  • 1945 January, April, July.
  • Royal Air Force Muster Roll 1918 held on subscription website findmypast (See external links section).
  • RAF Records Office for personnel enquiries can be contacted at:
RAF Disclosures
Room 221b
Trenchard Hall
RAF Cranwell
Sleaford
Lincolnshire
NG34 8HB
Telephone 01400 261201
a. Extension: 8161/8159 for Officers
b. Extension: 8163/8168 for Other Ranks
See the web page Requests for personal data and Service records (gov.uk) for forms to download. Veterans:UK
Also refer to the equivalent section on the Fibiwiki page British Army for some hints which possibly also apply to Royal Air Force records such as requesting FULL records.
  • The Royal Air Force Museum, London, refer External links below, holds some records including First World War Casualty Cards, which extend to 1928 and cover all theatres of operations. It is intended to digitise these records.

Also see

31 Squadron Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force

31 Squadron, formed in 1915, was the first operational military unit in Indian skies. During the First World War it was operational in the North West Frontier region of India . During the Second World War it saw action in Iraq and Burma. [1]

North West Frontier

India’s North-West Frontier (now modern-day Pakistan) was divided into three areas for the RAF. The northern area comprised the region to the north of the Khyber Pass up to the foothills of the Himalayas – referred to as the ‘Roof of the World.’ The second or central area lay south west of the Khyber Pass roughly between the rivers Kabul and Kurram. This was universally mountainous, criss-crossed by deep valleys and dried up water courses. The third region was the southern area which lay to the south west of Kohat, from the Kurram River down towards Fort Sandeman and Baluchistan. This was dominated by Waziristan, the storm centre of the frontier and stronghold of tribal resistance.[2]

Also see North West Frontier Campaigns

RAF Chaklala

RAF Chaklala was located in part of Rawalpindi. During World War 2, from 1942 RAF Chaklala was the location of a Paratroopers Training School[3]

External links

This collision is the subject of this article by DN Singh July 25, 2011, which appears to use details from the report by Matthew J Poole. The article briefly mentions the Air Fighting Training Unit - 228 Group and the Tactical & Weapons Development Unit based at Amarda Road, Orissa and the names of surrounding airfields- Dalbhumgarh, Dudhkundi, Salua, Digri, Salbani and Chakulia

Historical books online

References

  1. ↑ Naval and Military Press publication History Of No.31 Squadron Royal Flying Corps And Royal Air Force in the East from its formation in 1915 to 1950
  2. ↑ "“Good God, Sir, Are You Hurt?” The Realities and Perils of Operating over India’s Troublesome North-West Frontier" by Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Roe Air Power Review Volume 14 Number 3 Autumn/Winter 2011 Centre for Air Power Studies, Royal Air Force, page 78 (computer page 89) pdf, html version
  3. ↑ Paratroopers Training School indianairforce.nic.in

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