No._3_Photographic_Reconnaissance_Unit_RAF
No. 681 Squadron RAF
Military unit
No. 681 Squadron RAF was a photo-reconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
| No. 681 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 2 January 1943 – 1 August 1946 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Role | photo-reconnaissance |
| Part of | No. 221 Group RAF, RAF India Command[1] No. 231 Group RAF, Air Command South-East Asia[2] AHQ Burma, Air Command South-East Asia[3] |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | No badge known to have been authorised[4] |
| Squadron Codes | No code(s) are known to have been carried by this squadron[4][5][6] |
It was formed out of No. 3 PRU, at Dum Dum in India on 2 January 1943,[4] as part of RAF Far East Air Force. Initially it was mostly equipped with Hurricane PR.Mk.II and Spitfire PR.Mk.IV fighters, but there was also a Dutch element in 'C' flight that operated North American Mitchells, which belonged to the former Royal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force.[4] The squadron re-equipped with Mosquito PR.IXs in August 1943, and Spitfire PR.XIs in October.
In November 1943 the twin-engined elements were used to form No. 684 Squadron RAF.[7] 681 Squadron, which was now entirely equipped with the Spitfire PR.XI, moved to RAF Alipore, Bengal in May 1944, where the squadron was under No. 171 Wing RAF on 1 July 1944 , and RAF Mingaladon, Burma in June 1945, receiving Spitfire PR.XIX photo-reconnaissance aircraft in August of that year. The squadron moved to RAF Kai Tak, Hong Kong, in September 1945, when the war formally ended. Detachments from the squadron however were still located and kept busy at a wide range of airfields across the South-East Asian theatre of war. The squadron was disbanded by renumbering it to No. 34 Squadron RAF on 1 August 1946 at RAF Palam, Punjab, (then) British India.[4][8][9]
| From | To | Aircraft | Variant |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 1943 | November 1943 | North American Mitchell | Mk.II (B-25C) |
| January 1943 | November 1943 | Hawker Hurricane | Mk.IIc |
| January 1943 | December 1944 | Supermarine Spitfire | PR.Mk.IV[10] |
| August 1943 | November 1943 | de Havilland Mosquito | Mks.II, IV & IX |
| October 1943 | August 1946 | Supermarine Spitfire | PR.XI |
| August 1945 | August 1946 | Supermarine Spitfire | PR.XIX |
| From | To | Name | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 January 1943 | 9 December 1943 | RAF Dum Dum, Bengal, British India | Detachments at RAF Alipore, Bengal, British India and RAF Agartala, Tripura, British India |
| 9 December 1943 | 30 January 1944 | RAF Chandina, Bengal, British India | |
| 31 January 1944 | 5 May 1944 | RAF Dum Dum, Bengal, British India | |
| 5 May 1944 | 25 May 1945 | RAF Alipore, Bengal, British India | Detachments at RAF Comilla, Bengal, British India; RAF Imphal, Manipur, British India; RAF Kalemyo, Burma; RAF Meiktila, Burma; RAF Monywa, Burma; and RAF Mingaladon, Burma |
| 25 May 1945 | 27 September 1945 | RAF Mingaladon, Burma | Detachment at RAF Alipore, Bengal, British India |
| 27 September 1945 | 23 December 1945 | RAF Kai Tak, Hong Kong | |
| 23 December 1945 | 9 January 1946 | RAF Kuala Lumpur, Malaya | Detachments at Kemayoran Airport Batavia, Dutch East Indies and Tân Sơn Nhất Airfield, Saigon, Vietnam |
| 10 January 1946 | 28 May 1946 | RAF Seletar, Singapore | Detachments at Kemayoran Airport, Dutch East Indies; Don Muang Air Base, Thailand and RAF Mingaladon, Burma |
| 28 May 1946 | 1 August 1946 | RAF Palam, Punjab, British India | Detachment at RAF Kohat, Punjab, British India |
Notes
- Delve 1994, p. 68.
- Delve 1994, p. 77.
- Delve 1994, p. 83.
- Rawlings 1982, p. 245.
- Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 148.
- Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 233.
- Rawlings 1982, pp. 245 and 247.
- Halley 1988, p. 454.
- Jefford 2001, p. 105.
- Freeman 2005, p. 14.
Bibliography
- Bowman, Martin (1999). Mosquito Photo-Reconnaissance Units of World War 2. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-891-7.
- Bowyer, Chaz (1984). Mosquito Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-1425-6.
- Bowyer, Michael J.F.; Rawlings, John D.R. (1979). Squadron Codes, 1937–56. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
- Delve, Ken (1994). The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
- Flintham, Vic; Thomas, Andrew (2003). Combat Codes: A Full Explanation and Listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied Air Force Unit Codes since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84037-281-8.
- Freeman, Jon (2005). Photo Reconnaissance Spitfires in Worldwide Service (On Target Profiles 8). Wantage, Oxfordshire, UK: The Aviation Workshop Publications Ltd. ISBN 1-904643-15-9.
- Halley, James J. (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
- Jefford, C.G. (2001). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912 (2nd ed.). Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- Rawlings, John D.R. (1982). Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.
- Thomas, Geoffrey (1999). Eyes for the Phoenix: Allied Aerial Photo-Reconnaissance Operations, South-East Asia, 1941–1945. Crowborough, East Sussex, UK: Hikoki Publications Ltd. ISBN 0-9519899-4-4.
