No. 160 Squadron RAF

No. 160 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force unit during the Second World War, when it flew for four years in a number of roles including heavy bomber, minelaying, reconnaissance, special operations and transport unit in the Middle East and South-East Asian theatre of World War II.

No. 160 Squadron RAF
Active	16 Jan 1942 – 30 Sep 1946
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Part of	No. 222 Group RAF, Air Command, South East Asia[1]
Motto(s)	Sinhalese: Api soya paragasamu (Translated: "We seek and strike")[2][3][4]
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry	A Sinhalese lion rampant holding a Sinhalese sword[2][3][4]
Squadron Codes	BS (Dec 1944 – Oct 1946)[5][6]
Aircraft flown
Bomber	Consolidated Liberator
Patrol	Consolidated Liberator
Reconnaissance	Consolidated Liberator Avro Lancaster
Transport	Consolidated Liberator

History

First World War: False start

No. 160 Squadron was originally proposed on 9 May 1918 as a bomber squadron for deployment to France with DH.9As on 7 October, shortly afterwards amended to 20 October, but formation had not yet taken place when these plans were cancelled on 4 July. The formation was then rescheduled to take place on 20 September at Bristol (Filton) for deployment to France on 20 November, but this plan in its turn was suspended on 29 July and cancelled altogether on 17 August. The squadron thus never effectively formed during the First World War.^[7]

Second World War

To India via Palestine

No. 160 Squadron RAF was formed at RAF Thurleigh, Bedfordshire on 16 January 1942 as a heavy bomber^[2]/reconnaissance unit equipped with Consolidated Liberator aircraft. The squadron was posted to India on 12 February 1942, but without its aircraft and crews, who remained in England for training at RAF Polebrook, Northamptonshire. In June 1942 the crews and aircraft moved to the Middle East for bomber operations alongside No. 159 squadron. Whilst being based in Egypt and Palestine the squadron flew missions against targets in Libya and Crete. From November 1942 the squadron's crew and aircraft gradually moved to India, this being completed early February 1943, first mission was flown on 6 February over the Bay of Bengal.^[4] The squadron moved to Ceylon on 19 February, being based first at Ratmalana and later at Sigiriya, Kankesanturai and Minneriya. At first the squadron was involved in reconnaissance missions and minelaying and later became involved in dropping supplies to units operating behind enemy lines. When the war ended 160 squadron returned to Kankesanturai and served for a while in the transport role.

Back in the UK

On 23 June 1946, the return to the UK of the squadron was completed, and they were based at RAF Leuchars, Fife, Scotland, operating as a reconnaissance squadron. The squadron converted to Avro Lancaster GR.3s in August 1946, but was disbanded shortly after on 30 September 1946, being renumbered to No. 120 Squadron RAF.^[4][8]

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 160 Squadron RAF, data from^[4][8][9]

From	To	Aircraft	Version
May 1942	January 1943	Consolidated Liberator	Mk.II
November 1942	October 1945	Consolidated Liberator	Mk.III
June 1943	November 1945	Consolidated Liberator	Mk.V
January 1944	January 1945	Consolidated Liberator	Mk.VI
October 1945	September 1946	Consolidated Liberator	Mk.VIII
August 1946	September 1946	Avro Lancaster	GR.3

Squadron bases

Bases and airfields used by no. 160 Squadron RAF, data from^[4][8][9]

From	To	From	To	Base	Remark
16 January 1942	12 February 1942			RAF Thurleigh, Bedfordshire	Ground personnel
		January 1942	26 April 1942	RAF Polebrook, Northamptonshire	Air echelon, training at 1653 HCU
12 February 1942	4 June 1942			Left for India	Ground personnel
		26 April 1942	7 May 1942	RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire	Air echelon
		7 May 1942	30 May 1942	RAF Nutts Corner, County Antrim, Northern Ireland	Air echelon
		30 May 1942	8 June 1942	RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire	Air echelon
4 June 1942	17 June 1942			RAF Drigh Road, Karachi	Ground personnel
		8 June 1942	11 June 1942	Left for Middle East	Air echelon
17 June 1942	22 November 1942			RAF Quetta, Balochistan	Ground personnel
		11 June 1942	16 September 1942	RAF Fayid, Egypt	Air echelon (absorbed into 159 sqn)
		16 September June 1942	8 November 1942	RAF Aqir, Palestine	Air echelon
		8 November 1942	15 January 1943	Shandur, Egypt	Air echelon (leftovers absorbed by 178 sqn)
22 November 1942	19 February 1943			RAF Salbani, Paschim Medinipur, Bengal	Ground personnel first, later joined by greater part of air echelon
19 February 1943	2 August 1943			RAF Ratmalana, Ceylon	Det. at RAF Sigiriya, Ceylon
2 August 1943	31 July 1944			RAF Sigiriya, Ceylon	Dets. at RAF Cuttack, Orissa; RAF Ratmalana, Ceylon; RAF Vavuniya, Ceylon and RAF Gan (Addu Atoll), the Maldives
1 August 1944	7 February 1945			RAF Kankesanturai, Ceylon	Dets. at Addu Atoll, the Maldives and RAF Kandy (Senkadagalapura), Ceylon
7 February 1945	17 October 1945			RAF Minneriya, Ceylon	Det. at RAF Ramree Island, Burma
17 October 1945	23 June 1946			RAF Kankesanturai, Ceylon
23 June 1946	30 September 1946			RAF Leuchars, Fife, Scotland

Commanding officers

Officers commanding no. 160 Squadron RAF, data from^[9]

From	To	Name
March 1943	January 1944	W/Cdr. C.A. Butler
January 1944	November 1944	W/Cdr. G.R. Brady
November 1944	May 1945	W/Cdr. J.N. Stacy, DSO, DFC
May 1945	September 1945	W/Cdr. G. MacKenzie
September 1945	September 1946	W/Cdr. R.D. Williams

References

Citations

1. Delve 1994, pp. 76, 83.
2. Moyes 1976, p. 182
3. Rawlings 1982, p. 109.
4. Halley 1988, p. 231
5. Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 23.
6. Flintham & Thomas 2003, pp. 65, 148.
7. Jefford 2001, p. 113.
8. Jefford 2001, p. 66.
9. Rawlings 1982, p. 110.

Bibliography

• 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.
• Gwynne-Timothy, John R.W. (1991). Burma Liberators: RCAF in SEAC. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Next Level Press. ISBN 1-895578-02-7.
• 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.
• Moyes, Philip J.R. (1976). Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd. ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
• 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.

External links

• Burma Star Association: 160 Squadron RAF Archived 31 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
• Squadron histories for nos. 156–160 sqn on Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation Archived 10 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
• No. 160 Squadron history Archived 18 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine
• Graves of 160 Sqdn Liberator crew (Cox, Durrant, Ellerker, Harwood, Lawrence, Reilly) killed over Crete, 28 Oct 1942