No. 681 Squadron RAF | |
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Active | 2 January 1943 – 1 August 1946 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
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] |
No. 681 Squadron RAF was aphoto-reconnaissance squadron of theRoyal Air Force during theSecond World War.
It was formed out of No. 3 PRU, atDum Dum in India on 2 January 1943,[4] as part ofRAF Far East Air Force. Initially it was mostly equipped withHurricane PR.Mk.II andSpitfire PR.Mk.IV fighters, but there was also a Dutch element in 'C' flight that operatedNorth American Mitchells, which belonged to the formerRoyal Netherlands East Indies Army Air Force.[4] The squadron re-equipped withMosquito PR.IXs in August 1943, andSpitfire PR.XIs in October.
In November 1943 the twin-engined elements were used to formNo. 684 Squadron RAF.[7] 681 Squadron, which was now entirely equipped with the Spitfire PR.XI, moved toRAF Alipore,Bengal in May 1944, where the squadron was underNo. 171 Wing RAF on 1 July 1944[1], andRAF Mingaladon,Burma in June 1945, receivingSpitfire PR.XIX photo-reconnaissance aircraft in August of that year. The squadron moved toRAF 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 theSouth-East Asian theatre of war. The squadron was disbanded by renumbering it toNo. 34 Squadron RAF on 1 August 1946 atRAF Palam,Punjab, (then) British India.[4][8][9]
From | To | Aircraft | Variant |
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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 atRAF 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 atRAF Comilla, Bengal, British India; RAF Imphal, Manipur, British India; RAF Kalemyo,Burma;RAF Meiktila, Burma; RAF Monywa, Burma; andRAF 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 atKemayoran AirportBatavia,Dutch East Indies andTân 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 atRAF Kohat, Punjab, British India |
From | To | Name |
---|---|---|
January 1943 | December 1943 | W/Cdr. S.G. Wise,DFC and Bar |
December 1943 | April 1945 | W/Cdr. F.D. Proctor, DFC |
April 1945 | May 1946 | W/Cdr. D.B. Pearson |
May 1946 | August 1946 | S/Ldr. H. Roberts |