Supermarine Spitfire. European Users, part twelve. The Spitfire in Norwegian hands.

 

There were two Norwegian squadron serving with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War 2. Those were Nos. 331 & 332.

• No.331 (Norwegian) Squadron: This unit was initially equipped with the Hawker Hurricane at its formation on 21st July 1941 but it did not last long until they were switched by the Spitfire Mk. II in November 1941. They were assigned to the aerial defence of Scotland until May 1942 when they were rebased to southern England. 
  On 6th May they conducted their first sweep over France and the squadron was assigned to offensive duties for the remainder of the war, working alongside with the other Norwegian squadron of the RAF, No. 332. 
  In August this unit took part in the aerial support for the raid Dieppe raid. 
  On 31st March 1944 they were assigned to 2nd Tactical Air Force, which now was operating in the fighter-bomber role and, in August 1944 they were rebased to Normandy to support the breakthrough operations towards inland France. This squadron followed the Allied advanced east and operated from several bases in Low Countries from October onwards. They provided aerial cover for the Allies as they advanced into Germany from 1945 until the end of the war in Europe. 
  In late April 1945 the squadron went back to the United Kingdom and shortly after the war, they were rebased in Norway where, in November 1945 the whole squadron was transferred to the Royal Norwegian Air Force.
• No. 332 (Norwegian) Squadron: This unit operated the Spitfire since its inception in January 1942. It was formed at RAF Catterick (northern England) and became operational in March 1942. In June they were rebased to south of England where they performed various fighter sweeps over occupied France. 
  Based at North Weald, together with No. 331 they formed a RAF Wing which provided aerial support for the Dieppe Raid in August 1942. 
  Together with No. 331 it was assigned to the 2nd Tactical Air Force (albeit it's not clear if No. 332 was assigned sooner or later than No. 331 as sources claim that No. 332 was assigned in late 1943). With the 2nd Tactical Air Force, this squadron's role was changed to the fighter-bomber one to provide aerial cover for Operation Overlord (the Normandy Landings in June 1944). In mid-August 1944, together with No. 331 they were rebased to Normandy to provide aerial support for the Allied forces in their advance into France and later in the advance of Allied forces into the Netherlands.
  In late April 1945 the squadron was moved to Scotland and after the war, in September 1945 they were sent to Norway where on 21st September, they were transferred to the Royal Norwegian Air Force.

As both RAF's Norwegian squadrons were allowed to retain their equipment, they formed the bulk of Norway's post-war fighter force, divided into two squadrons- 331 & 332 Skvadron (Norwegian for 'Squadron') and they were kept until 1951 in service with 331 Skvadron and 1952 in service with 332 Skvadron . The Mk. IX were only replaced by the jet-powered Republic F-84G Thunderjet. 
In 1949, the Royal Norwegian Air Force acquired more than 30 Spitfire Mk. IX plus three Spitfire PR. XI, which was a reconnaissance variant of the Mk. IX. The PR.XI formed a special photo-reconnaissance flight which employed the PR.XI until March 1954 when the unit was renamed to 717 Fotorekognoseringsving and were re-equipped with the Republic RF-84E (the recon variant of the F-84E).
A total of 68 Spitfires flew with the Royal Norwegian Air Force and received the registration codes A-AB to A-AZ, A-BA to AB-Z and A-CA to A-CW.

The three PR. XIs were initially designated A-ZA to A-ZZ but their designations soon changed to A-ZA, A-ZB and A-ZC.

Sources:
1st AJ Press- Monografie Lotnicze 40 - Supermarine Spitfire 3
2nd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._331_Squadron_RNoAF

3rd http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/331_wwII.html

4th https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._332_Squadron_RNoAF

5th http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/332_wwII.html

6th https://www.scramble.nl/planning/orbats/norway/norway-defence-forces-history

de Havilland Vampire. Part nine. Some European users.

 

The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter aircraft designed and developed by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF), but also by many other countries all around the globe. Among them, the following ones:

• Ireland: The Irish Air Corps (IAC) got their first jet aircraft in 1956 when they received three Vampire T.55 in May and July. They were assigned to No.1 Squadron with base at Baldonnel airfield, in Dublin. In 1960 three additional T.55s were ordered and delivered on 19th January 1961 and 16th March. They served as trainers until 1975 when they were gradually written off. One machine was sold to a private buyer in the USA, some were scrapped and some other were donated to museums.

• Italy: Italy was looking for ways to modernize the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (Italian Military Aeronautical - Italian Air Force or AMI) during the late 1940s with a strong emphasis on re-establishing their aeronautical industry. After discussion with various aircraft manufacturers, the Italian Government decided in favour of the Vampire after de Havilland sent a demonstrator aircraft for inspection and technical evaluation in 1948. An agreement was signed on 24th October 1949 for five Vampire FB.Mk.5 and 14 NF.54 made at the UK plus a license for 120 FB.52s (which was eventually increased to 150) locally built by Macchi. This deal included also the license to manufacture the Goblin and Ghost engines. The first five FB.Mk.5 were flown from Hatfield factory (Hertfordshire) to Foggia-Amendola (Apulia, South-Eastern Italy) on 11th February 1956. They were assigned to the AMI Jet Training School. In August 1951 Vampires for the first operational units of the AMI ,79 and 81 Squadriglie (Flight), 6º Gruppo (Squadron) of the 4º Stormo Caccia (4th Fighter Wing) arrived. The Italian Vampires took part in 'Cirrus 6' NATO exercise in Germany and, eventually other units of the AMI were equipped with the Vampire, like the 7º Gruppo Scuola de Caccia (7th Group Fighter School), the whole 2nd and 4th Stormos, with base at Bergamo (Lombardy) and Napoli-Capodichino (Campania), 1 3 and 4 regioni aerei (Aerial Region) and the Reparto Sperimentale Volo (Experimental Flight Detachment). Between July 1950 and December 1951 all the FB.52s were delivered plus 10 spare sets built by Fiat. Once the Italian production was set up, Macchi assembled 27 machines at Varese (North-Western Lombardy) with the first machine taking off on 18th December 1951. Fiat manufactured 93 machines at Turin (Piedmont) with their first Vampire flying shortly later, on 22nd December 1951. A second batch of 30 Vampires FB.52 was shared between Macchi and Fiat and the ordered NF.54 night fighters were completed at Hatfield during 1951, with the remaining ones being completed at Chester. They were delivered to the AMI between June 1951 and 25th March 1953. They were all assigned to 3a Scuola de Caccia (3rd Fighter School which became Scuola Caccia Ogni Tempo (All-Weather Fighter School). During the following years the Italian Vampires took part in many NATO exercises. The NF.54s were gradually withdrawn from use between May 1956 and October 1959 when they were replaced by the North American F-86K 'Sabre Dog'. The regular Vampires were gradually replaced by Republic F-84 Thunderjet and the North American F-86 Sabre and, by 1960 they had all been withdrawn from service.

• Norway: The Royal Norvegian Air Force (RNAF) sought to replace their Supermarine Spitfire and de Havilland Mosquito piston-powered fighters and so, their turned their sight to the Gloster Meteor. However, when tested, it was felt that the Vampire with its greater angle of climb, smaller turning radius and shorter take off and landing run, was more adequate for Norway's geographical characteristics. 
  A total of  58 Vampire FB.Mk.3 were ordered by the RNAF in 1948. They were completed at Preston, Lancashire and Hatfield. Once under RNAF Command they formed the 'C' Flight of No.331 Squadron, for technical evaluation. By October 1949 all the Vampires Mk.3 were delivered with the delivered of the FB.52 continuing until April 1951. 
  In early October 1951 twelve Vampire F.Mk.3 of the No.336 Squadron flew to North Weald, Essex, to take part in 'Exercise Emperor', returning to Norway on 17th October. 
  In late 1951 six Vampire T.55 were ordered with the first delivery taking part in 4th July 1952. All six were assigned to Nos. 336 and 337 Squadrons. The RNAF, however, began to take into service the Lockheed T.33 for training and the T.55s were, therefore, returned to the UK. 
  As Norway was part of NATO's Northern commitment, was pressured to have the most modern warplanes in service and so, in 1957 the last nine F.Mk.3 and 25 FB.52 were written off active service. Some were donated to museums, other served as gate guards and some few were used as ground instructional frames. In the year 1991 one ex-Swiss Vampire was operated by the Warbirds of Norway Association.

Sources:

1st Hall Park Books - Warpaint 27 - De Havilland Vampire

2nd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Vampire

3rd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_de_Havilland_Vampire_operators

Avro Anson, part Eight, Dutch, Irish and Norwegian users

The Avro Anson is a British multi-role aircraft that was designed before World War II and was massively manufactured, and sold to many countries all around the globe. Among them, the following ones:

• Netherlands: On 1st June 1940, after the fall of Holland, the No.321 (Dutch) Squadron was formed in the Royal Air Force with Dutch personnel. The squadron was formed at RAF Pembroke Dock, in Pembrokeshire, Wales, but it was shortly rebased to RAF Carew Cheriton, in Pembrokeshire too, later on 28th July where it became operational. The squadron flew coastal and anti-submarine patrols equipped with Avro Ansons Mk.I until 18th January 1941 when the squadron was disbanded due to the lack of personnel and merged with the No.320 (Netherlands) Squadron which also flew the Anson, among other aircraft in the same role from RAF Pembroke Dock, from August 1940 until July 1941 when they were re-equipped with Lockheed Hudson Mk.III.
  After the War, a total of 25 ex-RAF Anson Mk.Is were donated to the Royal Netherlands Air Force. They had previously been refurbished at RAF Pershore, in Worcestershire, and were delivered in Twente, eastern Netherlands. They were used by a number of different units like Depot Vliegtuigen at Soesterberg Air Base, in Utrecht, the Technical Training Unit at Deelen Air Base, in Gelderland, the twin-engine conversion unit at Gilze-Rijen Air Base, in Southern Netherlands, and the 334 Squadron which is a communications and transport squadron based at Valkenburg Naval Air Base, in South Holland.
  A single Anson C.19 was bought from Royal Aircraft Establishment Llanbedr, in Gwynedd, Wales. It was bought for £200, received the code 'D-26' and it was bought for being displayed at Militaire Luchtvaart Museum (Military Aviation Museum) at Soesterberg Air Base, in Utrecht province.
• Ireland: The Irish Air Corps ordered two Anson Mk.I in the mid-1930s and they were delivered to Baldonnel Air Base, in Dublin, on 20th March 1937. Two additional more were delivered on 19th January 1938 and formed the No.1 Reconnaissance and Medium Bombing Squadron. Five more were delivered on 2nd February 1939 as part of an order of 12 but the remaining seven machines were impressed by the RAF due to the beginning of the World War II before they departed Speke Airport, in Liverpool, and remained with the No.36 Maintenance Unit.
  During the War, the Ansons, together with the Irish Supermarine Walrus, operated from Rineanna aerodrome (nowadays Shannon International Airport) in County Clare. They were commited to perform coastal patrols from Wexford, in County Wexford, to Lough Swilly, in County Donegal, in the North-West coast of Ireland. The rough weather in this area caused accidents in which three Ansons were lost, though one of them was repairable. Two additional accidents happened and the Ansons were taken off from active service in late 1944 and scrapped.
  Three Anson Mk.XIX were ordered in 1946 and were delivered on 4th April that year. They equipped the General Purpose Flight, which was used for training, communications, freight and reconnaissance duties. Two were damaged in accidents and one was retained as a ground instructional machine but it was scrapped with the other remaining one in the early 1970s. One has survived and it's nowadays on display at the Irish Air Corps Museum. 
• Norway: The Royal Norwegian Air Force operated twelve Anson Mk.XII in the communications role before their country was liberated. They were rebased to Oslo-Fornebu Airport between 5th and 9th June 1945 but were disbanded when the RAF left from Norway in December 1945.
  Therefore, ten Anson Mk.Is were given to the Royal Norwegian Air Force in August 1947. Those machines weren't in very good condition, one of them being lost when delivered. The remaining ones were re-furbished in Kjeller, Oslo and used for radio and navigation training. One of them was modified for Search & Rescue role and were eventually sold for civilian use in various countries.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._321_(Dutch)_Squadron_RAF

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._320_(Netherlands)_Squadron_RAF

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avro_Anson

4. Hall Park Books - Warpaint 53 - Avro Anson