My Father

                  My Father, Harry Yates, flew with 62 Sqn during the latter part of the war in the far east. His regular pilot was Australian Charles (Charlie) Donnelly from Sydney, New South Wales, but I do not know the other crew members. I think one was called Maddison but I am not sure.

Early Days

                 On 8 August 1916 at Filton 62 Squadron RAF was formed from a nucleus provided by No 7 Training Squadron and spent almost a year on training duties before being mobilised and receiving Bristol F2Bs in May 1917. The Squadron received the Bristol fighters and went to France in January 1918. No. 62 Sqd. undertook fighter patrols on the Western front for the rest of the war and then was disbanded Spich in Germany on 31 July 1919.

WW2

 

             

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The Squadron was reformed in the day bomber role on 3 May 1937 when 'B' Flight of No 40 Squadron at Abingdon was raised to squadron status. Initially equipped with Hinds again on 3 May 1937. S/Ldr. Nuttall was appointed as Commanding Officer and it was he who led the Squadrons 18 new Hawker Hinds in the last Hendon Air Pageant. In the October, the squadron moved to Cranfield and S / L d r . J. G. Johnson took over the command. It was whilst at this station that H . R.. H . The Prince of Wales presented the squadron with its Crest. This Crest was taken overseas when the squadron was posted to the Far East and was later destroyed by enemy action at ALOR STAR in North Malaya.

 

    

 

at Cranfield, the squadron was engaged in training and practice flying with detach-ments from time to time at the practice camps of Wormell and Sutton Bridge.

          Towards the end of 1937, the squadron started to re-arm with Blenheim Mk. 1's, its first aircraft being K.7173. The flying personnel became fully conversant with their new aircraft by extensive flying training from Wormell, Sutton Bridge and also Stranrear.

          In February 1938, the squadron sustained its first fatal crash -when a pilot flying formation in a snowstorm dived straight into the ground, killing himself and his crew.

          By the middle of 1938 the squadron had its full complement of 21 Mk.l's, and when the Munich crisis arose there was a 100% service-ability. It was then that the new Blenheims, which had been delivered camouflaged, were "bombed up" and stood waiting in the hangars. If war had been declared then the target would have been the German fleet at Keil. Crews were to attack the target and then proceed to Amiens in France. The ground personnel were to be flown to Amiens in transport planes to await the arrival of the aircraft, and to establish the squadron there. However, the situation quietened down and the squadron resumed its normal training. In the Summer of 1939, a practice formation flight over France was carried out. 

 

          The Blenheims where taken to Singapore, just a few days before WW2 started. It flew coastal patrols between training missions until Japan entered the war in December 1941 when it moved to Butterworth, Malaya, after which it carried out attacks on Japanese shipping but lost most of its aircraft from attacks on their airfields. In January 1942 the squadron re-equipped with Lockheed Hudsons and moved first to Sumatra, and then Burma. After the Japanese landed on beaches near the Squadrons airfields the survivors of No. 62 were affiliated into No. 1 (RAAF) Squadron. Remnants of No. 139 Squadron returning from Burma became No. 62 Squadron and they continued attacks on Japanese shipping and airfields.

          The squadron withdrew to India in May 1943 and re-equipped as a transport unit equipped with the Douglas Dakota, and on 7 January 1944 started supply-dropping flights over the 14th Army front in Burma which carried on for the rest of the war. After the Japanese surrender the Squadron was engaged in general transport duties before being disbanded on 24 March 1946. On 1 September 1946, No. 76 Squadron was renumbered No. 62 and flew Dakotas on medium range services in India. In March 1947 the Squadron became a cadre before being brought up to strength in June and disbanding on 10 August 1947. No. 62 Squadron was reformed at Manston with Dakotas on 8 December 1947 before moving to Waterbeach to take part in the Berlin airlift before the Squadron was disbanded again on 1 June 1949. It was reformed again at Woolfox Lodge on 1 February 1960 as a ground-to-air missile unit before it was disbanded on the 30 September 1964