56. peruť RAF

No. 56 Squadron RAF - přehledové téma
No. 56 Squadron RAF
56. squadron RAF

the period of existence
56. squadron RFC [1916-1918]
56. squadron RAF [1918-1920]
56. squadron RAF [1920-1922]
56. squadron RAF [1922-1946]
56. squadron RAF [1946-1992]
56. squadron RAF [1992-2008]
56. squadron RAF [2008- ]

motto
Quid si coelum ruat (What if the sky collapses?/(What if heaven falls?)

historie
08.06.1916 - arises at the base of the Gosport
07.04.1917 - as a fighter is moving to France, where he works until the end of the 1. world war
15.02.1919 - return to the Great Britain
22.01.1920 - dissolved
01.02.1920 - restored at the base of Aboukir in Egypt as a fighter přečíslováním 80. squadron
23.09.1922 - disbanded, but a squadron consisting of the former personnel of the squadron that uses the sign until April 1923
01.11.1922 - restored as a fighter at the base of Hawkinge
1939-1945 - the fray 2. world war plugs from bases in the Uk, after the landings in Normandy as part of the 2. TAF shifting to France and the end of the war it finds in Germany
31.03.1946 - expires přečíslováním on the 16. stomach
01.04.1946 - restored again as a fighter přečíslováním 124. squadron
01.07.1992 - dissolved, but at the same time revived as a backup squadron for the training of crews of aircraft Tornado
22.04.2008 - dissolved, in the same day restored again as a backup and training unit for the crew of the aircraft Sentry, Sentinel and Nimrod

martial awards / Battle Honours
Western Front, 1917-1918
Arras
Ypres, 1917
Cambrai, 1917
Somme, 1918
Amiens
The Hindenburg Line
France & Low Countries, 1940
Dunkirk
Battle of Britain, 1940
Fortress Europe, 1942-1944
Dieppe
France & Germany, 1944-1945
Normandy, 1944
Home Defence, 1942-1945
Arnhem

sources:
Halley, James J. : The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918-1988, Air Britain Ltd., 1988, ISBN 0 85130 164 9
http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn056-60.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._56_Squadron_RAF
http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/56squadron.cfm
www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/56_wwII.html
www.f4phantoms.co.uk
.
URL : https://www.valka.cz/56-perut-RAF-t20235#76134 Version : 0
One of the most famous squadrons of the Royal Air Force. It became the most successful RFC/RAF unit during the First World War.


History - I. vol. war:


The unit was officially created on June 8, 1916 in Fort Rowner in Gosport u. However, on July 14, it was transferred to the airport Colney near London and where it remained for another 8 months. In September, it received armament, two-seater observation BE-2c and fast reconnaissance single-seater Bristol Scout. Later, however, a decision was made to transform it into a fighter unit.


At the same time, it was decided to do an experiment that had no parallel in the RFC. In her case, the British Air Force Command overcame its reluctance to concentrate experienced pilots in one squadron, because they feared that the pilots of average squadrons would be severely demoralized after the departure of their more capable comrades, and the units were disproportionately weakened.


The uniqueness of the new squadron was therefore underlined by the fact that the unit included a number of already very experienced pilots, such as A. Ball (at that time 31 kills) J. McCudden, VC (at that time 5 kills), H. Meintjes (then 4 kills), G. Bowman (then 2 p.). or Cecil Lewis, who at that time had flown for more than half a year on observation aircraft and was one of the excellent pilots.


Another peculiarity was the regulation, according to which highly intelligent young men, the flowering of the best English families and graduates of the best schools were to be selected for the unit's status. This group was then represented by Ball, A. Rhys-Davids, C. Lewis, R. Hoidge, R. Maybery apod.


Maj was commissioned to assemble the squadron according to the required model. Richard Graham Blomfield, who took command of the unit in early February 1917. He was chosen mainly because he had an understanding for cheeky and confident young pilots and knew how to handle them. In the last week of February, he began to fulfill the ideas of his superiors.


One of the main criteria for selecting a pilot for the squadron was extraordinary aggression and fighting spirit. However, the pilot art and experience were not forgotten either. The result was the first squadron, whose pilots, compared to other RFC units, actually formed above average.


In March 1917, the armament of the 56th Squadron included brand new aircraft SE 5 and a squadron thus became the first British unit armed with these excellent machines. For a whole month, at home in England, far from the turmoil of the war, the pilots of the 56th Squadron were working hard on new aircraft. Their ability to control the new machine soon reached such a level that their favorite piece in the landing maneuver was to "slide" the wheels of the landing gear along the sloping rounded roof of the hangar.


On the other hand, the pilots were very critical of the new aircraft, most alone Ball. O SE-5 claimed that it was "zero" and with the help of mechanics on his machines made a number of modifications, which were later transferred to other squadron machines and were eventually reflected in an improved version SE-5a, which, however, himself Ball no longer survived.


It was true that the new aircraft suffered from a number of "childhood diseases", but the main reason was the unusual design. Until now, small, light and agile aircraft such as Nieuporty XVII or Sopwithy Pup. SE-5 was a machine of a completely different concept - it was a powerful machine with an in-line engine , heavy and fast, heavily armed, simply an ideal assault fighter. However, it was not possible to fight with him in the corners, as British pilots were used to until now. Dexterity SE-5 was not so high, but it was easy to handle and was very good at vertical maneuvers. The pilots therefore had to get used to the new way of fighting. Their training was comprehensive in all respects - they practiced acrobatics, shooting and flying in formations. But time was short.


At the beginning of April 1917, the British army planned a major offensive at Arrass. On 4 April, the RFC launched a general air offensive, which was joined five days later by ground offensive operations. It was decided to throw the 56th Squadron into this event.


Great hopes were placed in this squadron, as evidenced by an excerpt from the report of General Sir David Henderson (former RFC commander, now on the General Staff) written in early April for the General Staff: "This week the squadron of single-seat SE-5 fighters should leave England and we believe that no German machine can match them."


The 56th Squadron was expected to turn the situation decisively in favor of the RFC. It was perceived as an elite unit in every way, formed specifically to fight for air supremacy over Arras. However, this meant that sooner or later the unit would have to face Richthofen Jastou 11, which operated in the area. The "56th" was often referred to as the Antirichthofen Squadron. Although it was not officially created to fight with Richthofen and his squadron, its mission is to re-establish air superiority in Arra section of the front, predestined her to do so. It is not without interest that the 56th Squadron later followed Jastu 11 and subsequently also JG 1 during all its movements along the front for the duration of the war.


The squadron arrived in France on April 7, where its home was the Vert Galand airport. A few more days were devoted to training and especially getting acquainted with the surrounding landscape to make it easier to navigate in future combat flights. On April 22, 1917, the squadron flew its first combat patrol over the front. The next day at 6.45 he opened the score of the unit A. Ball when he shot down a German two-seater. He added another victory in the morning and at the end of the first day the squadron already had four confirmed successes.


The following days brought a number of other successes, and it quickly became clear that the hopes placed in the new squadron were not odd. It turned out that the pilots of the 56th Squadron have a very high morale. Their self-confidence was enhanced by both excellent armament and sufficiently long and high-quality training. The squadron threw itself into all the fighting with great determination and extraordinary aggression.


The unit has also competed several times in short skirmishes with red Albatross Jasty 11 and the self-confidence of English pilots thus increased again. But then came the 7th.May and with it one of the worst defeats in the history of the unit.


The squadron started at half past five in the evening for its last event of the day. The task of the squadron was to provide support to light bombers 70. squadrons. The weather was bad and the formation soon disintegrated. When the squadron finally formed again, it flew directly between Albatross Jasty 11. The English attacked German planes without embarrassment and a fierce match ensued, which began about 6,000 m high and ended almost at the ground. In a hard fight, the pilots of the "fifty-six" reported the shooting down of four Albatross (However, the Germans admitted only the injury of one pilot), but they themselves suffered heavy losses.


British pilots later claimed that about 1.5 km from the site of the collision moved at least one formation Albatross , and that they were lured into a trap. Probably still operated in the area Jasta 3 and just a few other British units - [ url=/topic/view/20565/19-perut-RAF] 19. squadron[/url] with fighters Spad VII and 8th squadron RNAS with aircraft Sopwith Triplane.


When the battle broke out, the formation of the 56th Squadron completely tore again and its pilots, instead of fighting as a whole, had to undergo a series of individual battles against a variable number of German Albatross. All this with ever-worsening visibility due to considerable clouds and thickening evening gloom. Lieutenant Rhys-Davids had just experienced his first duel. He first saw his colleague Lt. Musters suddenly plunged headlong, apparently in search of a Hun. No one saw him again.


Rhys-Davids then wanted to throw in another Albatros, ale byl zaskočen Lt . Kurt Wolff (33 s., [Url = https: //forum.valka.cz/topic/view/20580/Pour-le-Merite] PlM[/url]) and a malfunctioning engine, jammed by both machine guns and with a heavily lined machine, he finally managed to land behind the English lines. A similar fate befell Capt. Crowea, commander of Squadron "B" (Flight B), which also belonged to Rhys-Davids.


Crowe saw Capt. Balla as he fired two flares (apparently as a sign of two victories) and then threw himself into the clouds in a sling behind one Albatross. That was the last time anyone saw him.


So far, around 6.30 pm, Lt. Hoidge, who shot down one opponent. Immediately, along with Lt. Meintjesem, Lt. Lewis and 2/Lt. Melville participated in the chase for another Albatrosem, which was eventually knocked into the clouds in an uncontrolled fall. Lt. Meintjes then shot down another German fighter around 18.45, but in the end he himself was hit in a fierce battle and had to make an emergency landing behind British lines with his wrist covered.


In the evening, only five English fighters returned to Vert Galand Airport. Ball and Musters remained missing, four other pilots made an emergency landing on the British side of the front. Crowe and Rhys-Davids remained uninjured as Meintjes traveled to the hospital with an injured hand and Lt. Leach lay in the infirmary in critical condition.


The British reported the destruction of two Albatross and one victory in an uncontrolled fall, but the Germans admitted only injuring one pilot.


This air battle has become very much discussed. It was investigated what was the main cause of the cruel beating. There was speculation about German numerical superiority, bad weather conditions, German traps, etc. However, it was probably a combination of all these factors. The main culprit, however, was probably the typical exaggerated aggression and confidence of the pilots of the 56th Squadron. Their scattered individual attacks did not have a great chance against the very well tactically cooperating pilots of Jasta 11.


However, as was the tradition in the RFC, the unit quickly recovered from the defeat. According to the principle "that there should be no empty chairs at dinner", the replacement pilots arrived immediately. The squadron "shuddered" and continued to perform its duties.


But the situation has changed so far. From the end of May, the German Air Force began daily raids of heavy bombers Gotha on English cities. Their efforts culminated on June 13, when a formation of German heavy bombers bombed London itself. The raid resulted in 162 dead and 432 wounded. The British population was almost panicked and the government had to deal with the situation immediately. On June 20, 66 was withdrawn from the front to Calais to defend the island. squadron armed with fighters Sopwith Pup and from France moved to England elite 56th squadron with machines SE 5, both because of its abilities and also because its reputation calms the hysterical public .


On this date, the aces of the 56th Squadron became exactly ten pilots (including Ball, who fell after 13 victories and Meintjese, who added another 4 to 4 victories at 60th Squadron, after which the injury excluded him from other fighting), which was a huge success in just two months of frontline deployment.


The memory of Lieutenant T. Hughes from 53 is the best account of the value of the 56th Squadron at that time. squadrons RFC: "Apparently there is a terrible panic over the big daily raids, and so the 56th Squadron, the only one in France armed with SE-5 aircraft, was deployed to defend London. Probably no one cares that those poor pilots and observers, who have to do all the work over German lines in impossible planes, will only be left without proper protection if London feels it has the best of everything. ”[/I ]


Both squadrons began patrolling the canal along both its banks in an effort to prevent German air raids. Unfortunately, their absence at the front was strongly felt by the crews of reconnaissance aircraft, which now had to perform their duties over the front with significantly less protection than before. On July 6, therefore, both squadrons were again sent back to the front and their places were taken by other experienced units, now permanently transferred to defend the English islands.


Ironically, the Germans did not make any raids during the entire deployment of the 56th Squadron. On the contrary, it happened the day after the unit returned to the front. The squadron now joined the air offensive, launched on July 8, 1917, which was in preparation for a major offensive operation at Ypres, which began on the last day of July.


The 56th Squadron never left the Western Front, on the contrary, it participated in all major operations until the end of the war and was always deployed on key sections of the battlefield. Although its main mission has always been to gain air superiority, the squadron was never exempt from other duties, especially from deep attacks on ground targets, in which it participated to a large extent both in 1917 at Ypres or in the spring of 1918 in the German "Spring Offensive".


During the fighting on the Western Front, he gained 56.Squadron 427 confirmed victories (according to other data 402), which was the largest number of all squadrons of single-seat fighters in the entire war. At the same time, the squadron was in combat for only 18 months. A total of 26 pilots became aces in the 56th Squadron, only two RFC squadrons had more aces ( 1st Squadron 31 es, 24th Squadron 33 es) both served much longer (1st Squadron from beginning of the war, 24th Squadron from February 1916). For these undeniable successes, the unit paid with heavy losses - 40 men were killed, 20 were injured and 31 ended up in captivity. Members of the squadron were awarded the following during the war - 2 x VC, 5 x DSO, 14 MC a 12 DFC.


Pilots who gained ace status during service with the 56th Squadron (the first number indicates the number of victories gained at the 56th sqn., The second the total):


James McCudden - 51 (57)
Reginald Hoidge - 27 (28)
Gerald Maxwell - 26
Arthur Rhys-Davids - 25
Geoffrey Bowman - 22 (32)
Richard Maybery - 21
Leonard Barlow - 20
Henry Burden - 16
Cyril Crowe - 14 (15)
Maurice Mealing 14
Albert Ball 13 (44)
William Irwin 11
Trevor Durrant 10 (11)
Robert Sloley 8
Edric Broadberry - 8
Kenneth Junor - 8
Cecil Lewis - 8
Keith Muspratt - 8
Louis Jarvis - 7
Harold Walkerdine - 7
William Fielding-Johnson - 6
Phillip Prothero - 6 (8)
William Boger - 5
Duncan Grinnell-Milne - 5 (6)
Charles Jeffs - 5
Harold Molyneaux - 5
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Historie - mezi válkami


Meziválečná historie perutě byla poznamenána řadou zmatků. Když skončila I. sv. válka, 56. peruť byla dislokována v Bathencourtu ve Francii. Zde zůstala až do března 1919. Pak se peruť vrátila do Anglie na letiště Narborough. Při drastických poválečných snižováních počtů byla v lednu 1920 56. peruť rozpuštěna. Téměř ihned 1. 2. 1920 byla peruť reformována nahrazením a přetransformováním 80. perutě v Egyptě, s výzbrojí Sopwith Snipe . Peruť byla znovu rozpuštěna v září 1920 a zase sestavena v Hawkinge v Kentu v listopadu 1922, kdy disponovala několika typy letadel. V roce 1924 peruť převzala novou výzbroj v podobě letounů Gloster Grebe II .


Tehdy také vznikl znak jednotky - fénix, symbolizující "vstání z popela" v souvislosti se stálým rušením a opětovným sestavováním perutě.


Peruť byla jednou z jednotek RAF, které byly poměrně dlouho vyzbrojeny dvouplošníky. V květnu 1932 byla peruť opět přezbrojena na Bristol Bulldogy . Až roku 1938 byla peruť přezbrojena na letouny Hawker Hurricane Mk. I, jako třetí jednotka RAF.


Historie - 2. sv. válka:


V okamžiku vypuknutí války byla 56 dislokována v North Weald, Kent. Během 24 hodin se přesunula do Martlesham, Suffolk. V roce 1940 se zúčastnila dunkirkské operace, kde se podílela na krytí evakuačních sil. Později doprovázela Blenheimy při útočných výpadech nad Francii a zúčastnila se bitvy o Británii.


V září 1941 peruť vyměnila Hurricany Mk.IIb, jimiž tehdy disponovala, za letouny Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib a s nimi se účastnila se řady výpadů nad okupovanou Evropu, kde její letouny napadaly lokomotivy, nádraží, kasárna, lodě u pobřeží, letiště apod.


V květnu 1944 peruť přešla na stroje Hawker Tempest Mk. V a byla převelena k obraně Anglie před útoky V-1. Když jejich nebezpečí pominulo, přesunula se peruť do Holandska a dále postupovala spolu se spojeneckými vojsky. Konec války ji zastihl v Německu ve Fassbergu.


Na konci války bylo na kontě perutě 130 sestřelených nepřátelských letadel, 61 sestřelených raket V-1 a velké množství zničených pozemních cílů.


Historie - po válce:


Peruť byla po válce rozpuštěna přímo v německém Fassbergu 1. 4. 1946, ihned však byla znovu reformována v Bentwaters, Suffolk, kde od 124. sqn. převzala její výzbroj Gloster Meteor Mk. III .


Tímto okamžikem začala proudová éra perutě. V roce 1955 byla peruť přezbrojena na letouny Hawker Hunter s nimiž sloužila na základně Wattisham, Suffolk až do roku 1961. Huntery byly později nahrazeny letouny Electric Lighntning. Roku 1963 dokonce vznikl displej tým "Firebirds" létající na těchto strojích.


V roce 1974 se peruť přesunula na Kypr, aby ochránila britské základny v oblasti během tzv. Kyperské krize. Zůstala zde po následující čtyři roky.
Roku 1976 přešla peruť na Phantomy FGR.2. Phantomy pak byly z výzbroje vyřazeny roku 1992 a peruť přešla na Tornado F.3.


Na konci března 2003 se 56. peruť přesunula na základnu RAF Leuchars.


22. dubna 2008 byla jednotka rozpuštěna, ale ve stejný den obnovena na základně Waddington. Je odpovědná za provozní testování a vyhodnocování letounů Sentry, Sentinel a Nimrod.



zdroje:
E. a J. Lawsonovi: První letecká válka, nakl. Jota, Brno 1997, ISBN - 80-7217-035-X
N. Steel a P. Hart: Rachot v oblacích, nakl. Pavel Dobrovský - BETA a Jiří Ševčík, Plzeň 2003, ISBN - 80-7306-074-4
R. T. Bickers: Von Richthofen, nakl. Jota, Brno 1997, ISBN 80-7217-014-7
www.theaerodrome.com
http://www.f4phantoms.co.uk/56.html
http://www.raf.mod.uk/structure/56squadron.cfm
http://www.rafweb.org/Squadrons/Sqn056-60.htm
URL : https://www.valka.cz/56-perut-RAF-t20235#224382 Version : 0
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