RAF Squadrons 1942

Aircraft and bases of the Royal Air Force in June 1942. Number of squadrons, locations and aircraft equipment in Britain, Africa, Middle and Far East.

By July 1941 the strength of Bomber Command stood at 45 RAF squadrons with a theoretical deployment of 1,000 aircraft. In practice, only 37 squadrons could be considered for active operations and not all of these were fully-trained. As a result the tally of sorties over Germany in the last five months of 1941 seldom averaged more than 60 per night. 38 squadrons were operationally effective by the spring of 1942, but of these only 14 were equipped with the new heavy bombers (Stirling, Halifax and Manchester). The dispatch of reinforcements to the Far East and the demands of Coastal Command further delayed the growth of Bomber Command, and by March 1943 only 50 squadrons with some 800 first-line aircraft were in commission instead of the planned total of 4,000 operational aircraft.

The balance of the air war against Germany in 1942: approximately 100 night attacks of RAF Bomber Command, 17 of them with more than 500 tons of bombs dropped. The losses of the RAF Bomber Command was 5.6 percent of the aircrafts. For every 40 tons of bombs one bomber was lost. In relation to costs, the number of ‘kills’ remained minimal: one German life ‘costs’ 3 tons of bombs and for this was the use of a four-engined bomber with a crew of 6 to 8 required. 100 heavy bombers were killing 100 civilians, an average of 6 bombers with a crew of 40 to 50 men were lost for it. Of the civilians, 65 percent were women, children and old people. The effect of this ‘strategic’ attacks was therefore correspondingly low.

Meanwhile, Fighter Command had begun the counter-offensive. While their poorly-equipped night fighters were making halting progress towards stemming the German bombers by night, many Rhubarb intruder sorties were being flown by day over occupied Europe. By 13 June 1941, 104 such missions had been flown, together with 11 circuses involving larger numbers of fighters. The RAF intruder force came under the jurisdiction of No. Eleven Group until August 1942, when it passed to Fighter Command HQ. The Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942, however, was a disaster both on the ground and in the air; the Allies lost about 4,000 of the 7,500 troops engaged, while the loss of over 100 aircraft compared unfavourably with the Luftwaffe‘s 50.

By November 1941 the squadron strength of the Western Desert Air Force was just in excess of 27, made up as follows:
14 squadrons of short-range fighters (Hurricanes, Tomahawks, Kittyhawks);
2 squadrons of long-range fighters (Beaufighters)
8 squadrons of medium bombers;
3 squadrons of tactical reconnaissance aircraft;
1 flight of survey reconnaissance aircraft;
1 flight of strategical reconnaissance aircraft.
Of these squadrons, six were South African, two were Australian, and one Free French. During Operation Crusader in December 1941 the Middle East Air Force fought for and gained air superiority, disrupted the Axis supply network, and assisted in the land battle.

Between February and May 1942 the Axis Air Forces made a determined effort to render Malta useless as an air and sea base. Although a squadron of Spitfires flew in from carriers as reinforcements, the number of serviceable Hurricanes had been reduced to 30 by mid-March, and the majority of the Wellington force was withdrawn from the island. On 20 April 47 Spitfires flew in from the USS Wasp but by the evening of the following day only 17 remained in action. A further reinforcement of 62 Spitfires, flown off the Wasp and HMS Eagle on 9 May, together with the dispersal of German bomber strength to Cyrenaica, Russia, and France, finally marked a turning point in the battle of Malta and the RAF was able to resume offensive operations against Rommel’s supply lines.

On 26 May 1942 the operation ‘Theseus’ was beginning in North Africa, the offensive of the German-Italian Panzer Army on the Gazala front towards Tobruk. The German Luftflotte (Air Fleet) 2 has 542 aircraft available, the British Desert Air Force counts 604 planes.

The RAF was heavily committed during the Battle of Gazala in May and June 1942, and by the middle of July eleven fighter squadrons were at half strength, seven squadrons were still equipped with obsolescent aircraft, and nine squadrons were without any operational aircraft at all.

When the Battle of Alam El Halfa began at the end of August the RAF had 565 aircraft in the Western Desert plus 165 heavy and medium bombers of No.205 Group in support. For the loss of 68 aircraft this force harried and bombed the Africa Corps at every opportunity during the week’s fighting and their effort contributed significantly to the failure of the German offensive.
The deployment of the US Army Middle East Air Force in October 1942 led to some reorganization within the Desert Air Force; the 25 British and American fighter squadrons, for example, being divided between two fighter groups, Nos. 211 and 212. The most modern fighters were allocated to No.211 Group which was known as Force ‘A’. Operational control of the American medium day-bombers was also placed in the hands of the Western Desert Air Force. Altogether 96 squadrons totalling 1,500 front-line aircraft were assembled in support of the 8th Army for the Battle of El Alamein.

Active RAF Squadrons in June 1942:

Note: Squadron Nos. 400 to 499 were squadrons of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force. Not all numbers were used and unfortunately there are no detailed information available.

Overview of RAF squadrons aircraft equipment and location:

The RAF squadron strength was between 6 and 18 aircraft (Average 18 planes for fighters and bombers, Coastal Command 8 planes).

References and literature

The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force (James J. Halley)
Luftkrieg (Piekalkiewicz)
The Armed Forces of World War II (Andrew Mollo)
Das große Buch der Luftkämpfe (Ian Parsons)