RAF Squadrons in May 1940

Planes and bases of the Royal Air Force on May 10, 1940. Number of squadrons, locations and aircraft types at the beginning of the Western campaign.

The Royal Air Force in the Western Campaign 1940

The Royal Air Force (RAF) played a significant role during the Western Campaign of 1940, which was part of the early stages of World War II in Western Europe.

Overview

Battle of France: The RAF deployed squadrons to France as part of the Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF) and Air Component of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). They provided air support for Allied ground forces and conducted reconnaissance missions.

Aircraft:
– The main fighter aircraft used were Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires.
– Bombers included Bristol Blenheims, Fairey Battles, and Vickers Wellingtons.

Dunkirk Evacuation (Operation Dynamo):
The RAF played a crucial role in protecting the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk between May 26 and June 4, 1940. They engaged in intense aerial combat with the Luftwaffe to maintain air superiority over the evacuation beaches and ships.

Challenges:
The RAF faced superior numbers of Luftwaffe aircraft. Many airfields in France were overrun, forcing relocations and reducing operational efficiency.

Losses:
The RAF suffered significant losses during this campaign, particularly among bomber squadrons. Many experienced pilots were lost, which would impact future operations.

Lessons Learned:
The campaign highlighted the importance of fighter aircraft for both offense and defense. It led to changes in tactics and strategy that would be applied in the subsequent Battle of Britain.

Transition to Home Defense: As the Western Campaign concluded, the RAF shifted its focus to defending Britain against the expected German air assault.

The Western Campaign of 1940 was a challenging period for the RAF, but the experience gained would prove invaluable in the coming months during the Battle of Britain.

RAF in France and the Middle East

In January 1940 it was decided to unite the Air Component and the Advanced Air Striking Force under the command of the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief British Air Forces in France, Air Marshal Barratt. As soon as possible after its arrival in France, the RAF took part in operations which brought it in contact with German aircraft. Although a number of German machines were shot down, RAF losses were heavy as many of their planes (the Fairey Battles and Blenheims for example) were found to be inadequately armed and ill-suited to combat with modern fighter planes like the Messerschmitt Bf109.

Britain was anxious not to squander its precious aircraft by using them as a sort of fire brigade at the beck and call of the Allied land forces. The RAF wanted to ensure that its bombers were only used to cause maximum destruction to the enemy, although strategic bombing of targets in Germany was only authorized on 15 May 1940. Fighters based in France and England were to be deployed against the enemy as long as it did not impair Britain’s ability to defend herself. On 10 May 1940, 416 of Britain’s total number of 1,873 first-line aircraft were stationed in France, but on 20 May it was decided to bring back to England the remaining 66 fighters so that they could continue the war from English airfields.

The first phase of the German plan for the invasion of England was to gain control of the air and so during the months of July and August 1940 the RAF prepared its forces for the inevitable battle against the Luftwaffe.

The responsibilities of the RAF in the Mediterranean theater were complex and wide-ranging, covering a vast geographical area and calling for action in a variety of different roles ranging from ground support work to strategic bombing. Until 1942 the RAF was often short of aircraft and equipment but following the Axis defeat at Alamein and the arrival of American forces in North Africa the RAF was able to build up a material superiority that was to play a decisive part in securing victory in the Mediterranean.

The peacetime responsibilities of the Air Officer Commanding, Middle East, encompassed the air forces in Egypt, Palestine, the Sudan, and Kenya, but in the event of war he was also to control the air element in Aden, Malta and Iraq. This vast Command was subsequently expanded to include Persia and the remainder of the Mediterranean theater up to 100 miles (ca. 161 km) west of Malta. The period between September 1939 and the Italian declaration of war in June 1940 was used to build up the RAF’s capabilities in the Middle East within the limitations imposed by the maintenance of the air defense of Great Britain and by operations in France. Yet when Italy declared war the RAF was still greatly outnumbered by the Regia Aeronautica, with the Middle East Air Force comprising only 29 squadrons many of which were equipped with aircraft approaching obsolescence.

The Middle East Air Force was to operate against the Italians in two main theaters, the Mediterranean, and East Africa and the Red Sea; the first attacks being launched on 11 June 1940.
By the end of the year a considerable measure of air superiority had been achieved but a further battlefront was created by the Italian invasion of Greece on 28 October, to which the RAF responded by sending nine squadrons to support the Greek Army.

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Active RAF Squadrons on 10 May 1940:

Sqn	Base	Planes	Sqn	Base	Planes
1	Berry-au-Bac (France)	Hurricane I	2	Abbeville (France)	Lysander I, II
3	Merville (France)	Hurricane I	4	Monchy-Lagache (France)	Lysander I, II
5	Fort Sanderman (India)	Wapiti IIA	6	Ramleh (Palestine)	Lysander I, II
7	Finningley	Hampden I	8	Khormaskar (Aden)	Vincent, Blenheim I
9	Honington	Wellington IC	10	Dishforth	Whitley IV, V
11	Ismalia (Egypt)	Blenheim I	12	Amifontaine (France)	Battle
13	Douai (France)	Lysander I, II	14	Amman (Palestine)	Wellesley
15	Alconbury	Blenheim IV	16	Bertangles	Lysander II
17	Hawkinge	Hurricane I	18	Meharicourt (France)	Blenheim IV
19	Horsham St Faith	Spitfire I	20	Kohat (India)	Audax
21	Watton	Bleinheim IV	22	North Coates	Beaufort I
23	Wittering	Blenheim IF	24	Hendon	various communication types
25	North Weals	Blenheim IF	26	Dieppe (France)	Lysander I, II
27	Risalpur (India)	Wapiti IIA, Hart, Tiger Moth	28	Kohat (India)	Audax
29	Debden	Blenheim IF	30	Ismalia (Egypt)	Blenheim I, IF
31	Peshawar (India)	Valentia	32	Biggin Hill	Hurricane I
33	Mersa Matruh (Egypt)	Gladiator	34	Tengah (Singapore)	Blenheim I
35	operational training unit	-	36	Seletar (Malaya)	Vildebeest III
37	Feltwell	Wellington IA	38	Marham	Wellington IA, IC
39	Heliopolis (India)	Blenheim I	40	Wyton	Blenheim IV
41	Catterick	Spitfire I	42	Thorney Island	Beaufort I
43	Wick	Hurricane I	44	Waddington	Hampden I
45	Fuka (Sudan)	Blenheim I	46	transfer on carrier Glorious to Norway	Hurricane I
47	Khartoum (Sudan)	Vincent, Wellesley	48	Thorney Island	Anson I, Beaufort I
49	Scampton	Hampden I	50	Waddington	Hampden I
51	Dishforth	Whitley IV, V	52	operational training unit	-
53	Poix (France)	Blenheim IV	54	Hornchurch	Spitfire I
55	Ismalia (Egypt)	Blenheim I	56	Garvesend	Hurricane I
57	Rosieres-en-Saneterre (France)	Blenheim IV	58	Linton-on-Ouse	Whitley V
59	Poix (France)	Blenheim IV	60	Ambala (India)	Blenheim I
61	Hemswell	Hampden I	62	Tengah (Singapore)	Blenheim I
63	operational training unit	-	64	Church Fenton	Spitfire I
65	Hornchurch	Spitfire I	66	Duxford	Spitfire I
70	Habbaniya (Egypt)	Valentia	72	Acklington	Spitfire I
73	Reims (France)	Hurricane I	74	Hornchurch	Spitfire I
75	Feltwell	Wellington I, IA, IC	77	Driffield	Whitley V
78	Linton-on-Ouse	Whitley V	79	Biggin Hill	Hurricane I
80	Amriya (Egypt)	Gladiator	81	Amiens (France)	Tiger Moth (communications)
82	Watton	Blenheim IV	83	Scampton	Hampden I
84	Shaibah (Iraq)	Blenheim I	85	Lille (France)	Hurricane I
87	Lille (France)	Hurricane I	88	Mourmelon (France)	Battle
92	Northolt	Spitfire I	94	Sheikh Othman (Aden)	Gladiator
97	Driffield (disbanded May 20)	without aircrafts	98	Chateau Bougon (France)	Battle
99	Newmarket	Wellington I, IA, IC	100	Seletar (Singapore)	Vildebeest II, III
101	West Raynham	Blenheim IV	102	Driffield	Whitley V
103	Betheniville (France)	Battle	104	operational training unit	-
105	Villeneuve-les-Vertus (France)	Battle	106	Finningley	Hampden I
107	Wattisham	Blenheim IV	108	operational training unit	-
110	Wattisham	Blenheim IV	111	Wick	Hurricane I
112	Helwan (Egypt)	Gladiator, Gauntlet II	113	Heliopolis (Egypt)	Blenheim IV
114	Conde-Vraux (France)	Blenheim IV	115	Marham	Wellington IA, IC
139	Plivot (France)	Blenheim IV	141	Grangemouth	Defiant I, Gladiator, Blenheim IF, Battle
142	Berry-au-Bac (France)	Battle	144	Hemswell	Hampden I
145	Tangmere	Hurricane I	148	Stradishall	Wellington IC
149	Mildenhall	Wellington I, IA, IC	150	Ecury-sur-Coole (France)	Battle
151	North Weald	Hurricane I	152	Acklington	Spitfire I
185	operational training unit	-	201	Invergordon	Sunderland I
202	Gibraltar	London II	203	Sheikh Othman (Aden)	Blenheim I, IV
204	Sullon Voe (Shetland Is)	Sunderland I	205	Seletar (Ceylon)	Singapore III
206	Bircham Newton	Anson, Hudson	207	operational training unit	-
208	Heliopolis (Egypt)	Lysander I, II	209	Oban	Lerwick I
210	Pembroke Dock	Sunderland I	211	El Daba (Egypt)	Blenheim I
212	Heston	Blenheim IV, Spitfire I	213	Wittering	Hurricane I
214	Stradishall	Wellington I, IA, IC	216	Heliopolis (Egypt)	Valentia, Bombay
217	St.Eval	Anson, Beaufort I	218	Mouscou Femme (France)	Battle
219	Catterick	Blenheim IF	220	Thornaby	Hudson
222	Digby	Spitfire I	223	Khartoum (Sudan)	Wellesley
224	Leuchars	Hudson	225	Odiham	Lysander
226	Reims (France)	Battle	228	Pembroke Dock	Sunderland I
229	Digby	Hurricane I	230	Alexandria (Egypt)	Sunderland I
232	not operational	-	233	Leuchars	Hudson
234	Church Fenton (from May 22)	Spitfire I	235	Bircham Newton	Blenheim IVF, IF
236	Speke	Blenheim IF	237	Nairobi (Kenya)	Audax, Hardy
240	Invergordon	London II	242	Church Fenton	Hurricane I
245	Leconfield	Hurricane I	248	Gosport	Blenheim IVF
253	Kenley	Hurricane I, Battle	254	Hatston	Blenheim IV
263	Turnhouse	Gladiator	264	Martlesham Heath	Defiant I
266	Martlesham Heath	Spitfire I	269	Wick	Anson
271	Doncaster Harrow (Transport)	Bombay, Ford 5	273	China Bay (Ceylon)	Vildebeest, Seal
500	Detling	Anson	501	Bethenville	Hurricane I
502	Aldergrove	Anson	504	Debden	Hurricane I
600	Manston	Blenheim IF	601	Tangmere	Hurricane I
602	Dyce	Spitfire I	603	Turnhouse	Spitfire I
604	Northolt	Blenheim IF	605	Wick	Hurricane I
607	Vintry-en-Artois (France)	Hurricane I, Gladiator	608	Thornaby	Anson
609	Drem	Spitfire I	610	Biggin Hill	Spitfire I
611	Digby	Spitfire I	612	Dyce	Anson
613	Odiham	Lysander, Hector	614	Odiham	Lysander
615	Abbeville (France)	Hurricane I, Gladiator	616	Leconfield	Spitfire I

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.

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Overview of Royal Air Force squadrons equipment and location:

Aircraft	England	France, Norway	Mediterranean,Middle East, Africa	India, Malaya	Total
Hurricane	16	9	-	-	25
Spitfire	19	-	-	-	19
Gladiator	1	-	4	-	5
Blenheim IF, IVF	9	-	-	-	9
Defiant	2	-	-	-	2
Vildebeest	-	-	-	3	3
Wellesley	1	-	2	1	4
Blenheim	9	6	9	4	28
Battle	-	8	-	-	8
Wapiti	-	-	-	1	1
Beaufort	4	-	-	-	4
Whitley	6	-	-	-	6
Hampden	8	-	-	-	8
Wellington	8	-	-	-	8
Hudson	4	-	-	-	4
Anson	5	-	-	-	5
Lysander	4	4	2	-	10
Audax	-	-	-	2	2
Valentina	-	-	2	1	3
Tiger Mouth	-	1	-	1	2
London	1	-	1	-	2
Singapore	-	-	-	1	1
Lerwick	1	-	-	-	1
Sunderland	4	-	1	-	5
Total	102	28	21	14	165

The RAF squadron strength was between 6 and 18 aircraft.

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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)

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