F
ighter Command rapidly expanded
after World War Two broke out and
quickly assembled squadrons with
any available equipment. The re-
formation of 253 Sqn was a perfect example.
It re-formed at Manston, Kent, as part of 11
Group on October 30, 1939, intended for the
long-range ghter role. Commanded by Sqn
Ldr E D Elliott, most of the squadron were
from an entire course of ab initio pilots at 2
Flying Training School (FTS).
With a national shortage of ghters, 253’s
initial equipment was the Miles Magister
trainer which, with its open-cockpit and low
top speed, was hardly suitable to train men
who would soon be trying to halt the battle-
hardened Luftwaffe.
From December, marginally more
appropriate Battle light bombers arrived
to give pilots single-engined, retractable
undercarriage monoplane experience. The
OC and his ight commanders, Flt Lts Guy
Harris and Harry Anderson, instructed their
inexperienced pilots, although the process
was not without incident. Battle N2258 was
forced down in a snowstorm near Manston
on January 16, 1940 and late the following
month another was written-off in a crash-
landing near Carlisle.Well-worn Hurricane Mk Is, tted with
two-bladed airscrews and fabric wings, began
arriving from late January to meet 253’s
new designation as a single-seater ghter
squadron. In mid-February the squadron
moved to Northolt, Middlesex, becoming
operational on April 23 before relocating to
Kenley, Surrey, on May 8.
Two days later the German Blitzkrieg
struck the Low Countries and France.EXPLOITS IN FRANCE
The RAF’s Advanced Air Striking Force
(AASF) and the Air Component of the British
Expeditionary Force (BEF) were soon under
intense pressure, forcing Fighter Command
to send assistance. On May 14, 253 Sqn
despatched Plt Offs Bisgood, Hobbs and
Jeffries to join 3 Sqn at Merville, northern
France, as the enemy advance continued.
It was part of British policy to rush ights
across the Channel from selected squadrons
rather than sending full units.
At the time, some of 253’s Hurricanes still
lacked armour-plating and had fabric wings
and wooden, two-bladed airscrews. On the
evening of May 16, the squadron’s B
Flight, under Flt Lt Harry Anderson,arrived at Vitry-en-Artois, near Douai,
alongside ights from 56 and 229 Sqns, to
form part of the Air Component’s 60 Wing.
Anderson’s pilots formed a composite unit
with A Flight of 111 Sqn, and early on the
18th moved to Lille/Marcq. At the same time,
A Flight, under Flt Lt Harris, moved to Vitry
to replace them and, along with elements
of 111, formed part of 61 Wing. They were
immediately in action. After refuelling,
they were ordered to patrol Cambrai to Le
Cateau, when Flt Lt Harris in N2545 shot
down a Henschel Hs 126 of 3(H)/41 –
opening 253’s ‘score’.
Then spotting a formation of Fieseler Fi
156s, Plt Offs Freddie Ratford and David Bell-
Salter destroyed one own by Uffz Holzapfel.
Shortly afterwards, A Flight engaged Heinkel
He 111s of II/KG 1, escorted by Messerschmitt
Bf 110s of II/ZG26. Plt Offs Ratford and
Ford each claimed a bomber, while the
ight commander claimed a probable. The
escorting Bf 110s then attacked, and FordHURRICANE SQUADRON
IN THE EYE OF BATTLE
PAR T 1
http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 79For more than three years the pilots of RAF’s 253 Squadron fl ew Hurricanes in
combat from locations as varied as northern Scotland to the deserts of North
Africa. In the fi rst of two parts Tom Spencer recounts the unit’s history.
In this evocative view a 253 Sqn Hurricane
Mk I taxies past a camou aged hangar
at Northolt on April 19, 1940.
J P B Greenwood