its own a week later when it attacked a flotilla
of minesweepers, damaging four and leaving
one sinking. Just before Christmas, Sqn Ldr
Humphrey Gilbert arrived as OC shortly before
the squadron moved to Debden, Essex.CHANNEL DASH
During early February 1942, poor weather
prevented any flying and the operations
began only on the 11th. The following
day, however a German Naval squadron
comprising the battle cruisers of Scharnhorst
and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz
Eugen steamed through the Channel under
massive Luftwaffe escort.
They made a successful escape from
Brest, France, to the safety of German waters
under the noses of British forces.
RAF and Royal Navy strike units attacked
the warships and in the ensuing dogfights
about 15 miles off Dunkirk, 65 Sqn claimed
a Bf 109F destroyed and another two as
probables.
Life became somewhat rather quieter until
a move to nearby Great Sampford, Essex,
in mid-April. A full programme of fighter
sweeps and ‘Circus’ operations began with
the Debden Wing. Twenty-one operations
were flown in April and two Bf 109s destroyed.
However, during an escort of Bostons on the
27th, 65 lost three aircraft, two falling to the
famous Luftwaffe ace Josef ‘Pips’ Priller.
At the beginning of May, Sqn Ldr Tony
Bartley was promoted to OC and he led the
squadron on its routine of sweeps, bomber
escorts and ‘Rhubarbs’ throughout the
summer. Occasional losses continued to be
suffered, including four Spitfires in combat
with Fw 190s on June 1.
On July 21, the squadron took part in a
spectacular mass ‘Rhubarb’ during which gun
positions, trains and barges were attacked,
though two more aircraft were lost off
Zeebrugge, Belgium.DIEPPE
Operation Jubilee, a large raid on Dieppe,
was launched on August 19 by which time
Sqn Ldr Desmond McMullen was at the helm.No.65 flew four patrols during the day and,
as the fighting became more ferocious, it
claimed two Do 217s destroyed for no loss or
damage.
The OC damaged another for the last of
his many successes in combat. This took his
tally to 17 aircraft destroyed and five shared
destroyed, 4½ probables and 12 damaged.
Shortly after the Dieppe fiasco, 65 Sqn moved
to Gravesend, Kent, where on September 1,
Cdt René Mouchotte, a Free French officer,
assumed command. After a brief period
at Lympne, south of Dover, the squadron
moved north to Drem, Scotland, in October
from where it began a course of dummy deck
landings followed by practice landings on the
carrier HMS Argus in January 1943.
To the great relief of the pilots, a change
of plan saw 65 continue coastal patrol flights
from Drem and remain UK based.TACTICAL AIR FORCE
In late March 1943, 65 Sqn went to
Perranporth, Cornwall, as part of 10 Group
and flew its first operation from there on April- Fighter sweeps became the norm, but little
was seen of the Luftwaffe.
In mid-May the squadron moved to Fairlop,
Essex, as a mobile unit of 83 Group, which
would eventually form part of the 2nd Tactical
Air Force. It trained hard for the rest of the
year, often living under canvas, in preparation
for the coming invasion of France.
Sweeps and ‘Rhubarbs’ remained the
main tasks, but by now the Spitfire Vb was
increasingly outclassed and it was with some
relief that in August the squadron was re-
equipped with Spitfire IXs.
With its potent new mounts, the
squadron’s ‘score’ soon began to rise once
more and it was with the Spitfire IXs that 65
became a founder unit of the 2nd TAF when it
formed on November 1.
By this time it was at Gravesend and
formed 122 Airfield (later Wing) with 19
and 122 Sqns. The main task now was
escorting 2 Gp and US 9th Air Force medium
bombers in raids over France, Belgium and
the Netherlands, though there was little
interference from the Luftwaffe.
The Wing was scheduled to receive the
Mustang III and 65’s first one arrived on
December 22 and by the end of January
1944 the squadron was operational with
them.
It had flown the Spitfire with considerable
success for almost five years and the bulk
of its claims by the end of the war for 119½
enemy aircraft destroyed had been made
while flying them.
The cost had been high, but it was a
record of which the squadron was justifiably
very proud, fully living up to its motto ‘By force
of arms’.
Soon after the war, 65 re-equipped with
Spitfire LF XVIs. It led a somewhat nomadic
existence for the next few months, but
eventually settled at Horsham St Faith, near
Norwich, in March 1946.
In early August, it moved again to
Linton-on-Ouse, North Yorkshire, where it
re-equipped with the superb twin-engined
de Havilland Hornet and 65 Sqn’s long
association with the Spitfire was ended...
almost.
Many years later, when 65 was flying the
supersonic swing-winged Tornado F3 at RAF
Coningsby, Lincolnshire, one of the Spitfires
of the co-located Battle of Britain Memorial
Flight was displayed for some time in the
squadron’s wartime markings.
No.65 Sqn had come full circle.http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 33‘In addition to
bomber escorts, 65
also began sending
pairs of aircraft out
over France to attack
targets of opportunity
in what were called
Rhubarbs’
Flying Spitfire Vb BM365/YT-N over Dieppe on
August 19, 1942, Sqn Ldr McMullen damaged
a Dornier 217 bomber. via M W Payne30-33_raf_spitfireDCDC.mfDC.mf.indd 33 30/11/2017 18:21