FP_2015_05_

36 FLYPAST May 2015

194019401940

BIPLANES

OVER CALAIS

OPERATION DYNAMO

A

fter the so-called ‘Phoney

War’, the ferocity of the

German Blitzkrieg against

France and the Low Countries on

May 10, 1940 came as a severe

shock.

Within a week the British

Expeditionary Force had begun to

retreat from behind the line of the

River Dyle in Belgium, and less

than a fortnight after the start of the

offensive, British forces had been

pushed back onto the Channel ports.

So desperate had the situation

become that the RAF’s few

remaining obsolescent Hawker

Hector army co-operation biplanes

were called into action. They were

little changed from their World War

One predecessors.

On the declaration of war in

September 1939, in accordance with

pre-arranged Anglo-French plans,

the British Expeditionary Force

(BEF) moved into northern France.

A number of squadrons from 22

(Army Co-operation) Group, mainly

flying Westland Lysanders, were to

provide support.

LYSANDER EXCHANGE

To replace the Lysanders sent to the

continent, 613 (City of Manchester)

and 614 (County of Glamorgan)

Squadrons of the Auxiliary Air Force

moved to Odiham, Hampshire,

in October, where the two units

completed training in the army

co-operation role.

No.614 flew the Lysander’s lineal

predecessor, the Napier Dagger-

powered Hawker Hector. Named

after the Trojan hero and the last in a

long line of Hart variants, the Hector

had first flown on February 14, 1936

and entered service a year later. The

squadron was one of the first units to

be allocated the type and flew them

for two years before re-equipping

with Lysanders in November 1939.

The other Auxiliary unit, 613, was

flying the Hart-derived Hind light

bomber, but on October 3, 1939

it began replacing the obsolescent

biplanes with Hectors. By the end

of November it had 11 on strength

and continued its training by

working with Territorial Army units

of Southern Command along with

anti-aircraft guns and searchlight

batteries. The last Hinds left the unit

in December.

AWAITING THE CALL

In January, Sqn Ldr Alan F

Anderson arrived and took

command of 613 Squadron. He

was an officer of the Warwickshire

Regiment – between the wars a

number of army personnel were

trained as pilots and served in the

army co-operation units. Among his

flight commanders was Flt Lt Gus

Weston who, although just 35 years

old and popular with the young

Below

On the outbreak of war

613 Squadron moved to

Odiham with its Hawker

Hind light bombers.

613 SQN ASSOCIATION VIA R A

SCHOLEFIELD

36-40_Blitzkrieg_fpSBB.indd 36 13/03/2015 10:38