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Acklington
609
Squadron arrived at Acklington in Northumberland 5th October 1939, where they
prepared their aircraft for combat for the first time, before observing a
defensive state which was to become familiar over the remainder of the war. This
amounted to one section of three aircraft being 'At readiness' (airborne in 5
minutes), one at 'Available' (airborne in 15 minutes), another section
'Released' (airborne in 30 minutes) and the final 3 aircraft 'stood down' for
training or off camp (as long as their whereabouts were known to the CO). On
16th October, 609 took part in their first defensive operation, patrolling the
area surrounding their base and seeking the first enemy aircraft to fly over
Great Britain since 1918 - whose target was HMS Hood at Rosyth. Eleven hours
after the attack in the Firth of Forth, 609 were posted north to Drem in
Scotland, having been at Acklington merely 12 days. On
21st March 1944 609 returned to Acklington once again for 9 days practice in
dive bombing techniques in preparation for their expected role in the coming
invasion of Europe.
During the Battle of Britain, Acklington was part of 13 Group. Various squadrons used it as a fighter base - 72 Squadron with Supermarine Spitfires from 6th June, 79 Squadron with Hawker Hurricanes from 13th July, 32 Squadron, again flying Hurricanes from 28th August, and another Auxiliary Squadron, 610, bringing Spitfires back on 31st August. RAF Acklington was acquired from the Royal Air Force in 1971, where it was transformed into a prison - a role it still fulfills today. |
Copyright © 2002 609 (West Riding)
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