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During its
history, 233 Squadron has been disbanded and re-formed twice. In
November, 1914, the Royal Naval Air Service
Seaplane Station at Dover was formed,
operating as a home defence squadron on
coastal patrols before taking up an
offensive role towards the end of the 1st
World War. |
Valetta at RAF
Khormaksar 1964 |
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In April, 1918, the squadron was divided into No. 407
Flight (Short Seaplane), No. 471 Flight (Sopwith
Camel) and No. 491 Flight (D.H. 9) and with the
formation of the Royal Air Force, the Dover Seaplane
Station was re-named the Dover Air Base. The flights
were then re-united and formed the original No. 233
Squadron. The Squadron remained at Dover until 15th May,
1919, when it was disbanded.
The
Squadron was re-formed again in May, 1937, designated a
general reconnaissance squadron of Coastal Command and
based at Upper Heyford. It was equipped with Avro Anson
aircraft. In December, 1937, the Squadron received its
present crest, authorised by H.M. King George VI. The
official description of the crest is: — "In front of a
trident and sword in saltire, a star of eight points".
Valetta 576 at Khormaksar
1964
This
design represents navigation (the star), duties over the
sea (trident) and a striking force (sword). The motto
Fortis et Fidelis means strong and faithful.
In
September, 1938, the Squadron moved to Leuchars and
re-equipped with Lockheed Hudson aircraft. After two
years of North Atlantic convoy patrols and
anti-submarine sweeps, the Squadron moved to Gibraltar
where it stayed until 1944. Shortly before the end of
the war, No. 233 Squadron was transferred to the 2nd
Tactical Air Force, in an air support role, and equipped
with Dakotas, but at the end of 1944, the Squadron was
again moved, this time to the Far East where it became
part of the Air Command, .South East Asia. December,
1945, saw No. 233 Squadron disbanded for the second time
in its history.
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No. 233
Squadron came into existence again in September, 1960,
when the Valetta Flight of No. 84 Squadron, based at
R.A.F. Khormaksar, broke away and was accorded full
squadron status and given the squadron number 233. Since
then the Valetta squadron has operated throughout the
Arabian Peninsular in the transport and communications
role, although the Squadron is often called upon to
carry out supply drops to ground forces in various parts
of the Aden Protectorate. |
Valetta 576 at
Khormaksar 1964
Sqn
Ldr D W “Barney” Barnard |
The
amount of up-country work has increased considerably
with regular runs to Dhala, Mukeiras and Beihan with the
occasional sortie to the Army unit of Ataq. The Squadron
is thus currently occupied fulfilling the schedule to
Masirah and supplying British and Federal Army units
within the Federation with food, personnel and stores.
In addition to the foregoing routine tasks the Squadron
is occasionally called upon to carry out special
detachments, casualty evacuation flights or to act as
first line reserves for Search and Rescue operations.
The following examples show the "maid-of-all-work"
nature of these tasks.
A
Squadron detachment went to Bahrain shortly after it
formed as No. 233 Squadron to assist the Bahrain
squadrons in supplying food and equipment to outposts in
the Persian Gulf and the Trucial Oman areas. During the
Kuwait crisis the detachment was suspended and the
squadron was employed in troop carrying and general
support.
During the rainy
season of 1961, in Somalia, the Squadron sent a
detachment of two aircraft to Mogadishu to aid in flood
relief. Several supply drops of grain and other produce
brought up by U.S. Air Force transport aircraft from
Nairobi were made to flooded villages and people made
homeless by the rains. During this operation the
aircraft averaged three sorties per day, most of the
trips being of at least 2j hours duration, thus a
considerable amount of useful work was being done. The
detachment ended on 28th December, 1961. Altogether a
total weight of 430,625 Ib. of supplies was landed
either by free fall or parachute drop to the flooded
areas. Aided by this operation, the squadron recorded
the highest number of hours flown for any one month
since its formation in 1960, the total being 433 hours.
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Valetta 837 at
Dhala |
The
Squadron has flown several mercy flights to aid persons
in need of medical treatment. Early in 1963, a Valetta
flew to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, to evacuate a seaman
suffering from severe abdominal pains. The seaman was
treated at R.A.F. Steamer Point Hospital on return to
Aden, and was soon on the way to recovery. |
Combined
Services Entertainment shows are carried around the
route stations during the cool season and visiting teams
of staff officers from Headquarters, Middle East Command
are taken to ensure that these units do not become too
isolated.
From
these examples it will be seen that the Valetta Squadron
can, and does, cater for a multitude of varying tasks
throughout the State of Aden and the Federation.
I’m not quite sure how I stumbled across
your site but I found it very
interesting. My late father was Sqd Ldr
D W “Barney” Barnard and was with 233
Squadron (Valettas) in 1961 and 1962,
and I was conceived and very nearly born
in Aden as a result! (I was born in
January 1962.) Dad was, as far as I
know, in charge of the detachment that
went to assist the flood relief
operation in Somalia in 1961 when the
Juba flooded.
He left the RAF in 1968, and we came
back to South Africa (he started flying
in the SAAF) so I grew up in Cape Town,
where I still live.
Kind regards, Caroline Barnard
email: caroline.barnard (@)
novanilla.co.za
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