652 AOP Squadron RAF * RA

[Bobsy]

Any more EX Members of Aop still about, been on Royall Artillery site :-

http://www.ra39-45.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/index.html

 But AOP Suadrons (blacked out.)
looked at several pages mentions 652 A Flight & 652 B Flight landing on D Day
But this was an advance party (I was on it) never seen  it mentioned before on any records that I have seen.
Bob T.

[kyt]

Unarmed Into Battle by General H J Parham is a good history of the AOP and has several pages on D-Day. It also has all of 652's bases listed in an appendix, plus a pretty comprehensive list of all AOP courses and name of graduates.

And Soldiers in the Air by Peter Mead has a lot about his time in 652 post-war.

K

[Bobsy]

Hi Kyt
Thanks for that info.
Seems to be still going but not as I knew it.
I was in it from Sept 1942 until 15 Aug 1944 (HQ Flight).when I came back to hospital in Wolverhampton for Op.
 I had a friend in it who went all the way to the end of hostilities I met up in Germany 1946 and we were friends till his death a couple of years ago.
Not a great amount of info of early days
I also knew CO of 651.
Bob T.
 

[kyt]

Hi Bob

It is sad that the AOP units are so under-represented in the literature, especially as the little I have read about them, and their Austers, is fascinating.

I could look up any names in the indexes of the two books, if you like.

Another excellent read is Maslen-Jones' Fire by Order: Recollections of Service With 656 Air Observation Post Squadron in Burma which you may have seen.

K

[Taidquest]

Hi BoB T and K,
I am mainly posting on this topic to ensure that I see any new posts.
I am very interested because my dad was a royal artillery man from as far as I can gather from about may 1942,most of the informaton I have is totally confusing,for instance he was said to have been a corporal in the military police with the R.A. and also to have been on the 'big guns' in London.
he was also supposed to be as my mother used to say'in the maritime and I know he fractured his foot while parachuting,??? help! another story involved
him being on the ships that brought supplies to the troops(I presume France?
what I'm really saying is that reading the posts on this topic may help me to sort out the confusion enough to pin him down to a particular unit so I can eventually get his service records to add to the family history files and also to be able to explain to his grandchildren what their grandad did in the war.
                                                                        Anne

[Bilge]

Hi all I expect you've all seen this site but makes good reading for anyone looking into AOP.

http://www.royalartilleryunitsnetherlands1944-1945.com/pageID_6285736.html

http://members.tripod.com/nigelef/maindoc.htm

[kyt]

Hi Anne

from the evidence it sounds like he was in an anti-aircraft unit in London, before being assigned to a DEMS* unit. He may not have been a corporal MP in the RA but rather assigned security/"provost" duties.

*Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship - for protection against mainly aircraft my merchant ships were equipped with a single anti-aircraft gun, and manned by 3 or 4 RA men. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to track down those who served in DEMS units, but some service records do record which ships they served on.

To apply for his records, knowing he was in the RA should be sufficient

K

[liverpool annie]

Hi Bob and welcome to RootsChat  were you at Westley Bob ?

Westley was built with two small hangars in 1938 as home for the West Suffolk Aero Club with its two Taylorcraft Plus C monoplanes. It was too small to be taken over by RAF Volunteer Reserve so private flying was allowed until the war, when it closed.

However, because of the Gibraltar Barracks and Blenheim Camp in Bury, 241 Squadron flew Lysanders here from April to July 1941, to help the army and watch the east coast for any invaders.

The Army Cooperation Command felt that Lysanders were too slow and vulnerable and acquired American Curtiss Tomahawks, but the runway at Westley was not long enough for these, so 241 left for Snailwell.

In August 1942 652 AOP Squadron arrived with Tiger Moths and Austers and training was carried out here in 1943. Auster Squadrons used Westley for training until September 1944.

Today, Westley aerodrome is a housing estate, part of Bury St Edmunds urban growth

[Bobsy]

Hi K & Bilge
Tried that Nederlans link  and again some info is not quite correct I clicked on 653 as well as the others I dont think it was formed in 1942. more like 1943 as  some of the others in part of my un finished War Reciollections
. 1943 We went to  
Methven, Perth Scotland.
It was here where the unit was broken up.  HQ Flight remained as 652 with all new personel new Officers who were training.The others as follows.  We had the option to go or stay.

            A Flight.....became..........653 Squadron
   B Flight.....became..........654 Squadron
   C Flight.....became..........655 Squadron
   D Flight.....became..........656 Squadron
The ref to Naval landings is not in my memory as we were spotting for Naval Guns.
We did some exercises, and more equipment arrived I took a party of Signallers and equipment by road  to Royal Naval Air Station at  Macreanish via the Trosachs for an exercise working with HMS Argos guns and co-operating with naval signallers