No. 578 Squadron RAF was a heavy bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

History 578 Squadron was formed at RAF Snaith, East Riding of Yorkshire on 14 January 1944 from 'C' flight of No. 51 Squadron RAF, equipped with Halifax Mk.III bombers, as part of No. 4 Group RAF in Bomber Command. It transferred to RAF Burn, North Yorkshire in February, and was disbanded there on 15 April 1945. The squadron carried out 2,721 operational sorties with the Halifax for a loss 40 aircraft.

Notable squadron members The first commanding officer was W/Cdr. D.S.S. Wilkerson, DSO, DFC and the aircrew included Pilot Officer Cyril Joe Barton, VC.

Aircraft operated +Aircraft operated by no. 578 Squadron RAF, data from From To Aircraft Version January 1944 March 1945 Handley-Page Halifax Mk.III

Notable aircraft Two of the Halifaxes of 578 squadron passed the century mark and flew more than 100 operational sorties: +No. 578 Squadron RAF aircraft with the most number of operations, data from Serial no. Name Operations Call-sign Fate Remarks MZ527 105 LK-W, LK-D Struck off charge, April 1945 LW587 104 LK-V, LK-A Scrapped, September 1946 Did their 100th operation together, 3 March 1945

Squadron bases +bases and airfields used by no. 578 Squadron RAF, data from From To Base 14 January 1944 6 February 1944 RAF Snaith, East Riding of Yorkshire 6 February 1944 15 April 1945 RAF Burn, North Yorkshire

References

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading

Adams, Chuck. 578 Squadron Operations, 1944–45. self-published, 1983. Cawdron, Hugh. Based at Burn – 578 Sqn airmen recall.... Middlesex: Hugh Cawdron/578 Burn Association,1995 Cawdron, Hugh. Based at Burn Mk.II: After 50 Years the Biography of an Outstanding Airman and a Diary of the Bomber Squadron he Founded and Commanded. Bristol: Hugh Cawdron/578 Burn Association, 2001. . Marshall, Ken. The Pendulum and the Scythe: A History of No.4 Group Bomber Command. Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, UK: Air Research Publications, 1996. . Ward, Chris. Royal Air Force Bomber Command Squadron Profiles: 578 Squadron – "Accuracy" (Bomber Command Profile no. 113). Lutterworth, Berkshire, UK: Ward Publishing, 1998.

External links

578 Squadron Association Squadron history on RAF website No. 578 Squadron RAF movement and equipment history Squadron histories for nos. 541–598 squadron on RAFweb's