No 627 Squadron RAF
Motto: “At first sight”.
Badge: A hawk diving, holding in the beak a firebrand. The badge symbolises two of the unit’s wartime functions – high-level bombing and target marking for the main heavy bomber force.
Squadron History:
No. 627 Squadron was formed at Oakington, Cambridgeshire, on 12th November 1943, as a Mosquito light-bomber unit and during the rest of the European War took part in many major raids. At first it flew with No. 8 Group (the Pathfinder Force) but in April 1944, not long after the Battle of Berlin had ended, it was attached to No. 5 Group and re-located at Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire. It remained with No. 5 Group until victory had been won and during this period figured in such notable attacks as those against Munich on 24/25th April 1944; the Gestapo Headquarters at Oslo on 31St December 1944; and Wesel on 23rd/24th March 1945, just before the crossing of the Rhine. Its duties with No. 5 Group included, in addition to bombing and target marking, Window-dropping, minelaying (in German canals, but only on a very few occasions) and photographic reconnaissance.
It was while flying on operations in a Mosquito of No. 627 Squadron1 on 19/20th September 1944, that Wing Commander Guy Gibson, VC, met his death. He had acted as Master Bomber in a raid on Rheydt near the Ruhr (he was Base Operations Officer, No. 54 Base at the time and had volunteered for this mission), and his aircraft crashed in Holland on the return journey killing both himself and his navigator. Both men were subsequently buried by the Germans in an un-numbered communal grave seven miles from Bergen-op-Zoom.
Benny Goodman & Bill Hickox with Mosquito
Mosquitos Flown Operationally By Benny Goodman
| DK313 | DZ442 | DZ616 |
| DZ353 | DZ484 | DZ617 |
| DZ415 | DZ512 | DZ632 |
| DZ421 | DZ547 | DZ646 |
| DZ422 | DZ601 | |
| DZ426 | DZ615 |
Benny Goodman’s “own” Mosquito was DZ353. However, it was common for pilots to fly many other aircraft owing to routine maintenance schedules and when their own plane was undergoing battle damage repairs.
Benny Goodman’s own Mosquito, DZ353, was frequently photographed!
627 Sqn Pilots – June 1944
Squadron Commander
| Wg Cdr Elliott DSO DFC | 81 Sorties |
‘A’ Flight
| Sqn Ldr Nelles DFC | 59 sorties | |
| Flt Lt Grey DFC | 75 sorties | |
| Flt Lt Hanlon | 36 sorties | Ditched. Rescued. |
| Flt Lt Peck DSO DFC | 61 sorties | |
| Flt Lt Rutherford AFC | 18 sorties | Killed in action. |
| Fg Off Platts | 57 sorties | Shot down & taken prisoner. |
| Fg Off Saint-Smith DFM | 63 sorties | Killed in action. |
| Plt Off Parlato | 40 sorties | |
| W/O Boyden | 13 sorties | |
| F/Sgt Marshallsay |
‘B’ Flight
| Sqn Ldr Mackenzie DFC | 82 sorties | |
| Flt Lt Bartley DFC | 68 sorties | |
| Flt Lt De Vigne | 31 sorties | |
| Flt Lt Goodman DFC | 78 sorties | |
| Flt Lt Steere DFM | 41 sorties | Killed in action. |
| Fg Off Boothright | 33 sorties | |
| Fg Off Gribbin DFM | 73 sorties | Ditched. Rescued. |
| Fg Off Thomson DFC | 64 sorties |
More About The De Havilland Mosquito (Wikipedia)
Some Other Useful Links and Reference Material:
Thorpe Camp Preservation Group
The Pathfinder Collection, RAF Wyton
The De Havilland Heritage Centre (incorporating the Mosquito Aircraft Museum)
Mosquito Aircraft Association of Australia
Article from The Past: The Mosquito Men
“
At First Sight” is a factual and anecdotal account of No 627 Sqn compiled by Alan B Webb, a member of ‘A’ Flight, and comprises accounts from many former members of the squadron. Unfortunately it is not currently in print, but you may be lucky enough to find one second hand.
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