British Military Aviation in 1943 - Part 1

Part 2

27 January
Strategic bombers of the United States Eighth Air Force complete their first mission against a target in Germany, attacking a submarine construction yard at Wilhelmshaven.

30-31 January
'' airborne navigation and bombing radar is first used by RAF Bomber Command. Pathfinder crews of No.7 and No.35 Squadrons, No.8 Group, RAF Bomber Command, employ H2S during a raid on Hamburg.

2 February
Mediterranean Air Command is formed under the command of Air Chief Marshall Sir Arthur Tedder.

25 February
Bomber Command begin 'round-the-clock' bombing.

26 February
The North Western African Air Force is formed.

5-6 March
RAF Bomber Command opens the 'Battle of the Ruhr' with an attack by 442 aircraft on Essen. Between this date and the middle of July, Bomber Command deliver concentrated attacks against all of the major industrial cities of the Ruhr.

Two factors can be seen to have facilitated this campaign. Firstly, the strength of Bomber Command, both in terms of the number of aircraft that it was able to deploy and the quality of the four-engined bombers (the Avro Lancaster and Handley Page Haliax) that formed an increasing proportion of the Command's front line, for the first time permitted mass attacks on German targets. Secondly,

The introduction of the 'Oboe' blind-bombing system and 'H2S' navigation and bombing radar enabled targets to be marked with some accuracy by the Pathfinder Force. The 'Battle of the Ruhr' marked the beginning of RAF Bomber Command's primary offensive against German urban and industrial targets.

25 March
RAF Transport Command is formed and charged with conducting RAF transport operations in the United Kingdom and overseas. The existing RAF Ferry Command is absorbed into Transport Command as No.45 Group. The Air Officer Commanding RAF Ferry Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Bowhill, is appointed Air Officer Commanding of Transport Command.

1 April
The RAF presents the Prime Minister Winston Churchill with a pair of wings to mark their 25th Anniversary.

May
During this month Allied air and naval forces sink 41 U-Boats, bringing total losses from the beginning of 1943 to 98. As this rate of loss is insupportable, Admiral Karl Dönitz, commanding the German U-boat arm, is forced to restrict operations against Atlantic convoys.

3 May
The Victoria Cross is awarded to Squadron Leader L.H. Trent for his attack on an Amsterdam power station during which his squadron was attacked by very large numbers of enemy fighters. Trent's aircraft was a Lockheed Ventura (AJ209 'EG-V') of No.487 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF).

5 May
An Airborne Lifeboat is used operationally for the first time, when it is dropped from an aircraft of No.279 Squadron, Royal Air Force (RAF).

7 May
Royal Air Force maritime patrol aircraft sink three U-boats in one day. A Handley Page Halifax of No.58 Squadron sinks U-109 and a Short Sunderland of No.10 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force sank U-663, both engagements take place in the Bay of Biscay. Meanwhile a Lockheed Hudson of No.233 Squadron sinks the U-447 off Gibraltar.

8 May
Allied aircraft heavily attack the airfield on Pantelleria Island between Cape Bon and Sicily.

12 May
A Consolidated Liberator maritime patrol aircraft of No.86 Squadron drops a Mark 24 acoustic homing torpedo (codenamed Fido), seriously damaging U-Boat U-456 and driving it to the surface. It is originally thought to have been sunk as the result of subsequent attacks by a Short Sunderland of No.423 Squadron RCAF, and the warships HMS Lagan and HMCS Drumheller. However, it now appears that U-456 was forced to dive by approaching destroyers and then sank because of the damage inflicted by the Liberator. This may properly be said to mark the first successful use of an air-dropped precision weapon in air warfare. The Sunderland and the two warships had actually combined to sink U-753.

Part 2