233 SQUADRON
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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.
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".
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.
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.
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.
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