No. 138 Squadron (RAF) during the Second World War

No. 138 Squadron was a mixed aircraft Special Duties squadron, formed on 25 August 1941 from No.1419 (Special Duties) Flight. At first it carried out a mix of supply drop and actual landings in occupied Europe, but in October 1942 No. 161 Squadron took over the pick-up duties, and No. 138 concentrated on the supply drop task, flying as far as Poland and Yugoslavia.

By the spring of 1945 the need for these supply drops had largely disappeared, and so No. 138 was re-equipped with Avro Lancasters and joined Bomber Command, taking part in the last few weeks of the strategic bombing campaign.

Location
25 August-16 December 1941: Newmarket
16 December 1941 to 11 March 1942: Stradishall
11 March 1942-9 March 1945: Tempsford

Group and Duty
August 1941 onwards: Special Duties squadron
March 1945: Bomber Command

Runways to Freedom - The Special Duties Squadrons of RAF Tempsford, Robert Body. A splendid history of Nos.138 and 161 Squadrons, the Special Duties squadrons that carried agents in and out of occupied Europe, dropped supplies and generally supported the work of the resistance movements. Highly secret during the war, their records were declassified fairly quickly, but this is a rare full length study of the two squadrons, and is well overdue! Not quite a day-by-day history, but not far off, with coverage of just about every lost aircraft as well as many successful missions (Read Full Review)

Bomber Offensive, Sir Arthur Harris. The autobiography of Bomber Harris, giving his view of the strategic bombing campaign in its immediate aftermath. Invaluable for the insights it provides into Harris’s approach to the war, what he was trying to achieve and the problems he faced. Harris perhaps overstates his case, not entirely surprisingly given how soon after the end of the war this book was written (Read Full Review)

Review of Halifax Squadrons by John lake

Halifax Squadrons of World War II , Jon Lake. This is a very good book on the combat record of the Handley Page Halifax. It covers much more than just its role as a front line bomber, with chapters on the Halifax with Coastal Command, the Pathfinders and SOE, amongst others. [see more]

Lancaster Squadrons 1944-45, Jon Lake. A well balanced look at the career of the Avro Lancaster in 1944-45, the period most famous for the systematic night bombardment of German cities. This was also the period that saw the Lancaster used to support the invasion of France, and the period that saw 617 Squadron drop Barnes Wallis's huge streamlined bombs with great precision. [see more]

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (22 March 2007), No. 138 Squadron (RAF): Second World War, http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/138_wwII.html