No. 487 Squadron (RNZAF): Second World War

Aircraft - Locations - Group and Duty - Books

No.487 Squadron, RNZAF, began as a day bomber squadron but spent most of the war flying night intruder missions.

The squadron was formed on 15 August 1942 and was equipped with the Lockheed Ventura (the same aircraft was later used with great success by the RNZAF in the Pacific). In Europe the Ventura was obsolescent. The squadron flew a number of daylight raids against targets in France and the Low Countries, beginning on 6 December 1942. The squadron suffered heavy losses on some of these raids, and the last Ventura raid was flown on 24 June.

In August 1943 the squadron began to convert to the Mosquito. Operations resumed on 3 October 1943 and night intruder missions began in February 1944. The squadron focused on these intruder missions for the rest of the war, ranging across German occupied Europe.

During the battle of Normandy the squadron was used to make night attacks on German transport links as part of the campaign to isolate the battlefield. It moved to France in February 1945 and continued to fly a mix of day and night raids for the rest of the war.

The squadron was also used on some of the most famous daylight Mosquito raids, including the attack on Amiens Prison on 18 February 1944, the Gestapo headquarters in Aarhus and Copenhagen and V-1 launch sites.

No.487 Squadron became part of the post-war RAF as No.268 Squadron, RAF, after a brief spell when it was incorrectly numbered as No.16 Squadron.

Aircraft
August-September 1943: Lockheed Ventura I and Ventura II
August 1943-September 1945: de Havilland Mosquito VI

Location
August 1942-April 1943: Feltwell
April-July 1943: Methwold
July-December 1943: Sculthorpe
December 1943-April 1944: Hunsdon
April 1944: Gravesend
April 1944: Swanton Morley
April-June 1944: Gravesend
June 1944-February 1945: Thorney Island
February-April 945: B.87 Rosieres-en-Santerre
April-July 1945: B.58 Melsbroek
July-September 1945: A.75 Cambrai/ Epinoy

Squadron Codes: EG

Duty
December 1942-June 1943: Daylight bomber squadron
October 1943 onwards: Mosquito-equipped night intruder squadron.

Books

 

How to cite this article: Rickard, J (7 March 2022), No. 487 Squadron (RNZAF): Second World War, http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RNZAF/No_487_sqn_RNZAF.html

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