History
Motto:
"Alis nocturnis" ("On the wings of the night")
No. 58 was flying Whitleys from
Yorkshire at the outbreak of the Second World War, and first went into
action on the night of 3rd/4th September, 1939, when - in conjunction
with No. 51 Squadron - it maid a leaflet raid over Germany. This was the
first occasion on which R.A.F aircraft penetrated into Germany during
the Second World War. A few weeks after this operation No. 58 was
ordered to an airfield in South-West England for duty with Coastal
Command and until late January, 1940, it was employed on escorting
convoys and flying anti-submarine patrols. The squadron returned to
Yorkshire in February and from April, 1940 to March, 1942, played a
prominent part in the night-bombing offensive. Its targets were of the
widest variety, from airfields, road and railway communications,
marshalling yards and industrial centres, to the Channel Ports, oil and
petrol installations and shipping at sea. Three highlights of this
period were the squadron's participation in the first big attack on the
German mainland (München-Gladbach) on 11th/12th May, 1940; the first
attack on Italy (primary target Turin) on 11th/12th June, 1940; and the
first attack on Berlin, on 25th/26th August, 1940.
In April, 1942, No. 58 Squadron was
transferred to Coastal Command and during the remainder of the war, as a
general reconnaissance unit (flying Halifaxes from 1943 onwards), took a
considerable toll of enemy surface vessels, sank five U-boats and shared
in the destruction of two others until it was disbanded on 25 May 1945.
(Source
and (c):
Royal Air Force )
RAF Squadron crest
© Crown Copyright is reproduced with the
permission of the Controller of Her
Majesty’s Stationery Office
Relevant
Websites
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Casualties of the squadron, buried
in the Netherlands.
