No. 17 Squadron

No. 17 Operational Training Unit was formed on 8 April 1940 at RAF Upwood as part of No. 6 Group, Bomber Command, tasked with preparing light bomber crews for operations on the Bristol Blenheim. As the war progressed the unit passed through several group assignments — No. 7 Group from July 1940, then No. 92 Group from May 1942 — reflecting the RAF’s expanding and reorganising training infrastructure. In April 1943 the OTU relocated to RAF Silverstone, where it converted to the Vickers Wellington and shifted its focus to training night bomber crews. A satellite airfield at Turweston was allocated in July 1943 to cope with the increased throughput as the unit expanded to full strength. The OTU remained at Silverstone for the rest of the war, moving briefly to Swinderby in October 1946 before being redesignated No. 201 Advanced Flying School in March 1947. Throughout its existence the unit carried no honorific or county name, serving purely as a functional training organisation within the bomber force.