No. 635 Squadron

Group
8 Group
Home station
RAF Downham Market

About

No. 635 Squadron was formed in March 1944 at RAF Downham Market in Norfolk, drawing its first crews from No. 35 and No. 97 Squadrons, and flew the Avro Lancaster as a Pathfinder squadron in No. 8 Group. From its first operation against Frankfurt it served in the target-marking role for the rest of the war.

The squadron’s name is bound up with the Victoria Cross won by Squadron Leader Ian Bazalgette. On 4 August 1944, attacking a flying-bomb site, his Lancaster was set ablaze on the approach; he pressed on to drop his markers, held the aircraft level for part of the crew to bail out, and then attempted a crash landing to save two wounded men. The aircraft exploded, killing him and them, and he was awarded a posthumous VC. The squadron’s motto was Nos ducimus, ceteri secuntur — “we lead, others follow”.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including History of War — No. 635 Squadron (RAF) in the Second World War and Wikipedia: No. 635 Squadron RAF. The text is original and has been written from factual source material; no source text has been copied unless specifically quoted and attributed.

Photographs

RAF officers held at Oflag X-C in Lübeck, Germany board Lancasters for their return flight to England at the end of the war.
ⓘ licence & creditNo 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit, West (Lt) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PoW_L%C3%BCbeck.jpgView source & full licence →
Portrait of Ian Willoughby Bazalgette, awarded the Victoria Cross: France, 4 August 1944.
ⓘ licence & creditnot stated / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ian_Willoughby_Bazalgette.jpgView source & full licence →
Avro Lancaster B Mark III, PB979 'F2-F', of No. 635 Squadron RAF, carrying liberated British prisoners of war back to the United Kingdom, prepares to take off from Lubeck, Germany. Note the Automatic Gun Laying (Turret) radar, known as "Village Inn", installed under the rear turret. AGL(T) allowed automatic sighting and firing on enemy aircraft detected by the radar, but saw only limited use before the German surrender.
ⓘ licence & creditNo 5 Army Film & Photographic Section, Army Film And Photograph Unit / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BU_005903Lancaster635SqnRAF.jpgView source & full licence →
The British Army in North-west Europe 1944-45 Liberated POWs walk out to Lancaster bombers at Lubeck aerodrome, waiting to fly them home to Britain, 11 May 1945. Comment : The aircraft appears to be F2-Z of No. 635 Squadron RAF. The Lancaster at right is fitted with the Automatic Gun-Laying Turret "Village Inn" tail turret. A Gloster Meteor is just visible below the undercarriage doors of Lancaster F2-Z
ⓘ licence & creditNo 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit, West (Lt) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Avro_Lancaster_-_L%C3%BCbeck_-_British_Army_in_North-west_Europe_1944-45_BU5892.jpgView source & full licence →

Aircraft (1)

SerialCodeTypeFate
ND811 F2-T Avro Lancaster Lost on operations

Known personnel (1)

NameRankStationDates
Bazalgette, Ian Willoughby Squadron Leader — ? – ?

Further reading & sources

External sites — facts only are reused here; their text and images remain their authors'.