No. 191 Squadron

No. 191 Squadron was reformed on 13 May 1943 at Korangi Creek near Karachi, assigned to maritime reconnaissance duties over the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf under Air Command South East Asia. Flying Consolidated Catalina flying boats — initially Mk.Ib aircraft and later Mk.IVb variants from September 1944 — the squadron mounted long-range anti-submarine patrols from bases stretched across the Indian Ocean theatre, with detachments operating from Bahrain and other forward locations. The unit moved to Redhills Lake near Madras in November 1944 and then to RAF Koggala in Ceylon in April 1945 as operational focus shifted to the seas off India’s east coast. By mid-1944 the squadron was assigned to No. 225 Group, forming part of the broader effort to deny the Indian Ocean to Axis submarines. Although the squadron flew its patrols diligently throughout two years of operations, enemy submarine activity in its patrol areas was limited and no U-boat contact was ever confirmed. With the threat further diminished by the closing stages of the war, the squadron was disbanded on 15 June 1945 at Koggala.