No. 29 Squadron

No. 29 Operational Training Unit was established on 21 April 1941 at RAF North Luffenham in Rutland, within No. 7 Group, Bomber Command, originally earmarked for Whitley aircraft before being re-equipped with Vickers Wellingtons instead. When No. 7 Group was redesignated No. 92 Group on 11 May 1942, the unit passed into that group’s control and remained a Wellington OTU throughout the war. It contributed eight aircraft to the third Thousand Bomber raid against Bremen on the night of 25–26 June 1942, one of the few occasions OTU crews were committed to front-line operations. In the spring of 1943 the unit relocated its main base to RAF Bruntingthorpe in Leicestershire, with satellite facilities at Bitteswell and, later, Little Horwood. The unit’s primary role throughout its existence was to prepare crews for night bombing operations before they joined front-line squadrons. It was disbanded on 22 June 1945, following the end of the war in Europe.