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| Click Here For Full Artist Print Indexes | Aviation History Archive |
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Aviation Art Prints  Countries UK Squadron Index More Squadrons Squadrons 489 to 620  No.610 Sqn |
[UP] - No.489 Sqn RNZAF - No.501 Sqn - No.504 Sqn - No.514 Sqn - No.542 Sqn - No.550 Sqn - No.571 Sqn - No.576 Sqn - No.578 Sqn - No.601 Sqn - No.602 Sqn - No.603 Sqn - No.604 Sqn - No.605 Sqn - No.607 Sqn - No.609 Sqn - No.610 Sqn - No.611 Sqn - No.613 Sqn - No.615 Sqn - No.616 Sqn - No.619 Sqn - No.620 Sqn |
No.610 Sqn
Country : UK
Founded : 10th February 1936
Disbanded 10th March 1957
Codes : , DW, JE,
Alifero tollitur axe ceres - Ceres rising in a winged car
610 squadron was formed AT Hooton Park, Wirral in Cheshire on 10 February 1936 as one of the Auxiliary Air Force squadrons equipped with the light bomber the Hawker Hart. In May 1938 610 Squadron aircraft were upgraded to the new Hawker Hind. On 1 January 1939 the squadron role was changed into that of a fighter squadron, and on the outbreak of war in September 1939, he Squadron began receiving the new Hawker Hurricane. By the end of that same month it was flying the Supermarine Spitfire. During the Battle of Britain 610 Squadron was attached to No. 3 Group and was initially based at RAF Gravesend but moved to Biggin Hill before the German offensive began and was one of the units bearing the brunt of German attacks. It moved to RAF Acklington for the rest and recuperation at the end of August, having sustained severe casualties. During the Battle of Britain the squadron included Pilot Officer, later Squadron Leader, Constantine Pegge. In 1941, the squadron moved south to RAF Tangmere where it became part of the Tangmere wing, a three squadron wing under the command of Douglas Bader. 610 Squadron remained based in the UK until 1945, when it moved to the continent to provide fighter cover as the allies entered Germany. 610 Squadron was disbanded before the end of the war at RAF Warmwell in March 1945.
| No.610 Sqn Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
The Battle for the Skies Over Dieppe, 19th August 1942 by Graeme Lothian. A large umbrella of Spitfire Wings covered most of the sky over Dieppe during the Allied attack Operation Jubilee on 19th August 1942. Squadron leader Johnnie Johnson leads 610 (County of Chester) Squadron down from top cover support to lend a hand to Spitfires of 485 Squadron (New Zealand) and 411 Squadron (Canadian) which made up the 12 Group Wing, led by W/C Pat Jameson. The enemy being made up of a huge mixed force of Fw190 and Me109 fighters from JG2 and JG26. 12 Group Wing flew four times that disastrous day and in the end the Royal Air Force lost 106 aircraft compared to the Luftwaffe losses of 48. |
Their Finest Hour by Nicolas Trudgian. Situated on the south eastern tip of Kent, RAF Hawkinge was the most forward airfield in Fighter Command. It was not surprising therefore that when Reichmarshal Goering began his fierce attacks on airfields - part of his softening up campaign in preparation for Hitlers Adler Tag (Eagle Day) - Hawkinge would be among the first in his sights. The Luftwaffe were putting up massive raids - over 1700 aircraft crossed the coast on August 16th - and RAF bases in the south-east were taking a pounding. Hawkinge, a satellite of Biggin Hill sector station, and vital to front line defences, lay right in the path of the raiding Luftwaffe hordes. When on August 12th it was bombed for the first time, its effect was only to harden the resolve of its pilots and groundstaff. MkI Spitfires of No.610 County of Chester Squadron are seen scrambling out of RAF Hawkinge in late August 1940. refuelled and re-armed, with scarlet patches covering the gunports, all serviceable aircraft roar off the grass strip and head back to the fray. With aerial battles raging all the way from 2000 to 20,000 feet, within minutes they will be back in the action. Ground crews in the foreground work frantically to get more Spitfires airworthy. In the background Hurricanes from No.32 Squadron are at readiness, and will be called into action as the primitive radar picks up the next incoming raid. |
Chariots of Fire by Gerald Coulson. Chariots of Fire depicts Spitfires of 610 squadron (County of Chester) engaging Messerschmitts 190E of the Luftwaffe over the South Coast of England, August 1940. |
Kerr's Last Combat by Ivan Berryman. Spitfire L1000 (DW-R) of No.610 Sqn is terminally damaged by an Me109 over Dunkirk on 29th May 1940. The Spitfire pilot, Flying Officer Gerald Kerr is listed is missing after this combat. |
Escorting Blenheims to Le Trait - Spitfire W3455 of No.610 Squadron by Ivan Berryman. (P) Spitfire DW-U (W3455) of 610 Squadron escorting Blenheims to Le Trait on 21st August 1941. This aircraft was shot down by enemy fighters on this mission. |
Tribute to Flight Lieutenant Warner of No.610 Sqn by Ivan Berryman. (P) F/Lt Warner was shot down in combat with Bf 109s on 16th August 1940 at 17:15hrs off Dungeness. He was flying Spitfire DW-Z (R6802). |
Close Encounter by Ivan Berryman. Supermarine Spitfire Mk.1As of No.610 (County of Chester) Sqn RAAF, intercept incoming Heinkel 111H-16s of the 9th Staffel, Kampfgeschwader 53 Legion Condor during the big daylight raids on London of August and September 1940 - the climax of the Battle of Britain. Spitfire N3029 (DW-K) was shot down by a Bf109 on the 5th of September 1940 and crash-landed near Gravesend, Kent, thankfully without injury to Sgt Willcocks, the pilot. For the record, N3029 was rebuilt and, following some brief flying in the UK, was sent overseas by convoy to the Middle East. Ironically, the ship carrying this aircraft was torpedoed en route and both ship and all its cargo were lost. |
The Battle for Britain by Robert Taylor. A Battle of Britain Spitfire from 610 Squadron takes on a Me109 from I./JG3 in a head-on attack high over the south coast port of Dover, in the late morning of 10 July 1940. |
Tribute to Pilot Officer Pegge of No.610 Squadron by Ivan Berryman. Spitfire P9433 DW-E of No.610 flown by P/O Pegge, in which he shot down two Bf.109Es on 12th August 1940. |
Return of the Heroes by Ivan Berryman. Spitfire of 610 Squadron which has been damaged during combat during the height of the Battle of Britain is shown over the white cliffs of Dover. No. 610 (County of Chester) Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force's first major combat with the Luftwaffe was on 27th May when a Heinkel bomber protected by about 40 Me110s, was engaged. The combat which followed saw the Heinkel and three Me110 fighters being shot down. Throughout August 610 Squadron was involved in bitter fighting over the Channel and Home Counties of England. During the Battle of Britain No.610 Squadron operated from Biggin Hill, Hawkinge, and, on one occasion, from Croydon. The Squadron put up a terrific show and 40 enemy aircraft were confirmed as having been destroyed by 610 Squadron during August. The loss to the Squadron was eleven pilots killed during the battle. |
A Dunkirk Encounter by Ivan Berryman. A moment during the fraught encounter on 27th May 1940 over Dunkirk between Spitfires of 610 Sqn and an estimated 40 Bf.110s during which three Zerstorers were shot down. |
Time to Leave by Ivan Berryman. Spitfire L1062 (DW-L) of 610 Sqn was hit by flak over Dunkirk on 29th May 1940 and this picture depicts Sergeant Peter Jenkins struggling to get out of the cramped cockpit as his stricken aircraft plunges toward the sea. |
Tribute to No.610 Sqn by Ivan Berryman. A pair of Spitfire Mk.IIs of 610 Sqn roar into the air from Westhampnett in the Spring of 1941 to begin another cross-channel sweep, led by Sqn Ldr Tony Gaze flying DW-G. Gaze was to finish the war with a victory total of eleven aircraft destroyed and three shared, these including a Messerschmitt 262 and Arado 234 jets and even a V-1. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross three times and, in 2006, received the Medal of the Order of Australia for his outstanding service to the Commonwealth. |
Close Call by Robert Taylor. A Spitfire of 610 Squadron narrowly misses colliding with an Me109 while in close combat, low over the south of England, during the late summer of 1940. |
Coastal Patrol by Richard Taylor. Mk I Spitfires of 610 Squadron flying a defensive patrol low over the White Cliffs during the height of the Battle of Britain in August 1940. A superb painting that symbolises a crucial period in history. |
P.O. Constantine Pegge, 610 Sqn, August 1940 by Graeme Lothian. (P) Original pencil drawing of Pilot Officer Constantine Pegge, who shot down eight enemy aircraft in one day during the Battle of Britain. |
Top Cover by Robert Taylor. Flying escort missions was no soft option for fighter pilots. Supporting bombers en-route to important strategic targets almost guaranteed interception by enemy fighters, and the great bomber air raids over enemy occupied Europe brought about some of the most ferociously fought dog-fights of the war. Though regarded as the best defencive fighter ever built, the Spitfire flew in most fighter roles in almost every theatre of WWII. It equipped many squadrons such as the RAF's number 610 Squadron, which flew this outstanding fighter in various marks, throughout the war. Having contested the Battle of Britain flying Mark Is, 610 became part of Douglas Bader's famous Tangmere Wing in 1941 with the Mark Vb. As part of top-scoring Johnnie Johnson's with Canadian Wing in 1943, the squadron was equipped with the Mark IX - the best of all Spitfire Marks according to the great wing leader - getting the better of the Luftwaffe's new Fw190 in the great air battles leading up to the Normandy Landings in 1944. In 1944 the squadron received 90 gallon drop tanks for their new Mark XIV Spitfires and began long range sweeps over Germany. Robert Taylor's emotive painting Top Cover recalls an event from this period. Led by Tony Gaze, on 6th October 1944, his flight of 610 Squadron Spitfires have picked up a severely damaged Halifax over Holland as it lumbers homeward after an attack on synthetic oil plants in Germany. Two crew members have been ordered by skipper Ted McGindle to depart the ailing bomber by parachute while he struggles on with other crew members too badly wounded to escape. Top cover provided by 610's Spitfires ensured this 462 Squadron Halifax made it home on that October day. |
| Aces for : No.610 Sqn RAF | ||
| A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking the pilots name. | ||
| Name | Victories | Info |
| James E Johnnie Johnson | 36.91 | The signature of James E Johnnie Johnson features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Tony Gaze | 12.50 | The signature of Tony Gaze features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Hugh Spencer Leslie Dundas | 11.00 | The signature of Hugh Spencer Leslie Dundas features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Dennis Crowley-Milling | 8.00 | The signature of Dennis Crowley-Milling features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
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