HASEGAWA
1/72-SCALE DECALS ONLY WW2 RAF BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER Mk.VI No.272 SQN MALTA 1942 No.89
SQN WESTERN DESERT AIR FORCE NORTH AFRICA (ORIGINALLY INCLUDED WITH KIT CP13
51213 1998)
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Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
RAF No.272 squadron reformed on
19 November 1940 at RAF Aldergrove. It received Blenheims and then converted to
Beaufighters. Commanded from 1941 to 1942 by Wing Commander Robert Yaxley, it
operated in the Western Desert, attacking enemy aerodromes, transport aircraft
and lines of communication. There were a number of Belgian aircrew in the
squadron. It was then based in Crete to provide protection for convoys and at
Luqa, Malta and Sicily following Operation Husky. On 8 September 1944, the
Italian liner SS Rex was attacked by twelve 272 Squadron Beaufighters at
Capodistria Bay, south of Trieste, leaving her on fire and badly listing. As
the Allied forces advanced into Italy the squadron moved to Alghero and Foggia,
and it disbanded at Gragnano on 30 April 1945.
RAF
No.89 squadron was formed again on 25 September 1941 at RAF Colerne, equipped
with Bristol Beaufighter night fighters. The squadron moved out to the Middle
East to defend the Nile delta and the Suez Canal. On 3 March 1942 the squadron
scored its first victory when it shot down a German Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111.
The squadron was active in the Mediterranean area, sending aircraft to Malta
and Algiers, and in 1943 sought targets over Crete and later Sicily. With the
withdrawal further north of the German night fighter units, the squadron moved
first to Ceylon, then in the summer of 1944 to Burma on intruder missions. The
aircraft withdrew from operations to convert to the de Havilland Mosquito.
Apart from leaflet dropping from Singapore, there was little for the squadron
to do and it was disbanded on 1 May 1946.
