No. 35 Squadron (RAF)

[Petet]

I am in the process of building up an archive and piecing together a non commercial, educational website on the History of No 35 Squadron and I would be interested to hear from anyone who can provide information, photographs, ephemera relating to its post war history which can be included on the site.

Initially I am interested in obtaining an overview of its structure and details of the aircraft that were on strength, along with its training regimes / exercises from 1946 up until the time of its disbandment.

It is a slow process as it has to be fitted around day to day life and enquiries from relatives looking for information on a family member who served with the squadron but any help would be much appreciated.

Regards

Pete
No. 35 Squadron - From Thetford to Scampton | This is a non-commercial, educational site, aimed at providing a consolidated history of No. 35 Squadron (RAF). (http://35squadron.wordpress.com/)

[Specaircrew]

I've got happy memories of my time on 35 from '79 till '82 as a badly behaved 23 year old Vulcan captain ;-)

[Petet]

Thanks to everyone for your responses on-line and in private messages.

I have been asked to provide some background to the project, so hopefully the following puts it into context:

My interest in No 35 Squadron stems from the fact that my partner's grandfather was KIA in 1945 whilst flying as a FE with the squadron.

Having researched his loss for my partner's mother (who was only two when he was killed) I caught the "research bug" and decided that I would use some of my spare time to help other families understand the service record of their relatives and/or the circumstances surrounding their loss.

As my archive grew I thought it would be a useful resource for others, hence the No. 35 Squadron website.

Sadly, the post war Operations Record Books held at the TNA are not digitised and I have been quoted £100's to have them copied, which is beyond my budget.

I would therefore appreciate any help that can be offered which will enable me to fill in the blanks and obtain a decent framework for the 50's, 60's and 70's.

Once again, thanks to everyone for their interest in the thread.

Regards

Pete

[MrBernoulli]

Sadly, the post war Operations Record Books held at the TNA are not digitised and I have been quoted £100's to have them copied, which is beyond my budget.

Perhaps you should plan a personal visit to the National Archives? You are permitted to use a personal camera to photograph most documents. Have a look at the conditions here (http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/photopolicy.pdf).

[ursa_major]

I would agree with MrBernoulli on this, having recently done something similar with a number of non-digitised Station 540s as part of a larger research project I'm working on.

The reading room has a number of tables with very solid camera stands on which enable you to set up your camera perfectly to capture each page, then it's merely a matter of turning the pages and pressing the shutter button. Between 2 of us, we photographed around 4000 pages in less than 4 days, so creating your own digitised version of the Squadron's 540 is eminently do-able for very little outlay.

Regards

U-M

[Hipper]

Are not the Operations Record Books on microfilm?


If so it might be possible to buy microfilm copies, plus of course you need a microfilm reader.

[Pontius Navigator]

Don't forget you need the 541 as well

[Petet]

Thanks for the responses.

Unfortunately with my commitments and location it is not easy for me to get to Kew.

It was suggested that I posted a thread on this forum to try to get some input from those who had connections with the squadron.

I am receiving extremely useful input from one former squadron member (1969 - 1974 era); hopefully there are others who can help me create a framework for the remaining periods, so that the history of the squadron is available for all to see.

Regards

Pete

[Petet]

Specaircrew

Would you be happy to provide me with a listing of the exercises that you participated in during that period, along with copies of any photographs, ephemera that you may have?

Regards

Pete