Dates of Mosquito Trouble in India in 1944.
Chugalug,
Having struck oil with the Stations-C link you found me, I tried my hand with Stations-Y and came up with Yelahanka. Lots of interesting stuff in there. For a start 1580 Flight and 21 A.P.C. were originally there, before moving to Cholaveram together in September '44. But the real surprise was that there was a No. 1672 (Mosquito) Conversion Unit there from 1 Feb '44 - 3 Jun '44 and from 29 Oc t '44 - 10 Aug '45.
This has me completely baffled. Who on earth were they converting ? I'd always believed that fully trained crews came out with the Mosquitos to take over from the Vengeance people - who in any case were in the last year of their tours and so not worth converting. Who else could there be in India except Beaufighter and Dakota crews, who were busy enough already ?
Stations-Y gives a clue. The aircraft used by the unit are listed as Blenheim V, Mosquito III and Oxford I. This looks like an ab-initio conversion unit to me. So where were all these aircraft in Nov - Dec '44 ? Don't recall seeing any of them while I was there then. What I do remember was 1670 (Thunderbolt) Conversion Unit - they were all too real !
Another strange thing: 45, 84 and 110 Squadrons are listed as being there (but no dates given). So why was 82 the odd man out ? The whole business bristles with unanswered questions. Can any one explain ?
But the crucial information is in the dates. 1672 were out of business from 4.6.44. to 28.10.44. nearly five months. And we know there were accidents in mid May. We have the time frame of the Mosquito troubles tied down at last.
Danny.