No. 10 Operational Training Unit RAF
{{Short description|Royal Air Force training unit}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2017}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= No. 10 Operational Training Unit
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| image= Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Armstrong Whitworth Aw.38 Whitley. CH1216.jpg
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|caption= A Whitley taxiing at Abingdon.
|dates= 8 April 1940 – 10 September 1946
|country= United Kingdom
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|branch= Royal Air Force
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|role= Training
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No. 10 Operational Training Unit RAF or more simply No. 10 OTU was a training unit operated by the Royal Air Force.
History
The unit was formed at RAF Abingdon on 8 April 1940 with No. 97 Squadron RAF (97 Sqn) and No. 166 Squadron RAF (166 Sqn) flying Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys to train night bomber crews.{{cite web|url=http://www.rafweb.org/Organsation/OTU_1.htm|title=No 10 Operational Training Unit|publisher=Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation|date=9 February 2016}}
During 1942 10 OTU took control of an anti-submarine flight detached to St Eval and 10 OTU was transferred to No. 91 Group RAF.
On June 20, 1943, in the Bay of Biscay, one of a pair of Whitleys operated by 10 OTU from St. Eval was shot down while attacking a submarine believed to be the Barbarigo, of the Italian navy. All of the Whitley's crew were killed.Dave O'Malley, "The Memory that Would Not Die: the Story of Olive Bingham's Memorial Cross," Vintage Wings of Canada, April 17, 2020. http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/626/The-Memory-that-Would-Not-Die.aspx
Between March and November 1944 the unit moved to RAF Stanton Harcourt whilst runways were laid at Abingdon with Vickers Wellingtons arriving from June. During September the last Whitley left and later in the year, during December, it gained the control of the Polish Flight from No. 18 Operational Training Unit RAF (18 OTU), until June 1945 when the flight disbanded.
10 OTU disbanded on 10 September 1946 back at Abingdon.{{sfn|Lake|1999|p=146}}
Airfields used
- RAF Abingdon{{cite web|url=http://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/abingdon/ |title=Abingdon |publisher=Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust (ABCT)|accessdate=9 February 2016}}
- RAF Stanton Harcourt{{cite web|url=http://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/stanton-harcourt/ |title=Stanton Harcourt |publisher=ABCT|accessdate=9 February 2016}}
- RAF St. Eval{{cite web|url=http://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/st-eval/ |title=St. Eval |publisher=ABCT|accessdate=9 February 2016}}
See also
References
=Citations=
{{Reflist}}
=Bibliography=
- {{cite book |last1=Lake |first1=A |title= Flying units of the RAF |year=1999 |publisher= Airlife |location= Shrewsbury |isbn= 1-84037-086-6 }}
External links
{{Commons category|No. 10 Operational Training Unit RAF}}
{{Royal Air Force}}
{{RAF Operational Training units}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 10 Operational Training Unit}}