Kent's Own: The History of 500 RAuxAF; Robin Brooks 1982 1st edition hardback

Author: Robin J Brooks

Publisher: Meresborough Books

Pagination: 158

Format: Hardback

Condition: Very good, with slight edge wear and sunning alongb spine.

1st Edition.

'Shrieking from the clouds, the Stukas achieved the measure of surprise they needed. The accuracy of the raid was good. Every runway was hit, the length of them just bomb craters, rock and earth. Fires were started in all the hangers eventually spreading to enormous proportions. As the operations room disappeared in one large explosion, the Station Commander fell dead with a piece of jagged concrete driven straight through his skull...' 500 Squadron was formed in 1930 at Manston in Kent. Initially recruited from Kent men and women, it became an international in character when war broke out with Battle Honours are the English Channel and North Sea, Dunkirk, Biscay Ports, Atlantic, North Africa, the Mediterranean and Italy. In peacetime, it won the coveted Cooper and Esher Trophy twice for the best performance in the auxiliary squadrons. Sadly, it fell victim to defence cuts in 1957 when all auxiliary squadrons were disbanded. The squadron may have disappeared from the Royal Air Force Order of Battle, but it will never be forgotten. Its history lies in the annals of the service and the fact that the Old Comrades Association of 500 Squadron hold an annual reunion at their ancestral home, RAF Manston in Kent