R.A.F. WING IN RUSSIA

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 76, 26 September 1941, Page 5

R.A.F. WING IN RUSSIA

HOW IT WAS FORMED

WELL-KEPT SECRET

RUGBY, September 25,

The story of the formation of the Royal Air Force wing which has gone to Russia was told by the Air Ministry news service. The commanding officer of a north of England station received a. message a few weeks ago stating briefly that a new wing would be formed \there and would proceed overseas at short notice. Though nobody at the station knew it at the time, that marked the birth of the wing which has gone to Russia, and it has already claimed seven Nazi fighters.

The first of the new wing to arrive was a squadron leader, <an ' original member Of the City of Glasgow auxiliary squadron. He was followed by a stream of others. They came by bus arid train from all parts of the country, some from squadrons already famous, and some from operational training units or depots. None of them knew where they were going or what was in store for them. The first inkling came when the equipment officers were ordered to issue to every man in the wing-aground crews and administrative officers alike—the warm battledress that is normally issued to flying personnel only.

Then, one August morning, Wing Commander H. N. G. RamsbottomIsherwood, the New Zealand leader of the wing, gave orders to entrain. The journey to Russia had begun, though none of the rank and file and only a few of the officers knew it.

Besides the leader from New Zealand, there were Canadian, Australian, Scottish, Irish, and, of course, English pilots in the wing. One of the intelligence officers comes from Jamaica. Many of the pilots have been in combat with the Luftwaffe in sweeps over the occupied territories. The entire personnel of the wing--'arrived safely in Russia.—B.O.W.