# No. 663 Squadron

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For the Army Air Corps squadron, see [No. 663 Squadron AAC](/source/No._663_Squadron_AAC).

No. 663 Squadron Badge of 663rd Polish Air Observation Post Squadron during World War II Active 14 August 1944 – 29 October 1946 1 July 1949 – 10 March 1957 Country United Kingdom Allegiance Polish government in exile (1944–1946) Branch Royal Air Force Role Air observation post squadron Motto We fly for the guns[1] Insignia Squadron Badge heraldry An Eagle displayed holding a snaffle bit (1949–1957)[1] Squadron Codes ROC (July 1949 – April 1951)[2][3] Aircraft flown Reconnaissance Auster single-engined Army liaison monoplane

Military unit

**No. 663 Squadron** (*[Polish](/source/Polish_language): *663 Polski Szwadron Powietrznych Punktów Obserwacyjnych**) was an [air observation post](/source/Air_observation_post) (AOP) unit, manned with [Polish Army](/source/Polish_Land_Forces) personnel, which was officially formed in Italy on 14 August 1944. Numbers 651 to 663 Squadrons were air observation post units working closely with [British Army](/source/British_Army) units in artillery spotting and liaison. A further three of these squadrons, 664–666, were manned with Canadian personnel. Their duties and squadron numbers were transferred to the Army with the formation of the [Army Air Corps](/source/Army_Air_Corps_(United_Kingdom)) on 1 September 1957.[4][5]

## History

### Formation and wartime history

[De Havilland 82A Tiger Moth II](/source/De_Havilland_Tiger_Moth) in Polish Aviation Museum

Volunteer [Polish Army](/source/Polish_Land_Forces) officers had been sent by ship to South Africa in June 1944 for initial training as pilots and then for operational training in the very low-level AOP role. The squadron was officially formed at [San Basilio](/source/San_Basilio_(Rome)) in Italy on 14 August 1944[1] as **663 Polski Szwadron Powietrznych Punktów Obserwacyjnych**. The fifteen successful officers reached Italy on 28 October. All squadron personnel were drawn from Polish artillery units. The squadron's primary role was to observe enemy ground targets and to help direct artillery fire on them. After further advanced training, the squadron was declared operational on 30 January 1945. The squadron's HQ was at [Villa Carpena](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Villa_Carpena&action=edit&redlink=1), with three flights, two of which were detached elsewhere as needed to support [No. 2 Polish Corps](/source/2nd_Polish_Corps_(Polish_Armed_Forces_in_the_West)) artillery units on the progressing "front line". [Auster AOP](/source/Taylorcraft_Auster) IV and V "spotter" aircraft were flown in the unit's close support operations. After meritorious service with some pilots being killed, the unit left for the UK on 10 October 1946 and was formally disbanded on 29 October 1946.

### Post-war service

663 (AOP) Squadron Auster AOP.6 VX121 'A' 'low flying for the guns' over Cheshire in 1954

No. 663 Squadron was reformed on 1 July 1949 as an AOP unit of the [Royal Auxiliary Air Force](/source/Royal_Auxiliary_Air_Force) equipped with [Taylorcraft Auster](/source/Taylorcraft_Auster) Vs and [Auster AOP.6](/source/Auster_AOP.6) & T.7s. [de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk](/source/De_Havilland_Canada_DHC-1_Chipmunk) T.10 aircraft were used for training and proficiency flights.[6] The squadron headquarters was at [RAF Hooton Park](/source/RAF_Hooton_Park), Wirral, Cheshire with dispersed flights at [RAF Ringway](/source/RAF_Ringway), [RAF Llandow](/source/RAF_Llandow), South Wales, and [Wolverhampton (Pendeford)](/source/Wolverhampton_(Pendeford)_Airport) – the latter flight moving on to [Castle Bromwich Aerodrome](/source/Castle_Bromwich_Aerodrome) near [Birmingham](/source/Birmingham).[1] For the next eight years, No. 663 flew very low-level 'spotting' sorties in co-operation with [Territorial Army](/source/Army_Reserve_(United_Kingdom)) artillery units, often based for the weekend in a friendly farmers field – for example near [Tarporley](/source/Tarporley), Cheshire.

No. 1952 Reserve Air Observation Post Flight was formed within 663 Squadron along with No. 1953 Reserve Air Observation Post Flight, No. 1954 Reserve Air Observation Post Flight and No. 1955 Reserve Air Observation Post Flight.[7]

The squadron disbanded on 10 March 1957, at the same time as all other Royal Auxiliary Air Force flying units.[6]

### Army Air Corps history and operations

Main article: [No. 663 Squadron AAC](/source/No._663_Squadron_AAC)

The unit was reformed as an army air unit called **663 Aviation Squadron** in October 1969 at [Netheravon](/source/Netheravon_Airfield), Wiltshire. Its allocated mission was to support army formations in the [Salisbury Plain](/source/Salisbury_Plain) area. The unit's initial equipment was the [Bell Sioux](/source/Bell_H-13_Sioux) AH.1 helicopter, with these being later replaced by the [Westland Scout](/source/Westland_Scout) AH.1 turbine helicopter. On 1 January 1973 the unit was renamed [No. 663 Squadron AAC](/source/No._663_Squadron_AAC). The Squadron again disbanded in July 1977.

663 Squadron AAC Westland Scout AH.1 in 1969

Following a restructuring of Army Air Squadrons, 660 Squadron was redesignated as 663 Squadron, part of [3 Regiment Army Air Corps](/source/3_Regiment_Army_Air_Corps). From 1993 it has been based at the [AAC Wattisham](/source/Wattisham_Flying_Station) near Stowmarket, Suffolk. In recent years it has replaced its [Westland Gazelles](/source/A%C3%A9rospatiale_Gazelle) with Westland-assembled [Boeing AH-64 Apache](/source/Boeing_AH-64_Apache) attack helicopters.

## Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 663 Squadron RAF, data from[1][8] From To Aircraft Variant October 1944 February 1946 Auster IV November 1944 February 1946 Auster V July 1949 October 1951 Auster V July 1949 February 1957 Auster AOP.6 1955 1957 Chipmunk T.10

## References

### Notes

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Halley1988_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Halley1988_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Halley1988_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Halley1988_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Halley1988_1-4) [Halley 1988](#CITEREFHalley1988), p. 450.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Bowyer & Rawlings 1979](#CITEREFBowyerRawlings1979), p. 138.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Flintham & Thomas 2003](#CITEREFFlinthamThomas2003), p. 187.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Halley 1988](#CITEREFHalley1988), pp. 444–451.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Jefford 2001](#CITEREFJefford2001), pp. 102–104.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Scholefield1998p51_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Scholefield1998p51_6-1) [Scholefield 1998](#CITEREFScholefield1998), p. 51

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELake1999100_7-0)** [Lake 1999](#CITEREFLake1999), p. 100.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Jefford 2001](#CITEREFJefford2001), p. 105.

### Bibliography

- Bowyer, Michael J.F.; Rawlings, John D.R. (1979). *Squadron Codes, 1937–56*. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-85059-364-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-85059-364-6).

- Flintham, Vic; Thomas, Andrew (2003). *Combat Codes: A Full Explanation and Listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied Air Force Unit Codes since 1938*. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing Ltd. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-84037-281-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-84037-281-8).

- Halley, James J (1988). *The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988*. Tonbridge: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-85130-164-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-85130-164-9).

- Jefford, C.G. (2001). *RAF Squadrons: A Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912*. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing Ltd. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-84037-141-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-84037-141-2).

- Król, Wacław (1981). *Zarys działań polskiego lotnictwa w Wielkiej Brytanii 1940–1945*. Wydawnictwa Komunikacji i łączności (in Polish). Vol. 11. Warsaw: Biblioteczka Skrzydlatej Polski. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [83-206-0152-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/83-206-0152-5).

- Lake, Alan (1999). *Flying units of the RAF*. Shrewsbury: Airlife. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-84037-086-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-84037-086-6).

- Scholefield, R.A. (1998). *Manchester Airport*. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7509-1954-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7509-1954-X).

- Szczurowski, Maciej (2001). *Artyleria Polskich Sił Zbrojnych na Zachodzie w II wojnie światowej* (in Polish). Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [83-7174-918-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/83-7174-918-X).

## External links

- ["663 Squadron"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110829002643/http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/663squadron.cfm). *Historic Squadrons*. Royal Air Force. Archived from [the original](http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/663squadron.cfm) on 29 August 2011.

- ["No 663 Squadron"](https://www.rafweb.org/Squadrons/Sqn651-670.htm). *Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation*.

- Hodyra, Piotr. ["Personnel of the Polish Air Force in Great Britain 1940-1947"](http://listakrzystka.pl/en/).

v t e Polish Air Force in the United Kingdom during the Second World War Wings No. 131 Wing RAF (No. 1 Polish Wing) No. 133 Wing RAF (No. 2 Polish Wing) No. 3 Squadrons 300 "Ziemi Mazowieckiej" 301 "Ziemi Pomorskiej" 302 "Poznański" 303 "Warszawski im. Tadeusza Kościuszki" 304 "Ziemi Śląskiej im. Ks. Józefa Poniatowskiego" 305 "Ziemi Wielkopolskiej im. Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego" 306 "Toruński" 307 "Lwowskich Puchaczy" 308 "Krakowski" 309 "Ziemi Czerwieńskiej" 315 "Dębliński" 316 "Warszawski" 317 "Wileński" 318 "Gdański" 663rd Polish Air Observation Post Squadron Other units Polish Fighting Team 138 Special Duty Squadron (Polish Flight "C") 1586 Special Duty Flight

v t e Royal Air Force flying squadrons Currently active 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19 20 22 24 25 27 28 29 30 31 32 41 42 45 51 54 56 57 60 70 72 78 80 84 92 99 101 115 120 201 202 203 206 207 216 617 Inactive 5 15 21 23 26 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 43 44 46 47 48 49 50 52 53 55 58 59 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 71 73 74 75 76 77 79 81 82 83 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 93 94 95 96 97 98 100 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 116 117 118 119 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 204 205 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 353 354 355 356 357 358 360 361 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 547 548 549 550 567 569 570 571 575 576 577 578 582 586 587 595 597 598 618 619 620 621 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 635 639 640 644 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 679 680 681 682 683 684 691 692 695 Australian Flying Corps units attached to the RAF during the First World War 67 (1 Sqn AFC) 68 (2 Sqn AFC) 69 (3 Sqn AFC) 71 (4 Sqn AFC) Article XV (Commonwealth) air force units attached to the RAF during the Second World War Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 466 467 Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) 485 486 487 488 489 490 Squadrons formed from non-Commonwealth personnel during the Second World War Argentine 164 Belgian 349 350 Czechoslovak 310 311 312 313 Dutch 320 (Netherlands) 321 (Netherlands) 322 (Dutch) French 326 327 328 329 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 Greek 13 335 336 Norwegian 330 331 332 333 334 Polish 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 315 316 317 318 663 United States 71 121 133 Yugoslav 351 352 Royal Auxiliary Air Force Special Reserve 500 501 502 503 504 Auxiliary Air Force 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 622 Fleet Air Arm of the RAF (1924–1939) 712 715 718 800 801 802 803 810 811 812 813 814 820 821 822 823 824 825 Volunteer Gliding Squadrons (VGS) Current 611 615 621 622 626 631 632 637 644 645 661 Former 612 613 614 616 617 618 623 624 625 633 634 635 636 642 643 662 663 664

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [No. 663 Squadron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._663_Squadron) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._663_Squadron?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.