LETTER OF THE MONTH
The Mosquito Exiles
David Smith’s excellent article on the Bannf Strike Wing in the October issue of Britain at War mentioned the Norwegian manned ‘B’ Flight of 333 Sqn and I thought that Readers might be interested in some further information on this small and unique Coastal Command unit.
During April, 1943, the Catalina equipped and Norwegian manned 1477 Flight at Woodhaven, near Dundee, received six Mosquito II and formed into ‘B’ Flight at nearby RAF Leuchars. These were the first Mosquito fighters in RAF Coastal Command and on 5 May the expanded unit became 333 (Norwegian) Sqn under Cdr Finn Lambrechts. The Mosquitos began operations on the 27th, and as mentioned in the article their primary role being reconnaissance, fittingly of the waters off the rugged coast of Norway where its crews soon became expert in navigating the bleak area and were soon in action. The Norwegian crews’ local knowledge was soon exploited when, in mid-July, a small detachment of two Mosquitos joined others of 235 Sqn and Beaufighters of 404 Sqn at RAF Sumbugh for combined anti-shipping operations. The Norwegians acted as their ‘eyes’ and as ‘outriders’ to the attack force and this was an important ste…
