VSQ-321
Squadron of the Marine Luchtvaartdienst .
....

History 
1. June 1940 2 Sqn. established at Pembroke Dock, Wales
2. August 1940 2. Sqn renamed No. 321 Sqn (RAF)
18. January 1941 No. 321 Sqn merged with No. 320 Sqn (RAF)
15. August 1942 No. 321 Sqn reestablished at RAF Trincomalee, Ceylon
14. January 2005 VSQ-321 disestablished at Marine Airfield Valkenburg
     
Planes:
 

 

 

 Jun. 1940 - Jan 1941
Avro Anson Mk.I		    
 

 

 

 Jun. 1940 - Jan 1941
 Hudson Mk.I 		   
....
 

 

 

 1942 – 1945
PBY-5 & PBY-5A
Catalina
 
 

 

 

 1945 -  1946
B-24 Liberator		    
 

 

 

 1955 -  1960
PBM-5A Mariner		    
 

 

 

 1960 -  1961
C-47 Dakota		    
 

 

 

 1961 -  1962
P2V-7B Neptune		    
 

 

 

 1969 -  1984
Breguet Atlantic
 

 

 

 1984 - 2005
P-3C  Orion 		   
..
VSQ-321 Home Base
Pembroke Dock, Wales 1. Jun. 1940 18. May 1971
RAF Carew Cheriton 28. Jul. 1940 18. Jan. 1941
RAF Trincomalee, Ceylon 15. Aug. 1942 1942
RAF China Bay 1942 Jul. 1945
Cocos Island Jul. 1945 Oct. 1945
Batavia Oct. 1945 1 May 1949
Dutch New Guinea 1 May 1949 28 Dec. 1962
Marine Airfield Valkenburg 28 Dec. 1962 14. Jan 2005
...
VSQ-321 Commanding Officers 
Lt/Cdr. H. Kolff 1. Jun 1940 Aug 1940
Lt/Cdr. M.G. Smalt Aug 1940 Oct 1940
Lt/Cdr. W. van Lier Oct 1940 18. Jan 1941
Lt/Cdr. W. van Prooijen Jul 1942 1945
? 1945 ?
? ? 14. Jan 2005
...

History 

Formed on 1. June 1940 at RAF Pembroke Dock, the squadron moved to RAF Carew Cheriton on 28 July 1940 and became operational. The squadron flew coastal and anti-submarine patrols with Avro Ansons until the squadron was disbanded, due to lack of personnel, and merged with No. 320 Squadron on 18 January 1941.

The squadron was re-activated at RAF Trincomalee, Ceylon on 15. August 1942. It was equipped with PBY Catalinas, which were crewed by MLD personnel who escaped to Ceylon. The squadron's headquarters was located at RAF China Bay with detachments based in Mombasa, Cocos Islands, Socotra, Masirah, Ceylon, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Aden and Cape Town. Supplemented with Consolidated Liberators in July 1945, the air echelon moved to Cocos Island in preparation for Operation Zipper, the proposed invasion of Malaya.

After the Japanese surrender, relief flights and supply drops to thousands of internees in the POW camps were flown to Java and Sumatra, and in October 1945 the squadron moved to its new base near Batavia, where the squadron passed to MLD control on 8 December 1945, keeping the same squadron number, No. 321 Squadron MLD. Along with 320 Squadron, it flew maritime patrol missions from Valkenburg for decades afterwards. The Squadron was disbanded in January 2005, due to budget cuts.

....
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last update 1. Janurary 2021

written 1. November 2018

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