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Flt. Lt. Arnold Cussons No Photo Available Flt. Lt. Arnold Cussons joined the RAF in July 1940, but pilot training did not start until early 1941. After EFTS (DH82) and SFTS (Oxford) he was told he must be an Instructor. FIS at Cranwell, instructing at 14 SFTS Lyneham (then grass field!) then secondment to RNZAF at Christchurch until got back to UK September 1943. 8OTU (Dyce) then 540 Sqn, A flight, January 1944. Flew 62 operational flights including Damage Assessment of the Tirpitz just 3 hours after it was sunk by Lancasters. He returned to instructing in July 1945, first as Flt Cdr Mosquitoes at PRU's 8OTU then as CFI when Frank Dodd left. Arnold then went to the Empire Central Flying School as a Tutor. He left the RAF at end of 1949 after a time flying Hornets with 65 Sqn., Linton-on-Ouse near York.
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Items Signed by Flt. Lt. Arnold Cussons |
Packs with at least one item featuring the signature of Flt. Lt. Arnold Cussons |
| Squadrons for : Flt. Lt. Arnold Cussons | ||
| A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Flt. Lt. Arnold Cussons. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
| Squadron | Info | |
Country : UK Founded : 19th October 1942 Fate : Disbanded 31st March 1956 Sine qua non - Indispensable | No.540 Sqn RAF formed on 19 October 1942 from 'H' and 'L' flights of No. 1 PRU at RAF Leuchars as a photoreconnaissance unit with the de Havilland Mosquito. It operated from Leuchars to carry out missions over Norway and Germany, while a detachment based at RAF Benson carried out similar missions over France and Italy. Another detachment, based at RAF Gibraltar covered the south of France and Algeria, but from 1944 on the unit was wholly based at RAF Benson, the range of the later Mosquito permitting missions deep in Austria or to the Canary Islands. In March 1945 the squadron went overseas, to France, coming back to the UK in November, again at RAF Benson where the unit was disbanded on 30 September 1946, when it was renumbered to 58 Squadron On 1 December 1947, No.540 Squadron reformed at Benson, and used its Mosquitoes for photographic reconnaissance and survey duties,In March 1953 the squadron moved to Wyton, where it was disbanded on 31 March 1956. | |
Country : UK Founded : 1st August 1916 Fate : Disbanded 30th June 1992 East India Vi e tarmis - By force of arms | No.65 Sqn RAF Flew Mustangs from December 1943. | |
| Aircraft for : Flt. Lt. Arnold Cussons | |||
| A list of all aircraft associated with Flt. Lt. Arnold Cussons. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | |||
| Squadron | Info | ||
Manufacturer : de Havilland Production Began : 1946 Retired : 1956 Number Built : 383 | Hornet The Hornet prototype RR 915 first flew on 28 July 1944 with Geoffrey de Havilland Jr. at the controls. Powered by twin Merlin engines, it was the fastest twin piston-engined fighter in Royal Air Force service, a little slower than the fastest (single) piston-engined Supermarine Spiteful. The Hornet also has the distinction of being the second fastest wooden aircraft ever built, after the Heinkel He 162, and the second fastest operational twin propeller-driven aircraft — being slightly slower than the unconventional German Dornier Do 335 of 1945. The Hornet entered service in 1946 with 64 Squadron based at RAF Horsham St Faith. Next to convert to the Hornet was 19 Squadron at RAF Wittering, followed by 41 Squadron and 65 Squadron, both based at RAF Church Fenton. No. 65 Sqn was to participate in one of the first official overseas visits by an RAF unit when they visited Sweden in May 1948. Pilot conversion to the Hornet was provided by No. 226 Operational Conversion Unit (O.C.U.) which was based at RAF Molesworth. Operationally, the Hornet I (later F 1) was to last only a short time before being superseded by the F 3 version. The first Hornet F 3 was PX 366 which flew at the Farnborough Air Show in June 1946. New units to convert to this mark were 33 Squadron, 45 Squadron (based at RAF Tengah, Singapore where, in early 1952, the unit converted to the Hornet from the unreliable Bristol Brigand) and 80 Squadron. Along with 64 Sqn these squadrons operated in Malaysia where they replaced Beaufighters and Spitfires operating against Communist guerrillas during the Malayan Emergency. Armed with rockets and/or 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs Hornets, with their long range and good endurance, were able to spend up to two hours loitering over the target area. They also proved to be very reliable; 45 Sqn Hornets, based in Singapore achieved 4,500 operational sorties over five years. The last operational Hornet sortie was flown on 21 May 1955. On 23 July 1954, two Hornets from RAF Kai Tak in Hong Kong were the first to arrive on the scene of a shootdown of a Cathay Pacific Skymaster off the coast of Hainan Island. All Hornets were withdrawn from operational service by mid-1956 | ||
Manufacturer : De Havilland Production Began : 1940 Retired : 1955 Number Built : 7781 | Mosquito Used as a night fighter, fighter bomber, bomber and Photo-reconnaissance, with a crew of two, Maximum speed was 425 mph, at 30,300 feet, 380mph at 17,000ft. and a ceiling of 36,000feet, maximum range 3,500 miles. the Mosquito was armed with four 20mm Hospano cannon in belly and four .303 inch browning machine guns in nose. Coastal strike aircraft had eight 3-inch Rockets under the wings, and one 57mm shell gun in belly. The Mossie at it was known made its first flight on 25th November 1940, and the mosquito made its first operational flight for the Royal Air Force as a reconnaissance unit based at Benson. In early 1942, a modified version (mark II) operated as a night fighter with 157 and 23 squadron's. In April 1943 the first De Haviland Mosquito saw service in the Far east and in 1944 The Mosquito was used at Coastal Command in its strike wings. Bomber Commands offensive against Germany saw many Mosquitos, used as photo Reconnaissance aircraft, Fighter Escorts, and Path Finders. The Mosquito stayed in service with the Royal Air Force until 1955. and a total of 7781 mosquito's were built. | ||
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