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| No. 17 Operational Training Unit | |
|---|---|
| Unit name | No. 17 Operational Training Unit |
| Dates | 1940–1945 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Role | Bomber crew training |
No. 17 Operational Training Unit was a Royal Air Force training formation active during the Second World War that prepared aircrew for operational service with Bomber Command and associated units. The unit functioned within the wider structure of RAF Training Command, working alongside schools and units such as No. 1 Group RAF, No. 5 Group RAF, and No. 6 Group RCAF to convert pilots, navigators, wireless operators and bomb aimers onto frontline types. Operating from multiple airfields across England, the unit contributed to preparations for major operations including the 1943 Berlin Raids, the Operation Overlord air support phase, and strategic campaigns coordinated with United States Army Air Forces formations.
Formed amid the expansion of RAF training infrastructure after the Phoney War and the fall of France (1940), the unit emerged as part of a reorganisation that included transfers from RAF Training Command to RAF Bomber Command. Throughout the Battle of Britain aftermath and into the Strategic bombing campaign epoch, it absorbed crews from Empire Air Training Scheme graduates, personnel from Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force contingents, and specialists returned from theatres such as the North African Campaign and the Mediterranean Theatre.
Established to provide operational conversion training, the unit's remit mirrored that of contemporaries like No. 6 OTU and No. 1651 Heavy Conversion Unit. It converted aircrew onto twin- and four-engine bombers, emphasising navigation for long-range sorties that would later be flown by squadrons such as No. 617 Squadron RAF and No. 9 Squadron RAF. Liaison occurred with institutions including RAF College Cranwell, Empire Air Training Scheme stations, and transfer channels to Second Tactical Air Force elements for tactical cooperation and night operations.
The unit operated a variety of types typical of Bomber Command conversion units. These included twin-engine types like the Airspeed Oxford and the Vickers Wellington, four-engine types such as the Avro Lancaster and the Handley Page Halifax, and support types including the Avro Anson for navigation and wireless training. Crews also practised with target-towing and gunnery platforms like the Boulton Paul Defiant and saw transient use of types operated by squadrons including No. 83 Squadron RAF and No. 49 Squadron RAF for familiarisation.
Syllabus elements reflected contemporary doctrine from Bomber Command and doctrinal texts influenced by figures like Arthur Harris and staff at RAF Staff College, Bracknell. Curriculum modules covered blind navigation techniques used in Pathfinder Force operations, celestial navigation methods taught alongside instruments such as the Astrodome and sextant, wireless telephony procedures standardised with Royal Corps of Signals liaison, bombing practice including height-velocity tables from Air Ministry publications, and night formation flying emphasising procedures used in Thousand Bomber Raids. Training methods combined classroom instruction from instructors with operational sorties co-ordinated with units at ranges used by RAF Hebrides and coastal ranges near Skegness.
The unit was stationed at multiple airfields across Lincolnshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire, moving as operational demands and airfield availability required. Airfields used included wartime hubs comparable to RAF Waddington, RAF Scampton, RAF Leeming, and satellite strips akin to those at RAF Hemswell and RAF Snaith. Movements were influenced by infrastructure expansions tied to the Air Ministry and by coordination with maintenance depots such as those run by No. 42 Maintenance Unit RAF.
Commanding officers were drawn from Royal Air Force ranks including experienced squadron leaders and wing commanders who had served in operational tours with squadrons like No. 3 Squadron RAF and No. 50 Squadron RAF. Instruction staff included qualified navigators from Royal Naval Air Service veterans, flight engineers trained under schemes associated with RAF Technical Training Command, and armament instructors experienced with ordnance used by No. 617 Squadron RAF. The unit also hosted trainees from Commonwealth air forces including the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, and Royal New Zealand Air Force.
With the decline of strategic training demand after the end of the European theatre of World War II and the demobilisation following Victory in Europe Day, the unit was disbanded as part of broader reductions in RAF wartime establishments and the consolidation of conversion training into peacetime units such as No. 1 Flying Training School. Its legacy persists in postwar training doctrine adopted by Royal Air Force College Cranwell and in the personnel who later served in Cold War formations like Bomber Command (postwar) and NATO air wings. Numerous veterans associated with the unit are commemorated alongside crews from Bomber Command Memorial and in local histories of airfields such as those preserved at museums including the Royal Air Force Museum.
Category:Royal Air Force operational training units Category:Military units and formations of the United Kingdom in World War II