9 Group had operated the Honiley sector since
August 1940. Enemy aircraft seldom operated over the
Midlands in 1943 and in May, 96 Squadron's
Beaufighters left, leaving the Honiley sector
un-defended. 9 Group took over all of Fighter
Command's Operational Training Units instead.
It had already incorporated 51 OTU at Cranfield and
62 OTU at Ouston in April 1943. The need for night
fighter crews had increased since the squadrons were
flying intruder operations over the continent more
frequently. 60 OTU reformed at High Ercall with
Mosquitoes in May 1943, to train crews for intruder
units. In August, 60 OTU had a detachment at
Honiley. Presumably the demand was greater than
could be met by 60 OTU alone and a further new unit
was needed. As it was to be equipped with
Beaufighters, which were being phased out of the
UK-based squadrons, it may have been intended to
supply the Beaufighter squadrons in the
Mediterranean from its inception. Personnel started
gathering at Honiley in August 1943 and 63
Operational Training Unit opened officially on 7
September. It became the fourth for training night
fighter crews. 51 OTU and 54 at Charterhall had
performed the role since July 1941 and late 1940
respectively.
63 OTU was established with 25 obsolete Merlin
engine Beaufighter IIs, 8 dual control Beauforts, a
flight of 10 Wellington XI and XVII flying
classrooms equipped with radar and sundry other
aircraft. The unit was split into two
squadrons. 1 Squadron was probably the conversion
unit, to qualify the crews on the Beaufighter and 2
Squadron was the air firing unit. From 16 October
1943, 2 Squadron of 63 OTU operated from Chedworth
in 60/63 OTU Combined Gunnery School. This was
equipped with Beaufighters and Mosquitos. The air
firing may have taken place over the Severn estuary.
The remnants of 2 Squadron joined 1 Squadron at
Honiley on 25 October.
The first course started on 7 September
1943. It was scheduled to end on 16
November, but was extended for 2 weeks due to
bad weather. The unit was intended to have a 12
week course, an intake of 20 crews every 4
weeks, an output of 17 crews every 4 weeks and a
population of 60 crews (ref. Ken Delve 'Fighter
Command, 1936-68: an operational &
historical record'). Some of the crews from the
first course were posted to night fighter
squadrons in the UK but, as fewer than 17 have
been identified, it seems likely that the
balance went abroad. In common with bomber OTUs
in the Midlands, the next course actually
started 2 weeks after the first. This was
scheduled to end on 28 December, but was also
extended as the weather curtailed flying. In
December, after one crew had been killed in a
crash, the unit recorded that the course would
provide 9 crews for overseas.
Numbers 3 and 4 courses began in
October and December 1943, but needs were
changing rapidly and on 6 February the unit was
instructed to stop training the crews for night
fighters. Instead they were to switch to
light bomber training for 2 Group, as soon as
syllabuses and instructors arrived. On 25
January three of the Wellingtons went to RAF
Valley to assist the training of 125 Squadron
with the radar in Mosquito HJ867, newly arrived
from 410 Squadron (ref. 125 Sqn ORB). On 12
February a 'Mk X conversion flight' arrived from
Fairwood Common. This was probably another
flight using Wellington flying classrooms fitted
with the new Mk X Airborne Interception radar.
What the trainees thought about being trained in
equipment they wouldn't encounter in light
bombers isn't recorded. The switch may not have
happened before the unit closed on 21 March and
it seems the trainees remained at Honiley for a
month before being posted to 13 OTU at Bicester.
This was already training crews for 2 Group
using Bostons, Mitchells and Mosquitos. The
newly trained crews then moved to squadrons in
the 2nd Tactical Air Force, flying low-level
daylight raids over France and Holland.
In a final role-change, 63 OTU ran a single engine
night conversion course for Hurricane pilots. The
Hurricane was obsolete as a fighter by 1944, but the
Hurricane IV was being used for ground-attack,
particularly with rockets. 184 Squadron was still
using the Hurricane IV for cross-channel
anti-shipping and anti-tank operations but was
already re-equipping with the Typhoon and its last
Hurricanes left in March 1944. The only operational
unit left in Europe was 6 Squadron in Italy. The
Hurricane OTUs in the UK had already disbanded or
converted to Typhoons, so this course may have been
an after-thought to supply 6 Squadron with
replacement crews. In May the squadron noted no
replacements were forthcoming and 5 METS at Shallufa
in Egypt would need to train new ones, then within
days newly trained pilots started to arrive anyway.
5 officers and 15 Sergeants started the night
conversion course at Honiley on 9 February 1944.
Within a month, five of them had been killed in
crashes. Three of the Hurricanes dived into the
ground at night, two having attempted to pull out
with insufficient height. The unit's Hurricanes were
all Mk Is, many having flown in the Battle of
Britain. The new Hurricane pilots didn't go to 516
Squadron, which was using Hurricanes for Commando
exercises in Scotland, so any who remained in the UK
may have gone to the small anti-aircraft
co-operation squadrons dotted around the country, or
to 3 Tactical Exercise Unit. 3 TEU formed at Annan
on 21 March 1944 to train ground attack pilots and
its C squadron was detached to Honiley on 10 May. It
was equipped with Hurricane Is and IVs, plus
Typhoons. The whole unit moved to Honiley on 13 June
and by the time it left for Aston Down a month
later, it had given up most of its Hurricanes and
become a Typhoon and Mustang conversion unit.
