Editing Special Operations Executive (section)

====161 Squadron operations====
[[File:Westland Lysander-B-MA.jpg|thumb|left|Westland Lysander Mk III (SD), the type used for special missions into occupied France during World War II]]

The principal aircraft of 161 Squadron was the [[Westland Lysander]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tempsfordmemorial.co.uk/history.html|title=History|website=Tempsford Memorial|access-date=22 June 2019|archive-date=13 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913183317/http://www.tempsfordmemorial.co.uk/history.html|url-status=usurped}}</ref> It handled very well at low speed and could land from touch down to turn around in only {{convert|150|yd|m}}.<ref name="Correll">{{cite web |last1=Correll |first1=John T. |title=The Moon Squadrons |url=https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0712moon/ |website=Air Force Magazine |access-date=31 January 2022}}</ref> It had a range of {{convert|700|mi|km}} and could carry one to three passengers in the rear cockpit and stores in a pannier underneath the fuselage. It was flown by a single pilot, who also had to navigate, so missions had to be flown on clear nights with a full or near full moon. Bad weather often thwarted missions, German night fighters were also a hazard, and pilots could never know when landing whether they would be greeted by the resistance or the Gestapo.<ref name="Orchard">Orchard, Adrian ''Group Captain Percy Charles "Pick" Pickard DSO**, DFC 1915 – 1944''  February 2006</ref>

The procedure once a Lysander reached its destination in France was described by Squadron Leader [[Hugh Verity]]. Once the aircraft reached the airfield the agent on the ground would signal the aircraft by flashing a prearranged code letter in [[Morse code|Morse]]. The aircraft would respond by blinking back the appropriate code response letter. The agent and his men would then mark the field by lighting the three landing lights, which were flashlights attached to poles. The "A" lamp was at the base of the landing ground. 150 metres beyond it and into the wind was the "B" light, and 50 metres to the right of "B" was the "C" light. The three lights formed an inverted "L", with the "B" and "C" lights upwind from "A". With the code passed the pilot would land the aircraft. He then would taxi back to the "A" lamp, where the passengers would clamber down the fixed ladder to the ground, often while the pilot was making a slow U-turn. Before leaving the last passenger would hand off the luggage and then take aboard the outgoing luggage before climbing down the ladder as well. Then the outgoing passengers would climb aboard and the aircraft would take off. The whole exchange might take as little as 3 minutes.{{sfn|Verity|1978|pp=17–18}}

The [[Lockheed Hudson]] had a range {{convert|200|mi|km}} or greater, and could carry more passengers (ten or more), but required landing strips more than double the length of those needed for the Lysander - {{convert|350|yd}} vs. {{convert|150|yd}}).<ref>[https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0712moon/ Correll]</ref> It carried a navigator, to ease the load on the pilot, and could also be fitted with navigational equipment, such as the "Rebecca" homing transceiver of the [[Rebecca/Eureka transponding radar]] system. The Hudson's use with 161 Squadron was developed by [[Percy Charles Pickard|Charles Pickard]] and Hugh Verity. Pickard determined that the Hudson's stall speed was actually some {{convert|20|mph}} slower than its manual stated. Before it was first used on 13 January 1943, 161 Squadron had to send two Lysander aircraft, in what they termed "a double", if larger parties needed to be picked up.<ref name="Coxon"/>