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Research dossier · General Reference

No. 513 Squadron RAF

squadron of the Royal Air Force

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 29, 2026
Entity authorityQ7043574 ↗
Source-derived summary

No. 513 Squadron RAF was a non-operational bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force in 1943.

History

No. 513 squadron was formed from a flight of No. 218 Squadron on 15 September 1943 at RAF Witchford, Cambridgeshire. It worked up for the Short Stirling bomber, but did not obtain operational status, as its aircraft were more needed at the Stirling conversion units and was disbanded on 21 November 1943.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “No. 513 Squadron RAF” is squadron of the Royal Air Force. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Squadron, squadron and Royal, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1943—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1943-01-01. For this dossier, Squadron, squadron and Royal is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “squadron of the Royal Air Force” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7043574. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1943.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “No. 513 Squadron RAF”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow No. 513 Squadron RAF primary sources, No. 513 Squadron RAF archive and Squadron research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “No. 513 Squadron RAF”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “No. 513 Squadron RAF” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.