No. 114 Squadron was asquadron of the BritishRoyal Air Force. It was first formed in India during theFirst World War, serving as a light bomber squadron during theSecond World War and as a transport squadron post-war. It was last disbanded in 1971.
| No. 114 (Hong Kong) Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 27 Sep 1917 - 1 Apr 1920 1 Dec 1936 – 1 Sep 1946 1 Aug 1947 – 31 Dec 1957 5 May 1959 – 29 Sep 1961 30 Sep 1961 – 31 Oct 1971 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Nickname(s) | Hong Kong |
| Motto(s) | "With speed I strike"[1] |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Heraldry | ACobra head |
| Squadron Codes | 114 (Mar 1937 - Apr 1939) FD (Apr 1939 - Sep 1939) RT Sep 1939 - Sep 1946) |
History
editFormation and World War I
editNo. 114 SquadronRoyal Flying Corps was formed atLahore,India in September 1917, by splitting off part ofNo. 31 Squadron, becoming part of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918. Equipped with theB.E.2, the squadron carried out patrol operations over theNorth-West Frontier, flying fromQuetta, with a detachment atRAF Khormaksar, Aden.[2][3] The squadron partly re-equipped withBristol Fighters in October 1919, but was disbanded on 1 April 1920, by renumbering the squadron toNo. 28 Squadron.[2][4]
Reformation and World War II
edit
The squadron reformed on 1 December 1936 atRAF Wyton, initially equipped withHawker Hind single-enginedbiplane light bombers.[3] It joinedNo. 2 Group ofRAF Bomber Command on 1 March 1937,[5] receiving more modernBristol Blenheim I twin-enginedmonoplanes later that month, being the first RAF squadron to operate the Blenheim, while briefly operated a fewHawker Audaxes as trainers while converting to the Blenheim.[6][7] The squadron received improved Blenheim IVs from April 1939, carrying out long-range navigation flights over France in July and participating in the annual home defence exercise in August 1939.[8]
The squadron flew its first operations of the Second World War on 13 October 1939, when two aircraft, operating as a detachment from France, carried out reconnaissance flights over theRuhr, one of the two Blenheims not returning.[9] The squadron was allocated to join theAdvanced Air Striking Force (AASF), moving to France in December 1939.[10] On 10 May 1940, Germany invadedBelgium andthe Netherlands, and on the next day, a German air attack against 114 Squadron's airfield atVraux destroyed six of the squadron's Blenheims, with the rest of aircraft being damaged.[11] Although the squadron did fly a few bombing missions against the German advance, its losses meant it was soon evacuated back to the UK, with its remaining Blenheims (along with those of139 Squadron) being used to reinforce theBritish Expeditionary Force Air Component's reconnaissance squadrons.[12][13]
The squadron rejoined 2 Group on 10 June 1940,[5] attacking concentrations of barges in the German-held channel ports and Luftwaffe airfields by night.[14][15] In March 1941, the squadron was loaned toRAF Coastal Command for convoy escort duties and patrols over the North Sea fromRAF Thornaby in Yorkshire andRAF Leuchars inFife, Scotland, returning to Bomber Command control atRAF West Raynham in July 1941.[12][16] On 12 August 1941, the squadron took part in a large-scale low-level attack by 2 Group Blenheims against two power stations atKnapsack and Quadrath nearCologne. 114 Squadron contributed 12 Blenheims against the Knapsack power station, losing one aircraft to anti-aircraft fire; 12 Blenheims were lost of the 54 sent on the raid.[17][18] As well as daylight operations, the squadron also took part in night intruder and bombing operations.[19] On 11 February 1942, the German battleshipsScharnhorst,Gneisenau and the heavy cruiserPrinz Eugenbroke out fromBrest, France, heading up theEnglish Channel to return to Germany.[20] The German force was only spotted by the British when it was near Dover, prompting attempts by British sea and air forces to sink the German ships.[21] Nine of 114 Squadron's Blenheims formed part of the 242 aircraft of Bomber Command launched against the German force. While three of the squadron's aircraft sighted the German battleships and attacked, like the rest of the bombs and torpedoes expended against the German ships, missed, although both battleships were damaged by previously-laid mines.[22][23][24] The squadron continued on night attacks through March and April 1942,[25] and on the night of 30/31 May, flew attacks against German night-fighter bases in support ofOperation Millennium, the RAF's "1000 bomber" raid againstCologne.[26] In August 1942, the squadron withdrew from its night intruder duties to convert to the newer Blenheim Mark V bomber (also known as the Bisley) in preparation for deployment in support ofOperation Torch, the Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa.[27]
The squadron, part of 326 Wing, moved toBlida inAlgeria in November 1942,[28] with the role of supporting the BritishFirst Army.[29] The Bisley, however, had poor performance and was vulnerable to fighter attack, and the squadron was therefore largely confined to night bombing.[30] Bisley losses continued to be high, and in January 1943 the squadron relinquished its Bisleys to614 Squadron, and waited for new aircraft, receiving more Bisleys in February and returning to operations.[31] In March the squadron finally received more modern equipment, replacing its Bisleys withDouglas Boston light bombers, returning to operation with its new aircraft on 21 April.[32][33]
The squadron then operated fromSicily andItaly, having been re-equipped withDouglas Boston aircraft, which it retained until the end of the war when they were replaced with theDe Havilland Mosquito.
Post War
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The squadron reformed inEgypt in 1947, and was located atRAF Kabrit. It was equipped withDakota transport aircraft. It then operatedVickers Valettas andDe Havilland Chipmunks. The squadron's final equipment was theArmstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy tactical transport aircraft, which was flown from theirRAF Benson base from 1962 until 1971, when the squadron was finally disbanded.[34]
Aircraft operated
edit| From | To | Aircraft | Variant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1917 | Oct 1919 | B.E.2 | |
| Oct 1919 | Apr 1920 | Bristol F2 | b |
| Sep 1936 | Feb 1937 | Hawker Hind | Mk.I |
| Mar 1937 | May 1939 | Bristol Blenheim | Mk.I |
| May 1939 | Mar 1943 | Bristol Blenheim | Mk.IV |
| Apr 1943 | Sep 1945 | Douglas Boston | |
| Sep 1945 | Sep 1946 | De Havilland Mosquito | |
| Apr 1947 | Aug 1949 | Douglas DC3 | Dakota |
| Apr 1947 | Dec 1957 | Vickers Valetta | C1 |
| Dec 1958 | Mar 1959 | De Havilland Chipmunk | T10 |
| May 1959 | Sep 1961 | Handley Page Hastings | |
| Oct 1961 | Oct 1971 | Armstrong Whitworth Argosy |
References
edit- ^Pine 1983, p. 265
- ^ab"Historic Squadrons: 114 Squadron"Archived 24 September 2015 at theWayback Machine.Royal Air Force. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^abRawlings 1982, p. 100
- ^Barrass, M. B. (2015)."No. 111–115 Squadron Histories".Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved14 October 2015.
- ^abBowyer 1974, p. 486
- ^Bowyer 1974, pp. 41–42
- ^Mason 1994, p. 269
- ^Bowyer 1974, pp. 51–52
- ^Bowyer 1974, p. 64
- ^Bowyer 1974, pp. 64, 68
- ^Ellis 1954, p. 37
- ^abMoyes 1964, pp. 158, 160
- ^Richards 1953, p. 126
- ^Moyes 1964, p. 158
- ^Bowyer 1974, pp. 123, 125
- ^Richards 1953, p. 341
- ^Bowyer 1974, pp. 173–174, 183–184, 188–189
- ^"Obituary: Wing Commander Tom Baker".The Daily Telegraph.London:TMG. 10 April 2006. Retrieved14 October 2015.
- ^Bowyer 1974, pp. 221, 223
- ^Richards 1953, pp. 364–367
- ^Richards 1953, pp. 368–373
- ^Bowyer 1974, pp. 225–226
- ^Richards 1994, pp. 135–139
- ^Richards 1953, p. 373
- ^Bowyer 1974, pp. 230, 233
- ^Bowyer 1974, p. 234
- ^Bowyer 1974, p. 252
- ^Shores et al. 2016, pp. 26–27, 109, 117
- ^Moyes 1964, p. 159
- ^Richards & Saunders 1954, pp. 255–257
- ^Shores et al. 2016, pp. 271, 276, 342
- ^Moyes 1964, p. 160
- ^Shores et al. 2016, p. 519
- ^Halley 1988, p. 191
- ^C.G.Jefford (1988).RAF Squadrons. UK Airlife Publishing.ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
Bibliography
edit- Bowyer, Michael J. F. (1974).2 Group R.A.F.: A Complete History 1936–1945. London: Faber and Faber.ISBN 978-0-571-09491-2.
- Ellis, L. F. (1954)."Advance Into Belgium".The War in France and Flanders 1939-1940.History of the Second World War. London:HMSO.
- Halley, J. J. (1988).The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918-1988. Air-Britain (Historians) Limited.ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
- Mason, Francis K. (1994).The British Bomber since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books.ISBN 0-85177-861-5..
- Moyes, Philip J. R. (1964).Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald & Co.
- Pine, L. G. (1983).A dictionary of mottoes (First ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
- Rawlings, John D. R. (1982).Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company.ISBN 0-7106-0187-5..
- Richards, Denis (1953).Royal Air Force 1939–1945: Volume I The Fight at Odds. History of the Second World War. London: HMSO.
- Richards, Denis (1994).The Hardest Victory: RAF Bomber Command in the Second World War. London: Coronet Books.ISBN 0-340-61720-9.
- Richards, Denis; Saunders, Hilary St. G. (1954).Royal Air Force 1939–1945: Volume II The Fight Avails. History of the Second World War. London: HMSO.
- Shores, Christopher; Massimello, Giovanni; Guest, Russell; Olynyk, Frank; Bock, Winfried (2016).A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940–1945: Volume Three: Tunisia and the End in Africa: November 1942 – May 1943. London: Grub Street.ISBN 978-1-910690-00-0.
- Shores, Christopher; Massimello, Giovanni; Guest, Russell; Olynyk, Frank; Bock, Winfried; Thomas, Andy (2018).A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940–1945: Volume Four: Sicily and Italy to the Fall of Rome: 14 May, 1943 – 5 June, 1944. London: Grub Street.ISBN 978-1-911621-10-2.
External links
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