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No. 121 Squadron RAF

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Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

No. 121 (Eagle) Squadron RAF
121 (Eagle) Squadron, RAF, 1940
Active	1 April 1918 - 17 August 1918 14 May 1941 – 29 September 1942
Country	United Kingdom
Allegiance	United Kingdom United States (September 1942)
Branch	Royal Air Force
Nickname	Eagle
Motto	For liberty^[1]
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry	An Indian warrior's head with head dress
Squadron Codes	AV (May 1941 - September 1942)

Military unit

No. 121 Squadron was aRoyal Air Force (RAF) aircraft squadron that during theSecond World War was one of the threeEagle Squadrons manned byAmerican volunteers. There is a Royal Air Force Air Cadets squadron, based in Nuneaton, which shares its number.

First World War

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No. 121 SquadronRoyal Flying Corps (Royal Air Force from 1 April 1918) was formed atNarborough on 1 January 1918 as a day bomber squadron to operate theAirco DH.9. The squadron was equipped withAirco DH.4s for training, but due to delays with the DH.9 and the end of the war approaching, the squadron was disbanded on 17 August 1918 without becoming operational.

Second World War

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RAF Service

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RAF Intelligence Officer is shown recording comments of American aviators from Eagle Squadron

The squadron was reformed on 14 May 1941 asNo. 121 (Eagle) Squadron atRAF Kirton-in-Lindsey, the second of threeEagle Squadrons manned by American volunteers. Equipped with theHawker Hurricane, the squadron then converted to theSupermarine Spitfire and moved south toRAF North Weald to begin operations on channel sweeps andRhubarb operations. On 15 November 1941 the squadron claimed its first enemy aircraft destroyed. The squadron then upgraded to cannon-armed Spitfire VBs and carried out offensive operations over the channel and providing bomber escorts.

To the USAAF

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In September 1942, the squadron moved toRAF Debden to be with the other Eagle squadrons. The squadron was transferred to theUnited States Army Air Forces as the335th Fighter Squadron and officially disbanded as a RAF unit on 29 September 1942. The new squadron became part of the4th Fighter Group of theEighth Air Force.

Aircraft operated

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Dates	Aircraft	Variant
Jan 1918 - Aug 1918	Airco DH.4
May 1941 - Jul 1941	Hawker Hurricane	Mk.I
Jul 1941 - Nov 1941	Hawker Hurricane	Mk.IIb
Oct 1941 - Nov 1941	Supermarine Spitfire	Mk.IIa
Nov 1941 - Sep 1942	Supermarine Spitfire	Mk.Vb

References

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Notes

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^Pine, L.G. (1983).A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 82.ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.

Bibliography

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Caine, Philip D.American Pilots in the RAF: The WWII Eagle Squadrons. Brassey's, 1993.ISBN 0-02-881070-8.
Childers, James Saxon.War Eagles: The Story of the Eagle Squadron. Windmill Press, 1943.
- Republished by Eagle Publishing in 1983,ISBN 0-941624-71-4. Same as the 1943 edition, except it has an epilogue of the members in 1982.
Donahue, Arthur Gerald.Tally-Ho! Yankee in a Spitfire. McMillan & Company, 1942.
Dunn, William R.Fighter Pilot: The First American Ace of World War II. University of Kentucky Press, 1982.ISBN 0-8131-1465-9.
Franks, Norman.The Greatest Air Battle: Dieppe, 19 August 1942. London: Grub Street, 1992.ISBN 0-948817-58-5.
Fydenchuk, W. Peter.Immigrants of War: Americans Serving With the RAF and RCAF During World War II. WPF Publications, 2005.ISBN 0-9737523-0-0.
Goodson, James A. and Norman Franks.Over-Paid, Over-Sexed and Over-Here. Wingham Press Ltd., 1991.ISBN 1-873454-09-0.
Halley, James J.The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988.ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
Haughland, Vern.Caged Eagles: Downed American Fighter Pilots, 1940-45. TAB Books, 1992.ISBN 0-8306-2146-6.
Haughland, Vern.The Eagle Squadrons: Yanks in the RAF, 1940-1942. Ziff-Davis Flying Books, 1979.
- Republished by TAB Books in 1992,ISBN 0-8306-2146-6, with all the photos different from the 1st edition.
Haughland, Vern.The Eagles' War: The Saga of the Eagle Squadron Pilots, 1940-1945. Jason Aronson, Inc., 1982.ISBN 0-87668-495-9.
- Republished by TAB Books in 1992,ISBN 0-8306-2145-8, with all the photos different from the 1st edition.
Holmes, Tony.American Eagles: American Volunteers in the R.A.F., 1937-1943. Classic Publications, 2001.ISBN 1-903223-16-4.
Jefford, C.G.RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing, 2001.ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
Kershaw, Alex.The Few. Da Capo Press, 2006.ISBN 0-306-81303-3.
Morris, John T.The Lives of an American Eagle. Mulberry River Press, 1999.ISBN 0-9636529-9-0.
Nelson, Kenneth James, CD.Spitfire RCW: The Wartime Exploits of Wing Commander Royce Clifford WilkinsonOBE,DFM & Bar,C.de G.(France). Hignall Printing Ltd., 1994.
Rawlings, John D.R.Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (new edition 1976, reprinted 1978).ISBN 0-354-01028-X.
Sweeny, Charles and Colonel James A. Goodson.Sweeny: The autobiography of Charles Sweeny. Harrop Press Ltd., 1990.ISBN 1-872809-00-6.
TheIllustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft(Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.

External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toNo. 121 (Eagle) Squadron RAF.

No 121 - 125 Squadron Histories
RAF Eagle Squadron (historic video)
4th Fighter Group WWII Official WWII Association Website

Royal Air Force flying squadrons

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Australian Flying Corps
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68 (2 Sqn AFC)
69 (3 Sqn AFC)
71 (4 Sqn AFC)

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Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)	450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 466 467
Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF)	485 486 487 488 489 490

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Czechoslovak	310 311 312 313
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