| No. 149 (East India) Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
 Squadron badge | |
| Active | 3 March 1918 – 1 August 1919 12 April 1937 – 1 March 1950 14 August 1950 – 31 August 1956 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Type | Bomber |
| Role | Night bombing |
| Part of | RAF Bomber Command |
| Nickname | East India |
| Mottos | Latin:Fortis Nocte ("Strong by Night")[1] |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | A horseshoe and a flash of lightning interlaced[2] |
| Squadron Codes | LY (Oct 1938 – Sep 1939)[3][4] OJ (Sep 1939 – Nov 1949)[4][5] TK (for 'C' flight) (Feb 1943 – Jun 1945)[3][6][7][8] |
No. 149 Squadron RAF was aRoyal Air Force Squadron between 1918 and 1956. Formed 1918 in theRoyal Flying Corps as anight-bomber unit, it remained in that role for the rest of its existence which spanned three periods between 1918 and 1956.
Formed on 3 March 1918 atRoyal Flying Corps Station Ford, nearYapton,West Sussex, as No. 149 (NB) SquadronRFC,[9] the squadron soon moved to France for night bombing missions above occupied France and Belgium, flyingRoyal Aircraft Factory F.E.2s. After the war the squadron for three months took part in the occupation force in Germany, being stationed atBickendorf, moving to Ireland in March 1919 where the squadron was disbanded on 1 August 1919.[10]
The squadron was reformed from 'B' Flight ofNo. 99 Squadron RAF on 12 April 1937 underNo. 3 Group RAF atRAF Mildenhall,Suffolk where it remained until April 1942. Initially equipped withHeyford biplane bombers, the squadron converted toVickers Wellingtons in January 1939. On 4 September 1939 L4259 was flown on "Ops Brunsbüttel 4/500 GP", the day after the declaration of war againstGermany byGreat Britain. (Source Pilot's Logbook).
During the last two weeks of March and the first two weeks of April 1941,[11] Wellingtons and their crews of No. 149 Sqn were used for the making of the filmTarget for Tonight. Filmed on location at RAF Mildenhall, the Station took the fictitious name ofMillerton Aerodrome in order so not to give away valuable operational information to the enemy, and several other aspects were altered involving the day-to-day operations. The film, produced by theCrown Film Unit, focused on the planning and execution of anair raid on Germany, as seen by the crew of Vickers Wellington OJ-F 'F for Freddie'. The exception to this wasPercy Pickard who was at that timeSquadron Leader withNo. 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron.[12] Pickard played the part of Sqn Ldr Dickson, the captain of 'F for Freddie'.
After being re-equipped with theShort Stirling in November 1941, the squadron took part in the first 1,000 bomber raid.[2] The squadron also formed No. 149 Squadron Conversion flight on 21 January 1942 to train new Stirling crews and on 7 October this was formed into1657 Heavy Conversion Unit together with 7, 101 and 218 Squadron Conversion Flights.[7] In August 1944, the Stirlings gave way toAvro Lancasters, which served the squadron until 1949. At the end of the war no. 149 squadron participated inOperation Manna, to drop food to the starved Dutch population still under German occupation, and Operation Exodus, to return former prisoners of war back to the UK.[13]
After the war no. 149 squadron continued to fly withRAF Bomber Command, moving toRAF Tuddenham in April 1946 and then later in November on toRAF Stradishall. In February 1949 the squadron returned toRAF Mildenhall, where the Lancasters were replaced withAvro Lincolns. The squadron remained at Mildenhall until disbanding on 1 March 1950.
Retirement was short though, because on 14 August 1950 the squadron was reformed as the RAF's firstBoeing Washington bomber unit, moving toRAF Coningsby in October of that year. The Washingtons were on loan by the RAF from theUSAF as an interim nuclear bomber pending the arrival of the RAF's own jet bomber, theCanberra.[14] The squadron reequipped with the Canberra in March 1953 and in August 1954 it relocated toRAF Ahlhorn in West-Germany, where it joined 125 wing ofRoyal Air Force Germany. The following month it moved again, this time toRAF Gutersloh, where it the unit had its final disbandment two years later on 31 August 1956.
| From | To | Aircraft | Version(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1918 | Aug 1919 | Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 | FE.2b, FE.2d |
| May 1937 | Mar 1939 | Handley Page Heyford | I, Ia, II, III |
| Jan 1939 | Dec 1941 | Vickers Wellington | I, IA, IC |
| Nov 1941 | Sep 1944 | Short Stirling | I, III |
| Aug 1944 | Nov 1949 | Avro Lancaster | I, III |
| Oct 1949 | Mar 1950 | Avro Lincoln | B.2 |
| Nov 1950 | Mar 1953 | Boeing Washington | B.1 |
| Apr 1953 | Aug 1956 | English Electric Canberra | B.2 |
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