| No. 98 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | August 1917 – March 1919 February 1936 – July 1941 September 1942 – July 1957 August 1959 – February 1976 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Motto | Never failing[1] |
| Battle honours | Western Front 1918 Amiens Lys Atlantic 1940–1941 Fortress Europe 1940–44 Normandy 1944 France & Germany 1944–45 Rhine |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | Cerberus. The squadron claims to have barred the way (front and rear) during the German retreat in 1918 and so considered Cerberus, as the watchdog ofHades, a suitable badge. |
| Squadron Codes | VO, OE |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Bomber | Airco DH.9 B-25 Mitchell |
No. 98 Squadron was aRoyal Air Force bomber squadron duringWorld War I andWorld War II. It flewfighter-bombers post-war, and converted to fighters in 1955. Reformed as a ballistic missile unit between 1959 and 1963, its final incarnation was as a radar calibration unit. It was disbanded in 1976.
No. 98 SquadronRFC was formed on 30 August 1917 atRFCS Harlaxton,Lincolnshire, but soon moved toOld Sarum,Wiltshire. As a day-bombing unit equipped with theAirco DH.9, it moved to Northern France in April 1918, immediately seeing action during theBattle of the Lys, and then during theSecond Battle of the Marne and theBattle of Amiens. From 1 November 1918 the squadron was employed chiefly with reconnaissance work, and after theArmistice acted mainly as a holding unit for disbanding DH-9 squadrons.[2] The Squadron returned to England on 20 March 1919, and was disbanded four days later.[3]
During its active service in France the Squadron claimed 40 enemy aircraft destroyed, 35 'driven out of control', and 4 'driven down'. Thirteen aircraft of the Squadron were shot down over enemy territory, and another 13 declared missing; ten crashed or crash-landed in Allied territory and about 31 were damaged or destroyed in accidents. Nineteen men werekilled in action, 22 were reportedmissing, 14 were wounded, 13 injured in crashes, 16 taken prisoner and five accidentally killed.[2]
No. 98 Squadron was reformed on 17 February 1936 atRAF Abingdon as a day-bomber squadron equipped with theHawker Hind. In August it moved toRAF Hucknall, transferring from1 Group to2 Group,[4] and in 1938 was re-equipped with theFairey Battle.[3]
During the first nine months of World War II it served as a reserve squadron and from April–June 1940 was based atNantes, France,[2] though it flew no combat missions. Evacuated back to England during theBattle of France, the Squadron lost 90 of its personnel when the shipRMS Lancastria was bombed and sunk offSaint-Nazaire on 17 June 1940.[3]
After re-assembling atGatwick in July 1940, the Squadron was attached toCoastal Command and stationed atRAF Kaldadarnes in Iceland,[2] for coastal patrol and anti-submarine duties. The Squadron supplemented its Fairey Battles with a fewHawker Hurricane fighter aircraft in June 1940 but was disbanded on 15 July 1941 passing its aircraft to the newly establishedNo. 1523 Flight.[3][5] In August 1999, melting ice on a remote glacier on Iceland revealed the wreck of Battle P2330 and its crew, the aircraft having disappeared whilst on a ferry flight from Kaldadarnes on 26 May 1941. The remains of the four airmen on board, two crew and two passengers, were recovered and buried at the Fossvogur War Cemetery in Reykjavik on 27 August 2000.[6][7]
No. 98 Squadron reformed on 12 September 1942 atRAF West Raynham as a bomber squadron of2 Group, flying theNorth American Mitchell II.[3][8] Relocating toRAF Foulsham in mid-October, the Squadron continued training on the Mitchell, being declared operational on 8 December 1942, at first flyingAir Sea Rescue (ASR) missions.[8] On 22 January 1943 the Squadron made its first attack on the enemy, when six Mitchells from 98 Squadron and six fromNo. 180 Squadron (also flying its first combat mission[9]), with an escort ofMustang fighters from169 Squadron, attacked oil installations atTerneuzen, Belgium. One 98 Squadron Mitchell was shot down by Germananti-aircraft fire while two of 180 Squadron's aircraft together with two 169 Squadron Mustangs were shot down byFocke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters. Following this inauspicious debut, 98 Squadron returned to ASR missions while modifications were made to the Mitchell's defensive gun turrets, the Squadron returning to combat on 13 May when six aircraft attacked railwaymarshalling yards atBoulogne.[8] In August 1943 the Squadron moved toRAF Dunsfold to take part in pre-invasion attacks on Northern France and onV1 flying bomb launching sites in thePas-de-Calais. After theNormandy landings the Squadron operated in close support of the advancing Allied armies,[3] and from October 1944 was based atMelsbroek nearBrussels,Belgium, moving to Achmer, nearOsnabrück,Germany, just days prior toVE Day.[2]
After the war the Squadron remained with theBritish Air Forces of Occupation in Germany until 1957. It converted to thede Havilland Mosquito in September 1945, and in February 1951, receivedde Havilland Vampire fighter-bombers, replacing these with theVenom in 1953. In April 1955 the Squadron received theHawker Hunter and became a day fighter unit until disbanding on 15 July 1957.[3]
After training atVandenberg Air Force Base,[2] the squadron was reformed – as 98(SM) Sqn. – on 1 August 1959 as one of 20 Strategic Missile (SM) squadrons associated withProject Emily. The squadron was equipped with threeThorIntermediate range ballistic missiles and based atRAF Driffield.
In October 1962, during theCuban Missile Crisis, the squadron was kept at full readiness, with the missiles aimed at strategic targets in theUSSR.The squadron was disbanded on 18 April 1963 with the termination of the Thor Program in Britain.[3]
The following day the radar calibration unitNo. 245 Squadron atRAF Tangmere was renumbered as No. 98 Squadron. In October it moved itsCanberras toRAF Watton. In April 1969, it moved toRAF Cottesmore, and was finally disbanded on 27 February 1976[3] when the colours were laid-up in the RAF Chapel ofSt Nicholas' Church,Cottesmore, Rutland.
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