No. 106 Squadron RAF

Last updated

No. 106 Squadron RAF
Ouzouer-le-Doyen-FR-41-monument aux aviateurs de la RAF-2.jpg
Active30 September 1917 – 8 February 1919
1 June 1938 – 18 February 1946
22 July 1959 – 24 May 1963
Country Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
Branch Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg Royal Air Force
Motto(s) Latin: Pro Libertate
("For Freedom") [1]
Commanders
Notable
commanders		 Guy Gibson
Insignia
Squadron BadgeA lion sejant, rampant, holding a banner charged with an astral crown. Based on the crest of the County Borough of Doncaster, the squadron being stationed near there at the time of adopting the badge. [2]
Squadron CodesXS (May 1939 – September 1939)
ZN (September 1939 – February 1946)

No. 106 Squadron RAF was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force squadron active from 1917 until 1919, throughout World War II and during the Cold War from 1959 until 1963.

Contents

History

Establishment and early service

Formed as No. 106 Squadron RFC, at Andover, Hampshire, on 30 September 1917. It was initially intended to be a corps reconnaissance squadron but after training in May 1918 it was not sent to the Western Front but to Ireland to help with the developing troubles there. It served in army co-operation and policing roles for eighteen months before being disbanded at Fermoy, on 8 October 1919. The squadron next appeared in June 1938, when it was re-formed as No. 106 (Bomber) Squadron. [3]

Reformation and World War II

No. 106 Squadron Lancaster aircrew at RAF Syerston after raiding Genoa, October 1942 Aircrew of No. 106 Squadron photographed in front of a Lancaster at Syerston, Nottinghamshire, on the morning after the raids on Genoa, 22-23 October 1942. CH17504.jpg
No. 106 Squadron Lancaster aircrew at RAF Syerston after raiding Genoa, October 1942

The squadron reformed on 1 June 1938 at RAF Abingdon [4] from a nucleus provided by a flight from No. 15 Squadron. Initially equipped with Hawker Hinds, it began to receive Fairey Battles on 8 July before moving to No. 5 Group at RAF Thornaby on 1 September [5] and, temporarily, moving to RAF Grantham on 26 September before returning to Thornaby on 14 October 1938. [6] From May 1939 the squadron began re-equipping with Handley Page Hampdens together with Avro Ansons to assist in the conversion process. [3] The squadron left RAF Thornaby on 19 August 1939 for armament training at RAF Evanton and, on 1 September, moved to RAF Cottesmore. [7]

At the outbreak of the Second World War the squadron was flying Hampdens with No. 5 Group in a training role which continued up until 1 March 1941 when it reverted to front-line status and began regular night bombing operations against Fortress Europe, flying its first bombing raid on Cologne, although it had taken part in some minelaying prior to that. [3]

An 8,000-lb HC bomb ('super cookie') being loaded into a Lancaster of No. 106 Squadron at RAF Syerston, for an attack on Stuttgart Loading 8000 lb Cookie on Lancaster WWII IWM CH 12595.jpg
An 8,000-lb HC bomb ('super cookie') being loaded into a Lancaster of No. 106 Squadron at RAF Syerston, for an attack on Stuttgart
Armourers prepare to load 1,000-lb MC bombs into a No. 106 Squadron Lancaster at RAF Metheringham Bombing up 106 Squadron Lancaster WWII IWM CH 12541.jpg
Armourers prepare to load 1,000-lb MC bombs into a No. 106 Squadron Lancaster at RAF Metheringham

After a short spell in early 1942 with Avro Manchesters, No. 106 Squadron started replacing them with Avro Lancasters in May, [3] but it did not convert completely to Lancasters before some of the squadron's Manchesters had participated in the thousand-bomber raids on Cologne, Essen and Bremen during the summer of 1942. In October it contributed ten Lancasters to No. 5 Group's low-level epic dusk raid on the Schneider Works at Le Creusot and two more, one of them piloted by commanding officer Guy Gibson, to a subsidiary raid on Montchanin.

In June 1943 it took part in the first "shuttle bombing" raids on Friedrichshafen and La Spezia - code-named Operation Bellicose - and the famous attack against the V-2 rocket research facility at Peenemünde. Among the targets attacked in 1944 were a coastal gun battery at Saint-Pierre-du-Mont and the V-1 flying bomb storage sites in the caves at Saint-Leu-d'Esserent.

In December 1944, it made a 1,900-mile round trip to bomb the German Baltic Fleet at Gdynia, while in March 1945, it was represented in the bomber force that so pulverised the defences of Wesel just before the Rhine crossing that Commandos were able to seize the town with only 36 casualties. In April 1945, came the last of the squadron's operations of the war – a bombing raid on an oil refinery at Tønsberg in Norway, and a simultaneous minelaying expedition in the Oslofjord. [3]

During World War II, No. 106 Squadron operated on 496 nights and 46 days, flying 5,834 operational sorties. In so doing it lost 187 aircraft – a percentage loss on sorties flown of 3.21 – but on the credit side its gunners claimed 20 enemy aircraft destroyed, 3 probably destroyed and 29 damaged. A total of 267 decorations were won by the squadron, including a Victoria Cross awarded to Sergeant Norman Cyril Jackson for conspicuous bravery during an attack on Schweinfurt on 26/27 April 1944. [2]

After VE Day, No. 467 Squadron RAAF arrived at RAF Metheringham to train with No. 106 Squadron for the planned invasion of Japan but the end of the war made this redundant and the squadron was used to fly POWs and troops home, principally from Italian bases, [3] until it finally disbanded at Metheringham on 18 Feb 1946. [8]

Post war reformation

The squadron was reformed – as 106(SM) Sqn. – on 22 July 1959 as one of 20 Strategic Missile (SM) squadrons associated with Project Emily. The squadron was equipped with three PGM-17 Thor intermediate-range ballistic missiles and based at RAF Bardney. [3] In October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the squadron was kept at full readiness, with the missiles aimed at strategic targets in the USSR. The squadron was disbanded on 24 May 1963, with the termination of the Thor Program in Britain. [3]

Aircraft operated

A Thor missile on the launching pad Thor IRBM.jpg
A Thor missile on the launching pad
FromToAircraft [9] Version
May 1918January 1919 Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8
January 1919October 1919 Bristol F2B Fighter
June 1938July 1938 Hawker Hind
July 1938June 1939 Fairey Battle
May 1939September 1939 Avro Anson Mk.I
May 1939March 1942 Handley Page Hampden
March 1942June 1942 Avro Manchester
May 1942February 1946 Avro Lancaster I & III Mk.I & III
July 1959May 1963 Thor IRBM

Line drawings of aircraft operated

Bomber Command World War II Bases

FromToStationComments
September 1938August 1939 RAF Thornaby
August 1939September 1939 RAF Evanton Detached here in Aug 1939 and moved, early in Sep 1939
September 1939October 1939 RAF Cottesmore
October 1939February 1941 RAF Finningley
February 1941September 1942 RAF Coningsby
October 1942November 1943 RAF Syerston
November 1943February 1946 RAF Metheringham

See also

Related Research Articles

No. 90 Squadron RAF is a squadron of the Royal Air Force.

No. 49 Squadron RAF Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

No. 49 Squadron was a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force from 1938 to 1965. They were the first squadron to receive the Hampden in September 1938.

RAF Hemswell Former RAF station in Lincolnshire, England

Royal Air Force Hemswell or more simply RAF Hemswell is a former Royal Air Force station located 7.8 miles (12.6 km) east of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England.

No. 189 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron.

RAF Metheringham

Royal Air Force Metheringham or more simply RAF Metheringham is a former Royal Air Force station situated between the villages of Metheringham and Martin and 12.1 mi (19.5 km) south east of the county town Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England.

No. 44 Squadron RAF Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

Number 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron was an aviation unit of the Royal Air Force. It was active between 1917 and 1982. For most of its history it served as a heavy bomber squadron.

No. 61 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was first formed as a fighter squadron of the British Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. It was reformed in 1937 as a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force and served in the Second World War and after, until disbanded in 1958.

No. 463 Squadron RAAF Royal Australian Air Force squadron

No. 463 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force heavy bomber squadron during World War II. The squadron was formed in the United Kingdom in late 1943 from personnel and aircraft allocated from No. 467 Squadron RAAF. The squadron was equipped with Avro Lancaster bombers and flew its first raids on Germany immediately after being formed. Operating as part of RAF Bomber Command No. 463 Squadron conducted raids against cities, industrial facilities and military targets in Germany, France and Norway throughout 1944 and until the end of the war in May 1945. Following the war, the squadron evacuated Allied prisoners of war from Europe until it was disbanded in late 1945.

No. 467 Squadron RAAF Royal Australian Air Force squadron

No. 467 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force bomber squadron, active over North West Europe during World War II. Formed in November 1942 as an Article XV Squadron in Britain, the squadron was notionally an Australian squadron under the command of the Royal Air Force, and consisted of a mixture of personnel from various Commonwealth nations. After becoming operational in early 1943, the squadron flew operations in Occupied Europe until the end of the war flying Avro Lancaster heavy bombers. It was scheduled to deploy to the Far East to take part in further operations against Japan, but the war ended before it could complete its training and the squadron was disbanded in September 1945.

No. 97 Squadron, was a Royal Air Force squadron formed on 1 December 1917 at Waddington, Lincolnshire.

RAF Thornaby Royal Air Force base in Yorkshire, England

Royal Air Force Thornaby or more simply RAF Thornaby was a former Royal Air Force Station located in the town and Borough of Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire, England. Fighter Command, Bomber Command and Coastal Command all operated from the base over its history, but its stint under Coastal Command is what the base was notable for, particularly in the air-sea rescue environment and the development of the Thornaby Bag. This was an emergency bag dropped to downed aircrew at sea and contained food, cigarettes and drink.

No. 104 Squadron RAF is a former squadron of the British Royal Air Force.

No. 83 Squadron RAF was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force squadron active from 1917 until 1969. It was operative during both the First World War and the Second World War.

No. 150 Squadron RAF Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

No. 150 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force during both World War I and World War II. In the early 1960s it was briefly reformed as a Strategic Missile squadron operating the Thor IRBM.

No. 218 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was also known as No 218 Squadron after the Governor of the Gold Coast and people of the Gold Coast officially adopted the squadron.

No. 82 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron that was first formed in 1917 and last disbanded in 1963. It served at times as a bomber unit, a reconnaissance unit and lastly as an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) unit.

No. 144 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the British Royal Air Force. It was first formed in 1918 during the First World War, operating as a bomber squadron in the Middle East. It reformed in 1937, serving in the bomber and anti-shipping roles during the Second World War. A third incarnation saw the squadron serving as a strategic missile squadron during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

RAF Ludford Magna

Royal Air Force Ludford Magna or more simply RAF Ludford Magna is a former Royal Air Force station located on agricultural farmland immediately south of the village of Ludford, Lincolnshire and was sited 21. 4miles (34.4 km) north east of the county town of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England.

No. 185 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed in World War I and reformed as a bomber and fighter unit in World War II. It then reformed in Malta in the post war period as a jet fighter squadron.

No. 50 Squadron RAF Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

No. 50 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was formed during the First World War as a home defence fighter squadron, and operated as a bomber squadron during the Second World War and the Cold War. It disbanded for the last time in 1984.

References

  1. ↑ Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p.  182. ISBN   0-7100-9339-X.
  2. 1 2 "Bomber Command: No.106 Squadron". Royal Air Force. 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft. 17. Orbis. 1985.
  4. ↑ <106 Squadron ORB AIR/27/831>
  5. ↑ <106 Squadron ORB AIR/27/831>
  6. ↑ <106 Squadron ORB AIR/27/831>
  7. ↑ <106 Squadron ORB AIR/27/831>
  8. ↑ Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore (1981). Action Stations: Wartime Military Airfields of Lincolnshire and the East Midlands (Volume II). Cambridge: Patrick Stephens. p. 140. ISBN   9780850594843.
  9. ↑ Barrass, M. B. (2015). "No. 106 Squadron Markings". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 11 October 2015.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.