15 August 1917 – 1 April 1918 (RFC) 1 April 1918 – 1 April 1920 (RAF) 1 April 1924 – 15 November 1945 17 November 1945 – 6 January 1976 November 2000 – present
* Honours marked with an asterisk may be emblazoned on the Squadron Standard
Insignia
Squadron badge heraldry
A pumasalient.[1][2] Selected because the squadrons first aircraft had Puma engines, the cat chosen for independence and tenacity while the black colour signifies the night-bombing role.[3]
The squadron conducts global deployments on behalf of the British Armed Forces and the UK Government, notably delivering emergency aid during natural disasters and supporting military operations overseas.
What would later become No. 99 (Madras Presidency) Squadron was originally formed at Yatesbury, Wiltshire, England on 15 August 1917 from elements supplied by No. 13 Training Squadron, RFC. It was equipped with de Havilland DH.9 bombers in 1918, deploying to France to form part of the Independent Air Force, the RAF's strategic bombing force. It flew its first mission on 21 May and continued to take part in large scale daylight raids against targets in Germany, sustaining heavy losses due both to the unreliable nature of the DH.9 and heavy German opposition. As an example, during one raid against railway targets in Saarbrücken on 31 July 1918, seven out of nine aircraft from 99 Squadron were shot down, with a further three DH.9s turning back with engine trouble before the formation crossed the enemy lines[1][8][9] 99 Squadron was withdrawn from the front line on 25 September to be re-equipped with de Havilland DH.9A bombers, and it was still in the process of converting when the war ended. During the war it had taken part in 76 bombing raids, dropping 61 tons of bombs and claiming 12 German aircraft, of which eight were during the raid of 31 July.[1][8]
A Vickers Vimy bomberHandley Page Hyderabad H.P.24 Hyderabads
In 1919 the squadron was sent to India, flying patrols over the North-West Frontier from Mianwali and Kohat during the Mahsud and Waziristan campaigns.[1] It was disbanded by being renumbered to No. 27 Squadron on 1 April 1920.[8][10]
Inter-war period
No. 99 Squadron reformed on 1 April 1924 at Netheravon, Wiltshire, flying Vickers Vimys. In May 1924, it moved to RAF Bircham Newton in Norfolk, uniquely receiving the Avro Aldershot single-engined heavy bomber. These were replaced at the end of 1925 by twin-engined Handley Page Hyderabads, the squadron moving to RAF Upper Heyford in December 1927. In 1929, it again switched to new aircraft when it began receiving Handley Page Hinaidis, a radial engined derivative of the Hyderabad.[8][11] By 1933, the Hinaidi, which was little improvement over bombers in use during the First World War, was recognised as obsolete, and in November the unit received the first production Handley Page Heyford heavy bombers. While these carried twice the bombload of the earlier aircraft, and had significantly better performance, they soon became outclassed. However, 99 Squadron, which had moved to RAF Mildenhall in November 1934, was obliged to retain the Heyford until October 1938, when it converted to Vickers Wellingtonmonoplanes.[11][12][13] In September 1935, "B" flight of 99 Squadron was split off to form 38 Squadron,[14] while on 12 April 1937 the squadron again detached "B" flight, this time to form 149 Squadron.[15]
World War II
99 Squadron Wellington air crew at RAF Waterbeach prepare for a night raid on BerlinGround crew check the bomb load on a 99 Squadron Wellington at Jessore, India, prior to a sortie over Burma
The squadron was the first unit to be equipped with Vickers Wellingtons, just before the start of World War II.[14] It flew its first operational mission of the war on the night of 8/9 September 1939, when three Wellingtons set off from Mildenhall to drop leaflets over Germany. The squadron temporarily dispersed to RAF Elmdon (now Birmingham Airport) the next day before moving to a more permanent new home at RAF Newmarket, Suffolk on 15 September.[16] On 14 December 1939, 12 Wellingtons of the squadron set off for an armed reconnaissance of the Schillig Roads, hoping to attack a force of German warships spotted by a British submarine the previous night. While the formation encountered the German warships, the cloud base was too low to bomb the ships, and five of the bombers were lost over the North Sea, one shot down by anti-aircraft fire, three by German fighters and one lost in a collision. A further Wellington crashed on return to base.[17][18] The squadron was a part of No. 3 Group RAF, Bomber Command and bombed targets in Norway and Germany, mainly at night. It moved to the newly established base at RAF Waterbeach in March 1941.[19]
In February 1942 the squadron moved to India with the Wellingtons, and resumed operations in November 1942 against Japanese bases in Burma. From September 1944 the squadron re-equipped with Consolidated Liberators which allowed it to reach targets in Thailand and Malaya. During this period, the squadron included a significant number of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal Canadian Air Force aircrew personnel, attached to it under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The squadron moved to the Cocos Islands in August 1945 to prepare for the planned invasion of Malaya. After the Japanese surrender the squadron disbanded there on 15 November 1945.[20]
Post-War
An Avro York
The Squadron was reformed again on 17 November 1945 at RAF Lyneham, Wiltshire, as a transport squadron, equipped with the Avro York. In that rôle it contributed to the Berlin Airlift.[21]
A Handley Page Hastings C.2
The unit continued in the transport role from 1949 to 1959 with the Handley Page Hastings, which was normally used as a transport aircraft but, as the squadron also had a tactical support role, was also used in 1956 to drop paratroops on Gamil Airfield during the Suez crisis.[2]
From 1959 the squadron flew the Bristol Britannia, initially from Lyneham, then from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, from June 1970. The unit put the new long range turboprop aircraft to use to evacuate citizens from troublespots all over the world such as Congo 1960, Kuwait 1961, Belize 1961 and Aden 1967.[2] The Squadron was disbanded on 6 January 1976, following the 1974 Defence White Paper.[22]
C-17 Globemaster III (2000–present)
A No. 99 Squadron C-17 during August 2010
The squadron was reformed again in November 2000, to operate the RAF's Boeing C-17 Globemaster IIIs.[23] The first of the squadron's four initial C-17s was delivered to the RAF on 17 May 2001, arriving at Brize Norton on 23 May. One of the first high-profile missions of the squadron was the deployment of Westland Lynx helicopters and support equipment to Macedonia as part of a NATO peacekeeping force. This deployment was codenamed Operation Bessemer.[24]
Previously the RAF had to lease commercial heavy lifters such as the Antonov An-124 to return the aircraft to the UK, or launch a major logistical effort to allow a ferry flight. In any case the C-17 has proved invaluable to the RAF and in December 2009, the Ministry of Defence announced its intention to acquire a seventh aircraft. This was received by the RAF at Boeing's Long Beach, California facility on 16 November 2010.[25] The UK announced the purchase of its eighth C-17 in February 2012.[26]
On 13 January 2013, it was announced that two No. 99 Squadron C-17s were to be used to transport French military equipment and troops to Mali.[27] On 15 November 2013, a C-17 of No. 99 Squadron flew to the Philippines to assist with aid efforts there after Typhoon Haiyan.[28]
In August 2021, the C-17 was called upon to assist with Operation Pitting, the evacuation of Kabul. Four aircraft were deployed and the aircraft's normal capacity of 138 people was increased and exceeded almost every day. On 24 August there were 354 persons on board, and by the close of the evacuation, 436 stood as the new record and the greatest number of people ever flown on a single RAF aircraft.[29]
No. 206 Squadron is a Test and Evaluation Squadron of the Royal Air Force. Until 2005 it was employed in the maritime patrol role with the Nimrod MR.2 at RAF Kinloss, Moray. It was announced in December 2004 that 206 Squadron would disband on 1 April 2005, with half of its crews being redistributed to Nos. 120 and 201 Squadrons, also stationed at Kinloss. This was a part of the UK Defence Review called Delivering Security in a Changing World; the Nimrod MR.2 fleet was reduced in number from 21 to 16 as a consequence.
No. 460 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force intelligence unit active within the Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation (DIGO). It was first formed as a heavy bomber squadron during World War II on 15 November 1941 and disbanded on 10 October 1945 after seeing extensive combat over Europe. The squadron was a multinational unit, but most personnel were Australian. No. 460 Squadron was reformed on 2 July 2010 and is currently located in Canberra.
No. 149 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron between 1918 and 1956. Formed 1918 in the Royal Flying Corps as a night-bomber unit, it remained in that role for the rest of its existence which spanned three periods between 1918 and 1956.
No. 578 Squadron RAF was a heavy bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
No. 102 Squadron was a Royal Air Force night bomber squadron in the First World War and a heavy bomber squadron in the Second World War. After the war it flew briefly as a transport squadron before being reformed a light bomber unit with the Second Tactical Air Force within RAF Germany. Its last existence was as a Thor strategic missile unit.
No. 625 Squadron RAF was a heavy bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
No. 582 Squadron RAF was a bomber pathfinder squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
No. 626 Squadron RAF was a heavy bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1945.
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 afterwards into the jet age, until disbanded in 1958.
Number 207 Squadron is a historic bomber squadron and, latterly, a communications and flying training squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was announced on 5 July 2017 that No. 207 Squadron will again reform to become the Operational Conversion Unit for the UK F-35B Lightning Force and will return to RAF Marham in Norfolk where it was last based in 1965. No. 207 Squadron arrived at RAF Marham with six F-35Bs on 16 July 2019 before officially standing to on 1 August.
No. 160 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force unit during the Second World War, when it flew for four years in a number of roles including heavy bomber, minelaying, reconnaissance, special operations and transport unit in the Middle East and South-East Asian theatre of World War II.
No. 500 Squadron AAF was a Royal Air Force flying squadron. It was initially formed in 1931 as a Special Reserve squadron and in 1936 became part of the Auxiliary Air Force, at this time based at Manston and Detling.
No. 158 Squadron RAF was a World War I proposed ground attack squadron that did not become operational in time to see action, and a World War II bomber squadron. After World War II had ended in Europe the squadron operated in the transport role until disbandment in December 1945.
No. 502 (Ulster) Squadron was a Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron that saw service in World War II. It was reformed in September 2013, and is the oldest of all the reserve squadrons, being formed in 1925.
No. 608 Squadron was an Auxiliary Air Force squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. It flew during its existence as a bomber, fighter and reconnaissance unit and was the only RAF squadron to be equipped with the unsuccessful Blackburn Botha torpedo bomber.
No. 576 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Second World War heavy bomber squadron.
No. 103 Squadron was a Royal Air Force bomber squadron during World War I, World War II and the Cold War, switching to helicopters in the late 1950s until it was disbanded for the last time in 1975.
No. 196 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron originally formed as a training unit during World War I. It was active during World War II in Nos. 3, 4 and 38 Group RAF. It served first as a bomber squadron and later as an airborne support and transport unit.
No. 156 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron that was active as a bomber unit in World War II.
No. 157 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron active as a night fighter unit in the Second World War.
Bowman, Martin, Bombers Fly East: WWII RAF Operations in the Middle and Far East. Pen & Sword, 2017. ISBN978-1473863149.
Bowyer, Michael J.F. Action Stations: 1. Military airfields of East Anglia. Wellingborough, UK: Patrick Stephens Limited, Second edition, 1990. ISBN1-85260-377-1.
Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. Squadron Codes, 1937–56. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. ISBN0-85059-364-6.
Delve, Ken. The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1994. ISBN1-85310-451-5.
Edgerley, Squadron Leader A.G. Each Tenacious: A History of No. 99 Squadron (1917–1976). Worcester, UK: Square One Publications, 1993. ISBN1-872017-67-3.
Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. Combat Codes: A full explanation and listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied air force unit codes since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN1-84037-281-8.
Gwynne-Timothy, John R.W. Burma Liberators: RCAF in SEAC. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Next Level Press, 1991. ISBN1-895578-02-7.
Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN0-85130-164-9.
Jefford, C.G. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2001. ISBN1-84037-141-2.
Moyes, Philip J.R. Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1964 (new edition 1976). ISBN0-354-01027-1.
Rawlings, John D.R. "Squadron Histories: No. 99". Air Pictorial, November 1961, Vol. 23 No. 11. pp.339–340, 342.
Rawlings, John D.R. Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. ISBN0-7106-0187-5.
Renneles, Keith. Independent Force: The War Diary of the Daylight Squadrons of the Independent Air Force 6th June –11th December 1918. London: Grub Street, 2002. ISBN1-902304-90-X.
Richards, Denis. Royal Air Force 1939–1945: Volume I: The Fight at Odds. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1953.
Shores, Christopher. Air War For Burma. London: Grun Street, 2005. ISBN1-904010-95-4.
Ward, Chris and Steve Smith. 3 Group Bomber Command: An Operational History. Barnsley, UK: Pen and Sword, 2008. ISBN978-1-84415-796-9.
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.
United Kingdom
Royal Air Force 
