No. 101 Squadron RAF
No. 101 Squadron RAF | |
---|---|
Active |
|
Country | Latin for 'Mind over matter')[1] |
Aircraft | Airbus A330 Voyager K2/K3 |
Battle honours |
|
Commanders | |
Current commander | Wg Cdr Paul Summers |
Insignia | |
Squadron badge heraldry | Issuant from the battlements of a tower, a demi lion rampant guardant.[2] The battlements symbolise the squadron's pioneering role in the development of power-operated gun turrets, while the lion indicates the unit's fighting power and spirit. Approved by King George VI in February 1938 |
Squadron codes | LU (Apr 1939 - Sep 1939) SR (Sep 1939 - Apr 1951) MW ('C' Flight - May 1942) |
No. 101 Squadron of the
History
Formation and early years
101 Squadron RFC was formed at Farnborough on 12 July 1917 operating the Royal Aircraft Factory FE2b. Two weeks later it moved to France to operate as a night bomber squadron. In March 1919 the squadron returned to the UK and it was disbanded on 31 December 1919.[3]
Reformation and World War II
Post-war
In October 1945, the squadron moved to
On 25 May 1950, the squadron took delivery of its first
In June 1954, the squadron became the first to receive the B.6 variant of the Canberra. After full conversion to the type, the Binbrook Wing of five squadrons undertook an intensive training programme in readiness for staged detachments to
Vulcans
The squadron reformed on 15 October 1957 as part of
On 20 June 1961 a 101 Squadron Vulcan B1A (XH481) flew non-stop from
After the advent of effective Soviet
By Dec 1967[12] the squadron was re-equipped with eight Vulcan B2 aircraft and eight WE.177B laydown bombs[13] which improved aircraft survivability by enabling aircraft to remain at low-level during weapon release.[14]
Following the transfer of responsibility for the nuclear deterrent to the Royal Navy the squadron was reassigned to
Tankers
In 1978, the RAF announced a plan to convert second-hand civil
Aircraft operated
From | To | Aircraft | Version |
---|---|---|---|
July 1917 | March 1918 | Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12 | BE.12 |
July 1917 | March 1918 | Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12 | BE.12a |
July 1917 | March 1919 | Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 | FE.2b and FE.2d |
April 1928 | July 1936 | Boulton Paul Sidestrand | Mk.III |
November 1928 | June 1929 | de Havilland DH.9A | |
January 1935 | August 1938 | Boulton Paul Overstrand | Mk.I (four converted from Sidestrands) |
June 1938 | April 1939 | Bristol Blenheim | Mk.I |
April 1939 | May 1941 | Bristol Blenheim IV | Mk.IV |
April 1941 | February 1942 | Vickers Wellington | Mk.Ic |
February 1942 | October 1942 | Vickers Wellington | Mk.III |
October 1942 | August 1946 | Avro Lancaster | Mk.I & Mk.III |
August 1946 | June 1951 | Avro Lincoln | B.2 |
June 1951 | August 1954 | English Electric Canberra | B.2 |
June 1954 | January 1957 | English Electric Canberra | B.6 |
October 1957 | May 1962 | Avro Vulcan | B.1 |
March 1961 | December 1967 | Avro Vulcan | B.1a |
December 1967 | August 1982 | Avro Vulcan | B.2 |
February 1984 | March 2001 | Vickers VC10 | K2 |
February 1985 | September 2013 | Vickers VC10 | K3 |
July 1994 | March 2013 | Vickers VC10 | K4 |
October 2005 | July 2013 | Vickers VC10 | C1K |
October 2013 | present | Airbus Voyager | KC2 and KC3 |
See also
References
Notes
- ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
- ^ Moyes 1976, p. 135.
- ^ a b c d "101 Squadron". RAF Museum. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- ^ "John Hereford". Obituaries. The Daily Telegraph. 13 December 2007. Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- ^ "British Military Aviation in 1947". RAF Museum. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- ^ "Binbrook Canberras" (PDF). Flight International. 10 October 1952. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-85979-127-4
- ^ Great Circle Mapper shows 9,108 nm by shortest Great Circle route, but the Vulcan could not fly the shortest route over the USSR and China, although this Great Circle route was greater than the 6,753 nm return flight of Black Buck.
- ^ Shortest Great Circle route.
- ^ McLelland. p161-2.
- ^ McLelland p. 155.
- ISBN 0-11-772833-0
- ^ RAF nuclear front line Order-of-Battle 1966-67
- ^ Weapon overview @ www.nuclear-weapons.info/vw.htm#WE.177 Carriage
- ^ RAF nuclear front line Order-of-Battle 1982
- ^ A Little VC10derness website
- ^ "ZZ338 arrival completes the RAF Voyager core fleet". Airtanker. Archived from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
- ^ Moyes 1976, pp. 137-138.
- ^ Halley 1988, p. 176.
- ^ Jefford 2001, p. 57.
Bibliography
- Alexander, Raymond. Special Operations: No.101 Squadron. Published privately, 1979.
- Ashworth, Chris. Encyclopedia of Modern Royal Air Force Squadrons. Wellingborough, UK: Patrick Stevens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-013-6.
- 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.
- Hobson, Chris. Mind over Matter: A Brief History of 101 Squadron Royal Air Force 1917-1988. Published privately, 1988.
- 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.
- Moyes, Philip J.R. Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1964 (new edition 1976). ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
External links
- 101 Squadron on RAF Website
- History of No.'s 101–105 Squadrons at RAF Web
- 101 Squadron photos, life stories, documents, and memorabilia at the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive.
- Aircraft and Markings for 101 Squadron
- RAF Brize Norton - 101 Squadron
- Sugarman, Martin. "Jewish RAF Special Operators in Radio Counter Measures with 101 Squadron (September 1943 – May 1945)". Jewish Virtual Library.