No. 144 Squadron RAF
No. 144 Squadron RAF | |
---|---|
Active | 20 March 1918 – 4 February 1919 11 January 1937 – 25 May 1945 1 December 1959 – 23 August 1963 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Air Force |
Role | various |
Motto(s) | Who shall stop us[1] |
No. 144 Squadron RAF was a
History
First World War
On 20 March 1918, a new squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was established at Port Said in British administrated Egypt. It was intended as a corps reconnaissance squadron, to work in support of the Army, and initially operated a mix of aircraft, including Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2es and Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12s.[2][3] The squadron re-equipped with Airco DH.9 light bombers in August that year, reinforcing 40th (Army) Wing as it prepared for a major offensive against Ottoman forces.[2][4] On 19 September, the opening actions of the Battle of Megiddo began, with 144 Squadron attacking Turkish communication and command centres, including the headquarters of the Ottoman Seventh Army at Nablus. The Ottoman forces were soon in full retreat, and all available air power, including 144 Squadron, was sent to repeatedly attack the force of the Ottoman Seventh Army as it retreated through the Wadi al-Far'a, with the Seventh Army effectively destroyed by these sustained aerial attacks.[5][6]
On 17 October 1918, the squadron moved to
Reformation
No. 144 Squadron reformed on 11 January 1937, when a flight from
Second World War
The squadron was still equipped with Hampdens on the outbreak of the
The squadron started to fly night-time leaflet dropping raids over Germany from February 1940, and on 6 March it flew its first bombing raid against a German land target, the seaplane base at Hörnum on the island of Sylt. The squadron continued to operate in the night bomber role through the rest of 1940 and 1941.[5]
As a result of the Channel Dash in February 1942, when the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen managed to break the British blockade and sail from France through the English Channel to Germany, indicated to the RAF that their anti-shipping strike strength was inadequate, and it was decided to convert two Hampden squadrons to the torpedo bomber role, with 144 Squadron being one of the two chosen for conversion.[11] The squadron transferred from Bomber Command to 18 Group Coastal Command on 21 April 1942, moving to RAF Leuchars on the East coast of Scotland. It flew its first torpedo bomber mission on 27 July 1942.[12]
In Operation Orator, during September 1942, 32 Hampdens of 144 Squadron and 455 Squadron RAAF were sent to Murmansk in Northern Russia in order to support the Arctic convoy PQ 18, and to attack any German warships that might sortie from bases in Norway against the convoy. The squadron lost 5 Hampdens on the flight to Russia, with a further four of 455 Squadron's also lost. The German surface warships did not attack PQ 18, and the squadron's personnel returned to Britain aboard a cruiser in October, leaving its aircraft behind to be handed over to the Soviets.[2][12][13]
In January 1943 the Squadron converted to the more capable
144 Squadron was represented in the
Missiles
On 1 December 1959, the squadron reformed at RAF North Luffenham in Rutland, equipped with three Thor Intermediate-range ballistic missiles, supplied by the United States under Project Emily. The missiles were operated under a dual key system, with the British in control of the launch sequence, and the Americans responsible for arming the missiles nuclear warhead, giving each nation a veto on using the missiles. The squadron, along with the rest of the Thor force, was brought to full readiness during the Cuban Missile Crisis.[14][15] The squadron disbanded on 23 August 1963.[2]
References
- ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Halley 1980, p. 172.
- ^ Lewis 1959, p. 60.
- ^ Cutlack 1941, p. 151.
- ^ a b c d "144 Squadron". Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ Cutlack 1941, pp. 159–161.
- ^ Thetford Aeroplane Monthly January 1995, p. 39.
- ^ "No 141–145 Squadron Histories". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. 2 March 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ Air International November 1984, pp. 248–249.
- ^ Richards 1995, pp. 35–36.
- ^ Masson Aeroplane Monthly November 1989, p. 682.
- ^ a b c Rawlings 1982, p. 107.
- ^ Masson Aeroplane Monthly November 1989, p. 685.
- ^ Jackson, Robert. "Thor Missile Deployment in the UK". Carpetbagger Aviation Museum. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
- ^ Historic England. "Thor missile site at former RAF North Luffenham (1400806)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
- Cutlack, F. M. (1941). The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War, 1914–1918. The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. Vol. VIII (11th ed.). Sydney: Angus and Robertson Ltd.
- "Hampden...Defender of Liberty". ISSN 0306-5634.
- Halley, James J. (1980). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-083-9.
- Masson, I.H. (November 1989). "Tinfish Hampdens". ISSN 0143-7240.
- Rawlings, John D.R. (1982). Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.
- Richards, Denis (1994). The Hardest Victory: RAF Bomber Command in the Second World War. London: Coronet. ISBN 0-340-61720-9.
- Thetford, Owen (January 1995). "By Day and By Night: Sidestrand and Overstrand, Part 3 Service History". ISSN 0143-7240.