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No. 78 Squadron RAF

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No. 78 Squadron RAF
78 Squadron badge
No. 78 Squadron badge
Active1 November 1916 – 1 April 1918 (RFC)
1 April 1918 – 31 December 1919 (RAF)
1 November 1936 – 30 September 1954
15 April 1956 – 1 December 1971
22 May 1986 – December 2007
24 January 2008 – 30 September 2014
2021 – present
CountryUnited KingdomUnited Kingdom
BranchRoyal Air Force
Home stationRAF(U) Swanwick
Motto(s)Latin:Nemo non paratus
( "Nobody unprepared" )[1]
Battle honours
  • Home Defence (1916–1918)*
  • Fortress Europe(1940–1944)*
  • Ruhr(1940–1945)*
  • Invasion Ports (1940)
  • Biscay Ports (1940–1945)
  • Berlin(1940–44)*
  • Channel and North Sea (1942–1945)*
  • Normandy(1944)*
  • Walcheren, France and Germany (1944–1945)*
  • Rhine*
  • Afghanistan(2001–2014)*
  • Iraq(2003–2011)
*Honours marked with an asterisk are those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard[2]
Insignia
Squadron badgeAn heraldic tiger rampant and double queued.
Squadron badge heraldryApproved byKing George VIin November 1939.[3]
Squadron codesKA(Feb 1939 – Sep 1939)
YY(Nov 1936 – Sep 1939)
EY(Sep 1939 – Apr 1950)
SA–SZ(May 1986 – Dec 2007)

No. 78 Squadronof theRoyal Air Force,is the squadron number plate of RAF (Unit) Swanwick based atLondon Area Control Centre,Swanwick,Hampshire. The squadron was allocated the role in early 2021.[4]

Between January 2008 and September 2014 it operated theAgustaWestland Merlin HC3/3AtransporthelicopterfromRAF Bensonuntil 30 September 2014, when the Merlins were transferred to theCommando Helicopter Forceof theRoyal Navy'sFleet Air ArmatRNAS Yeovilton.

Between May 1986 and December 2007, No. 78 Squadron was based atRAF Mount Pleasant,Falkland Islands,operatingWestland Sea King HAR3sand until 2006 theBoeing Chinook HC2.

History[edit]

First World War[edit]

No. 78 Squadron was formed as part of theRoyal Flying Corpson 1 November 1916 for home defence atHarrietshamand tasked with protecting the southern English coast. It was originally equipped with obsolescentB.E.2two-seat biplanes, and the closely relatedB.E.12single-seater. On the night of 25 September 1917 a Captain Bell of the squadron encountered a German Gotha and attacked it overRAF Joyce Green.John Rawlings, writing inFighter Squadrons of the Royal Air Force(1969), stated that 'it was believed that he damaged it for one of the German raiders failed to return that night, being lost at sea.'[5]The squadron receivedSopwith 1½ Struttersin late 1917, followed bySopwith Camelsin mid-1918. It arrived atSutton's Farm,under the command of Major Cuthbert Rowden, in September 1917 and was there until December 1919, with a detachment atBiggin Hill.The squadron disbanded on 31 December 1919 following the Armistice.[6]

Reformation and Second World War[edit]

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley VT4131of No. 78 Squadron, 1940.

During the buildup of the RAF in the period beforeWorld War II,No. 78 Squadron was reformed atRAF Boscombe Downon 1 November 1936, twenty-two years after it was first formed, by redesignating a flight of theHandley Page HeyfordequippedNo. 10 Squadron.The new squadron moved toRAF DishforthinYorkshireearly in 1937, joiningNo. 4 Group RAFofRAF Bomber Command.In July 1937 it was equipped withArmstrong Whitworth Whitleynight bombers.[7]

On the outbreak of theSecond World War,the squadron was designated as a training squadron.[8]It moved toRAF Linton-on-Ouseon 15 October 1939, returning to Dishforth in July when it returned to front-line duties as a night bomber squadron. In February 1941, Whitleys from No. 78 Squadron andNo. 51 Squadron,flying fromMalta,were used to drop paratroops over southern Italy forOperation Colossus,the first British paratroop operation of the Second World War. In April 1941, the squadron moved toRAF Middleton St. George.In September, the squadron flew its first bombing raid againstBerlin.It moved again, toRAF Croft,in October 1941.[7][9]

Handley Page Halifax B.II Series 1ALW235of No. 78 Squadron, based atRAF Breighton,1941

In early 1942, the squadron started to receive four-engineHandley Page Halifaxesto replace its Whitleys, with conversion being completed in March that year, and flying its first operation with the Halifax, againstOstendon 29 April 1942.[7]On the night of 30/31 May 1942, No. 78 Squadron contributed 22 Halifaxes toOperation Millennium,the first "1,000 bomber" raid againstCologne.[7]

The squadron moved back to Middleton St. George in June 1942 and to Linton-on-Ouse in September 1942.[7]In June 1943, the squadron moved toRAF Breightonto free up Linton-on Ouse for the Canadian bomber force ofNo. 6 Group.[9]

In January 1944, the squadron replaced itsMerlin-powered Halifax B.IIs with Halifax B.IIIs, powered byBristol Herculesradial engineswhich gave greater performance. The squadron continued in the bomber mission until the end of the war in Europe, both against German cities and in direct support of allied ground forces during and after theinvasion of Francein June 1944. In total, the squadron had dropped 17,000 tonnes of bombs and mines during 6,337 operationalsorties,losing 182 aircraft but claiming 28 enemy fighters shot down.[10]

Transport operations (1945–1971)[edit]

In May 1945, the squadron was transferred intoTransport Command,re-equipping withDouglas Dakota Mk.IVsin July–August 1945 and moving to Cairo in September, flying transport operations around the Middle East andAir-Sea Rescuepatrols over the EasternMediterranean.[11]It remained active in the post-war period as a transport squadron, converting toVickers Valetta C.1sin April 1950, before being disbanded atRAF Fayidin Egypt on 30 September 1954.[9][11]

The squadron was reformed on 15 April 1956 atRAF KhormaksarinAden,operatingScottish Aviation Pioneer CC.1single-engineSTOLtransports.[12]These were replaced by larger, twin-engined,Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer CC.1sin November 1958.[11]The unit was awarded its squadron standard on 1 April 1962 by Her MajestyQueen Elizabeth II,having reached 25 years of service.[2]In 1965 these were transferred toNo. 21 Squadronand the squadron converted to a helicopter unit operating theWessex.It transferred toRAF Sharjahin 1967, continuing to fly in the army support andSearch and Rescueroles until being disbanded on 1 December 1971.[13]

Helicopter operations (1986–2014)[edit]

The Squadron reformed on 22 May 1986 whenNo. 1310 Flight,operatingBoeing Chinooks,and theWestland Sea King HAR.3equippedNo. 1564 Flightmerged atRAF Mount Pleasantin theFalkland Islands.[8][14]

From 1988, No. 78 Squadron was based in the Falkland Islands. The squadron operated Westland Sea King HAR.3 and Chinook HC2s.[15]

AgustaWestland Merlin HC3ZJ137of No. 78 Squadron during a training exercise in theCalifornian Desert,2009.

In December 2007, No. 78 Squadron reverted to its previous identity ofNo. 1564 Flightand a new No. 78 Squadron stood-up atRAF Bensonas part of theJoint Helicopter Commandon 28 January 2008,[16]flying theAgustaWestland Merlin HC3and six new Merlin HC3A helicopters purchased from Denmark. The squadron shared the total fleet of twenty eight RAF Merlin helicopters withNo. 28 (AC) Squadron,also based at RAF Benson.[17]

Following the transfer of the squadron's Merlins to846 Naval Air Squadronof the Fleet Air Arm,[18]No. 78 Squadron was disbanded on 30 September 2014.[19]

On 24 March 2020, the squadron was awarded abattle honour,recognising its role in theWar in Iraqbetween 2003 and 2011.[20]

Military air traffic control (2021 – present)[edit]

The squadron number plate was allocated to RAF (Unit) Swanwick during early 2021.[4]The unit is embedded in the civilianLondon Area Control Centre,based atSwanwickin Hampshire and provides a militaryair traffic controlservice across the UK.[21]

Aircraft operated[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Pine, L.G. (1983).A dictionary of mottoes(1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p.148.ISBN0-7100-9339-X.
  2. ^ab"78 Squadron Standard Laid In Falkland Islands".raf.mod.uk.Royal Air Force. Archived fromthe originalon 4 April 2010.Retrieved27 March2020.
  3. ^"78 Sqn".RAF Heraldry Trust.Retrieved27 March2020.
  4. ^ab"Two historic RAF Squadron Numberplates are set to return".Royal Air Force.7 May 2021.Retrieved7 May2021.
  5. ^John Rawlings, Fighter Squadrons of the Royal Air Force, MacDonald, 1969, p.193
  6. ^Jefford 1988, p. 48
  7. ^abcdeRawlingsAir PictorialApril 1961, p. 104.
  8. ^ab"78 Squadron".Royal Air Force.Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  9. ^abc"No 76 - 80 Squadron Histories"Archived28 March 2010 at theWayback Machine.Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation.21 August 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  10. ^RawlingAir PictorialApril 1961, pp. 104–105.
  11. ^abcRawlingsAir PictorialApril 1961, p. 105.
  12. ^"No.78 Squadron".www.nationalcoldwarexhibition.org.Royal Air Force Museum.Retrieved27 March2020.
  13. ^Rawlings 1982, pp. 39–40, 91.
  14. ^Ashworth 1989, p. 157.
  15. ^"No. 78 Squadron".Air of Authority. Archived fromthe originalon 28 March 2010.Retrieved7 May2021.
  16. ^"78 Squadron History".Royal Air Force.Archivedfrom the original on 26 August 2009.Retrieved27 March2020.
  17. ^"78 Squadron Operational".Archived fromthe originalon 5 December 2007.Retrieved10 December2007.
  18. ^"No 78 Squadron".Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation.Retrieved27 March2020.
  19. ^"RAF Bension".Ministry of Defence.Retrieved7 May2021.
  20. ^"RAF Squadrons Receive Battle Honours from Her Majesty The Queen".Royal Air Force.24 March 2020.Retrieved26 March2020.
  21. ^"RAF(U) Swanwick".Royal Air Force.Retrieved7 May2021.

Sources[edit]

  • Ashworth, Chris.Encyclopedia of Modern Royal Air Force Squadrons.Wellingborough, UK: Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989.ISBN1-85260-013-6.
  • 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, 1988 (second edition 2001).ISBN1-85310-053-6.
  • Rawlings, John D. R.Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft.London: Jane's Publishing Company, 1982.ISBN0-7106-0187-5.
  • Rawlings, J.D.R. "Squadron Histories: No. 78".Air Pictorial,Vol. 23 No. 4, April 1961. pp. 104–105.

External links[edit]

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