| No. 7 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
 Official Squadron Crest |
|
| Active | 1 May 1914 - 8 August 1914 29 September 1914 - 31 December 1919 1 June 1923 - 8 April 1940 1 August 1940- 1 January 1956 1 November 1956 - 30 September 1962 1 May 1970 - 5 January 1982 1 September 1982 - present[1] |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Role | Support helicopter |
| Base | RAF Odiham |
| Motto | Latin: Per diem, per noctem ("By day and by night") |
| Equipment | Boeing Chinook HC.2 |
| Battle honours | Western Front, 1915-1918*; Ypres, 1915*; Loos; Somme, 1916*; Ypres, 1917; Fortress Europe, 1941-1944*; Biscay Ports, 1941-1944*; Ruhr, 1942-1945*; German Ports, 1942-1945; Berlin, 1943-1945*; France and Germany, 1944-1945*; Normandy, 1944; Rhine, Gulf; Kosovo; Iraq, 2003. Honours marked with an asterix* are those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | On a hurt, seven mullets of six points forming a representation of the constellation Ursa Major |
| Squadron Codes | LT (Nov 1938 - Sep 1939) MG (Aug 1940 - Apr 1951) XU (Jun 1943 - 1945) E (Used on Chinooks) |
No. 7 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook HC.2 from RAF Odiham, Hampshire.
Contents |
History
Formation and early years
No. 7 Squadron was formed at Farnborough Airfield on 1 May 1914 as the last squadron of the RFC to be formed before World War One[2], but has been disbanded and reformed several times since, the first being after only three months of existence[3], the latter as early as 28 September 1914[4]. The squadron spent most of the First World War in observation and interception roles and was responsible for the first ever interception of an enemy aircraft over Britain.[5] It deployed to France in April 1915, flying Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5s for reconnaissance and Vickers Gunbuses as escort fighters. Captain John Aidan Liddell of 7 Squadron won the Victoria Cross for his actions on 31 July 1915, when he continued his reconnaissance mission over Belgium after the aircraft was hit by ground fire, the aircraft being badly damaged and Liddell suffering a broken thigh. Although he successfully recovered the aircraft to allied lines, he died of his wounds a month later.[6] The Squadron re-equipped with B.E.2s in 1916, these being replaced by R.E.8s in July 1917, continuing in the reconnaissance role for the rest of the war. It disbanded at the end of 1919.[6]
To Bomber Command
It re-formed at RAF Bircham Newton on 1 June 1923 with the Vickers Vimy as a night heavy bomber squadron, continuing in this role with a succession of types, including the Vickers Virginia, Handley Page Heyford and Armstrong Whitworth Whitley until the outbreak of World War Two.[7]
In World War II
In World War Two, it was initially used for training bomber crews before, in August 1940, being the first squadron to equip with the new Short Stirling heavy bomber, the first RAF squadron to operate four engined bombers during the Second World War, flying the first bombing raids with the Stirling against Oil storage tanks near Rotterdam on the night of 10/11 February 1941.[6][8] It flew on the 1000 bomber raids to Cologne, Essen and Bremen in May and June 1942.[7] It was transferred to the Pathfinder Force in October 1942, with the job of finding and marking targets for the Main Force of Bomber Command bombers.[6] It re-equipped with the Avro Lancaster from 11 May 1943,[9] continuing in the Pathfinder role until the end of the war in Europe.
The squadron carried out 5,060 operational sorties with the loss of 165 aircraft.[10]
Post-war
After WW2 it was equipped with Avro Lincoln Bombers, an update of the Lancaster. Based at RAF Upwood, the Lincoln was for several years the front line cold war bomber aircraft. It was used in the Malayan emergency, the Middle East, the Trucial States (the Emirates) and then Aden. The Squadron disbanded on 2 January 1956 before reforming with the Vickers Valiant at RAF Honington in Suffolk in December that year, flying them in the Strategic Bomber role until disbanding in 1962.[6] In 1970, 7 Squadron again reformed, this time as a target squadron, flying the English Electric Canberra until January 1982.[11]
On Helicopters
The squadron quickly reformed in the Support Helicopter role, receiving Chinooks HC.1s in September 1982,[12] and today operates five of the helicopters. The Chinook HC.2, equivalent to the US Army CH-47D standard, began to enter RAF service in 1993. 7 Squadron took part in the UK's deployment to the Gulf following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. 15 HC.1s were sent from No. 7 and No. 18 squadrons. On June 2, 1994 a 7 Sqn Chinook HC.2 (ZD576) crashed into the Mull of Kintyre while carrying 25 senior members of the British security forces from RAF Aldergrove, Belfast to Inverness. All passengers and the four crew were killed.
Present role
In April 2001 7 Sqn, along with No. 651 Squadron AAC and No. 657 Squadron AAC, became part of the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW) whose role is to support the United Kingdom Special Forces.
Aircraft operated
| From | To | Aircraft | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1914 | Aug 1914 | Maurice Farman MF.7 Longhorn | |
| May 1914 | Aug 1914 | BE.8 | |
| May 1914 | Aug 1914 | Sopwith Tabloid | |
| Sep 1914 | Oct 1914 | Farman HF.20 | |
| Sep 1914 | Oct 1914 | Morane-Saulnier H | |
| Sep 1914 | Oct 1914 | Blériot XI | |
| Sep 1914 | Apr 1915 | Avro Type E | |
| Sep 1914 | Apr 1915 | Vickers FB Gun Carrier | |
| Oct 1914 | Sep 1915 | Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5 | |
| Apr 1915 | Sep 1915 | Voisin LA | |
| Jun 1915 | Jun 1916 | Bristol Scout | |
| Jul 1915 | Feb 1917 | Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 | BE.2c |
| Dec 1915 | Dec 1915 | Morane-Saulnier LA | |
| May 1916 | Oct 1916 | Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2 | BE.2d |
| Oct 1916 | Jun 1917 | Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2 | BE.2e |
| Dec 1916 | May 1917 | Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2 | BE.2f |
| Dec 1916 | Jun 1917 | Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2 | BE.2g |
| May 1917 | Oct 1919 | Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8 | |
| Jun 1923 | Apr 1927 | Vickers Vimy | |
| May 1924 | May 1925 | Vickers Virginia | Mk.III |
| Sep 1924 | Feb 1927 | Vickers Virginia | Mk.II |
| Sep 1924 | Jun 1925 | Vickers Virginia | Mk.IV |
| Jan 1925 | May 1926 | Vickers Virginia | Mk.V |
| Jun 1925 | Aug 1926 | Vickers Virginia | Mk.VI |
| May 1927 | Jan 1933 | Vickers Virginia | Mk.VII |
| Sep 1927 | Aug 1933 | Vickers Virginia | Mk.IX |
| Nov 1928 | Mar 1936 | Vickers Virginia | Mk.X |
| Mar 1935 | Apr 1938 | Handley Page Heyford | Mk.II |
| Mar 1936 | Apr 1938 | Handley Page Heyford | Mk.III |
| Apr 1937 | Apr 1938 | Vickers Wellesley | |
| Mar 1938 | Dec 1938 | Armstrong Whitworth Whitley | Mk.II |
| Nov 1938 | May 1939 | Armstrong Whitworth Whitley | Mk.III |
| Mar 1939 | Apr 1940 | Avro Anson | Mk.I |
| Apr 1939 | Apr 1943 | Handley Page Hampden | |
| Aug 1940 | Aug 1943 | Short Stirling | Mk.I |
| Mar 1943 | Aug 1943 | Short Stirling | Mk.III |
| May 1943 | Aug 1945 | Avro Lancaster | Mks.I, III |
| Aug 1945 | Jan 1950 | Avro Lancaster | B.1(FE) |
| Aug 1949 | Dec 1955 | Avro Lincoln | B.2 |
| Nov 1956 | Sep 1962 | Vickers Valiant | B(PR).1 |
| Jan 1957 | Sep 1962 | Vickers Valiant | B.1 |
| Jan 1957 | Sep 1962 | Vickers Valiant | B(K).1 |
| Aug 1961 | May 1962 | Vickers Valiant | B(PR)K.1 |
| May 1970 | Jan 1982 | English Electric Canberra | TT.18 |
| Dec 1970 | Oct 1975 | English Electric Canberra | B.2 |
| Sep 1982 | Feb 1994 | RAF Chinook | HC.1 |
| Sep 1993 | present | RAF Chinook | HC.2 |
See also
References
Notes
- ^ a b Jefford 2001, p. 29
- ^ Halley 1988, p. 32.
- ^ West 1974, p. 1.
- ^ West 1974, p. 2.
- ^ The Air Defence of Britain 1914-1918, Cole & Cheeseman
- ^ a b c d e Ashworth 1989, p. 41.
- ^ a b RAF History - Bomber Command 60th Anniversary: No. 7 Squadron Royal Air Force. 6 April 2005. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
- ^ Bowyer 2002, pp. 53—54.
- ^ Lewis 1959, p. 15.
- ^ Falconer 2003, page 239
- ^ Ashworth 1989, pp. 41—42.
- ^ Ashworth 1989, p. 42.
Bibliography
- Ashworth, Chris. Encyclopedia of Modern Royal Air Force Squadrons. Wellingborough, UK:PSL, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-013-6.
- Bowyer, Michael J.F. The Stirling Story. Manchester: Crécy Publishing, 2002. ISBN 0 947554 91 2.
- Docherty, Tom. Bomber Squadron No.7, The World War 2 Record. Pen & Sword Aviation, 2007. ISBN 1-84415-481-5.
- J Falconer, Bomber Command Handbook 1939-1945, 2003, Sutton Publishing, Stroud, England, ISBN 0 7509 3171 X.
- 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.
- Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE,BA,RAF (Retd). 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.
- Lewis, Peter. Squadron Histories: R.F.C, R.N.A.S and R.A.F., 1912-59. London: Putnam, 1959.
- 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.
- Rawlings, John D.R. Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.
- Ward, Chris. Royal Air Force Bomber Command Squadron Profiles no. 1: 7 Squadron (Per Diem Per Noctem). Published by the author, no ISBN.
- West, Flt Lt R.J. Nothing Heard After Take-off: A Short History of No. 7 Squadron Royal Air Force, 1914-1974. St Mawgan, Newquay, Cornwall, UK: The Lithoprint Company, 1974.
External links
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