| No. 207 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 31 December 1916 (RNAS) - 1920 1920 - 1940 1940 - 1950 1950 - 1965 1969 - 1984 2002 - present |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Motto | Latin:Semper paratus ("Always prepared") |
| Battle honours | Western Front, 1916-1918; Ypres, 1917*; Somme, 1918*; Amiens: Hindenburg Line*; Biscay Ports, 1941-1945; German Ports, 1941-1945*; Berlin, 1941-1945*; Ruhr, 1941-1945*; Baltic 1941-1945; Fortress Europe 1941-1944; France & Germany, 1944-1945*; Normandy, 1944* Honours marked with an asterisk* are those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | A winged lion statant[1] |
| Squadron Codes | 207 (Apr 1938 - Apr 1939) NJ (Apr 1939 - Sep 1939) EM (Nov 1939 - Mar 1950) |
No. 207 Squadron (sometimes written as No. CCVII Squadron) is a squadron of the Royal Air Force, currently based at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in Yorkshire.
Contents |
History
Formation and World War I
No. 7 Squadron RNAS was formed from "B" Squadron of No. 4 Wing RNAS on 31 December 1916 in East Africa, flying Voisins for seven months on reconnaissance and bombing duties. Reforming as a specialist night bomber squadron in France in November 1916, it re-equipped with Handley Page O/100s and O/400s. On the formation of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918 it became No. 207 Squadron, RAF.
Inter-war period
The squadron reformed in 1920 after briefly serving with the Army of Occupation. Its Airco DH.9As saw service in Turkey in 1922, as part of the British intervention in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). In 1935, by now flying Fairey Gordons, it was sent to Sudan in response to Italian activity in the area. The following year, the squadron returned home to RAF Worthy Down, joining RAF Bomber Command. It re-equipped with Vickers Wellesleys in 1937, only for them to be replaced with Fairey Battles early the following year. Based at RAF Cottesmore, the squadron took the role of an Operational Training Unit. In April 1939 the squadron was "adopted" by the City of Leicester.
Second World War
In April 1940 the squadron's training role was assumed by No.12 Operational Training Unit, allowing 207 Squadron to reform in November of the same year as part of Bomber Command's No. 5 Group. At RAF Waddington, the squadrons's crews were assigned the task of introducing the ill-fated Avro Manchester into service. Later moving to RAF Bottesford, the Manchesters were replaced by the much improved Avro Lancaster in March 1942. The squadron relocated to RAF Langar on 21 September, because of problems with the Bottesford runway surface breaking up and needing urgent repairs. In October 1943, 207 Squadron became the first occupant of the newly-opened RAF Spilsby bomber station. The squadron was scheduled to form part of the Tiger Force against Imperial Japan. With the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Tiger Force plans were dropped and in November 1945, No. 207 Squadron relocated to RAF Methwold in Norfolk.
Post-war
Bombing role
After moving to RAF Mildenhall in 1949 and briefly replacing the Lancaster with the Avro Lincoln, the Squadron was disbanded in 1950. Re-formed in 1951 at Marham, 207 flew the Boeing Washington until 1954, when it was replaced by the English Electric Canberra. In 1956 the squadron re-equipped with the Vickers Valiant. Later that year 207 took part in the Suez Campaign. In 1965 the squadron disbanded with the grounding of the Valiant fleet.
Communications role
207 Squadron was reformed in 1969 by redesignating the Southern Communications Squadron based at RAF Northolt. It was equipped with Devons, Bassets and Pembrokes. Detachments of the squadron were located at RAF Wyton and RAF Turnhouse. 207 Squadron once more disbanded on retirement of the remaining Devons in June 1984.
Training role
In July 2002 one of the Flying Training Squadrons operating Shorts Tucanos at No.1 Flying Training School, RAF Linton-on-Ouse was renumbered as No. 207 (Reserve) Squadron.
See also
References
- ^ Halley 1988, p. 268.
Bibliography
- 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.
- Hamlin, John F. Always Prepared - The History of 207 Squadron RAF. Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1999. ISBN 0-85130-285-8.
- 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, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- Moyes, Philip J.R. Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 2nd edition 1976. ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
External links
- RAF Spilsby history
- 207 Squadron RAF Association website
- Squadron history on RAF website
- Histories -and more- of nos. 206-210 sqn on RAFweb
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
