Country United Kingdom Motto(s) "With speed I strike" | Branch Royal Air Force Squadron Heraldry A Cobra head | |
Active 27 Sep 1917 - 1 Apr 1920
1 Dec 1936 – 1 Sep 1946
1 Aug 1947 – 31 Dec 1957
5 May 1959 – 29 Sep 1961
30 Sep 1961 – 31 Oct 1971 Squadron Codes 114 (Mar 1937 - Apr 1939)
FD (Apr 1939 - Sep 1939)
RT Sep 1939 - Sep 1946) | ||
No. 114 Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Air Force. It was first formed in India during the First World War, serving as a light bomber squadron during the Second World War and as a transport squadron post-war. It was last disbanded in 1971.
Contents
Formation and World War I
No. 114 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed at Lahore, India in September 1917, by splitting off part of No. 31 Squadron, becoming part of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918. Equipped with the B.E.2, the squadron carried out patrol operations over the North-West Frontier, flying from Quetta, with a detachment at RAF Khormaksar, Aden. The squadron partly re-equipped with Bristol Fighters in October 1919, but was disbanded on 1 April 1920, by renumbering the squadron to No. 28 Squadron.
Reformation and World War II
The squadron reformed on 1 December 1936 at RAF Wyton, initially equipped with Hawker Hind single-engined biplane light bombers. It joined No. 2 Group of RAF Bomber Command on 1 March 1937, receiving more modern Bristol Blenheim I twin-engined monoplanes later that month, being the first RAF squadron to operate the Blenheim, while briefly operated a few Hawker Audaxes as trainers while transitioning to the Blenheim. The squadron received improved Blenheim IVs from April 1939, carrying out long-range navigation flights over France in July and participating in the annual home defence exercise in August 1939.
The squadron flew its first operations of the Second World War on 13 October 1939, when two aircraft, operating as a detachment from France, carried out reconnaissance flights over the Ruhr, with one of the two Blenheims not returning. The squadron was allocated to join the Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF), moving to France in December 1939. On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded Belgium and the Netherlands, and on the next day, a German air attack against 114 Squadron's airfield at Vraux destroyed six of the squadron's Blenheims, with the rest of aircraft being damaged. Although the squadron did fly a few bombing missions against the German advance, its losses meant it was soon evacuated back to the UK, with its remaining Blenheims (along with those of 139 Squadron) being used to reinforce the British Expeditionary Force Air Component's reconnaissance squadrons.
The squadron rejoined 2 Group on 10 June 1940, attacking concentrations of barges in the German-held channel ports and Luftwaffe airfields by night. In March 1941, the squadron was loaned to RAF Coastal Command for convoy escort duties and patrols over the North Sea from RAF Thornaby in Yorkshire and RAF Leuchars in Fife, Scotland, returning to Bomber Command control at RAF West Raynham in July 1941. On 12 August 1941, the squadron took part in a large-scale low-level attack by 2 Group Blenheims against two power stations at Knapsack and Quadrath near Cologne. 114 Squadron contributed 12 Blenheims against the Knapsack power station, losing one aircraft to anti-aircraft fire, while in total 12 Blenheims were lost of the 54 deployed on the raid. It was moved to Algeria in November 1942 and took part in Operation Torch, it then operated from Sicily and Italy, having been re-equipped with Douglas Boston aircraft, which it retained until the end of the war when they were replaced with the De Havilland Mosquito.
Post War
The squadron reformed in Egypt in 1947, and was located at RAF Kabrit. It was equipped with Dakota transport aircraft. It then operated Vickers Valettas and De Havilland Chipmunks. The squadron's final equipment was the Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy tactical transport aircraft, which was flown from their RAF Benson base from 1962 until 1971, when the squadron was finally disbanded.