No. 141 Squadron was a squadron of the British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) a ...

. It was first formed as part of the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in January 1918 as a fighter squadron, serving on home defence duties for the rest of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighti ...

., before being disbanded in 1920. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

resulted in the squadron being reformed in 1939, serving as a

night fighter A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used i ...

and night intruder squadron until being disbanded in September 1945. it was reformed again in 1946, flying night fighters until 1958, while from 1959 until 1964 operated surface-to-air missiles.

First World War

No. 141 Squadron of the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

was formed on 1 January 1918 from 61 Squadron at

Rochford Rochford is a town in Essex, England, north of Southend-on-Sea, from London and from Chelmsford, the county town. At the 2011 census, the civil parish, which includes the town and London Southend Airport, had a population of 8,471. History ...

, as part of a strengthening of the fighter defences for the London Area, with the squadron joining 49 Wing. The squadron was initially equipped with a variety of types, evaluating both the

Sopwith Dolphin The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the World War I, First World War. The Dolphin entered se ...

and

Vickers Vampire The Vickers F.B.26 Vampire was a British single-seat pusher biplane fighter built by Vickers during the First World War. Four were built by Vickers at Bexleyheath, one of these was subsequently modified to become the F.B.26A. Design and deve ...

as night fighters, with both proving unsuitable for the task, with squadron flying operational sorties with its

Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12 The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12 was a British single-seat aeroplane of The First World War designed at the Royal Aircraft Factory. It was essentially a single-seat version of the B.E.2. Intended for use as a long-range reconnaissance and bom ...

s. In February 1918, the squadron moved to

Biggin Hill Biggin Hill is a settlement on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Kent, prior to 1965 it was also in the administrative county of Kent. ...

, re-equipping with two-seat

Bristol F.2 Fighter The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane Fighter aircraft, fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit ...

s during March that year. The squadron became part of the newly established

on 1 April 1918. In April, the squadron took part in trials in the use of ground-to-air voice radio transmissions to help co-ordinate fighter operations. On the night of 19/20 May 1918, Germany launched the last major night bomber raid against London, involving 43 aircraft. One of 141 Squadron's Bristol fighters, flown by pilot

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

Edward Turner and gunner Air Mechanic Henry Barwise, shot down a

Gotha G.V The Gotha G.V was a heavy bomber used by the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. Designed for long-range service and built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik AG, the Gotha G.V was used principally as a night bomber. ...

bomber that had previously been damaged by a Bristol Fighter of 143 Squadron, with both Turner and Barwise being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for that night's operations. In total, at least six Gothas were lost that night. In March 1919 the squadron moved to

Tallaght ) , image_skyline = TallaghtDublinD24.jpg , image_caption = Tallaght, Dublin , image_flag = , flag_size = , pushpin_map = Dublin#Ireland , pushpin_label_position = left , ...

Aerodrome, near

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, flying patrols during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and United Kingdom of Gre ...

. It moved to Baldonnel in December 1919 and was disbanded on 1 February 1920.

Second World War

141 Sqn was reformed on 4 October 1939 at

RAF Turnhouse Royal Air Force Turnhouse or more simply RAF Turnhouse is a former Royal Air Force Sector Station located in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is now Edinburgh Airport. History The following units were here at some point: ;First World War * No. 26 Reserve ...

, receiving

Gloster Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed private ...

s and then

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until t ...

s for training purposes. It moved to RAF Grangemouth later in October and to RAF Prestwick in February 1940. In April 1940, the squadron reequipped with

Boulton Paul Defiant The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any fixed forward-firing guns ...

s, moving to

RAF West Malling Royal Air Force West Malling or RAF West Malling is a former Royal Air Force station located south of West Malling, Kent and west of Maidstone, Kent, England. Originally used as a landing area during the First World War, On 19 July 1940, the squadron was ordered to scramble to intercept aircraft attacking a ship in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or (Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, but the nine Defiants were too late to catch the German aircraft, and were instead attacked by

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War a ...

s of

Jagdgeschwader 51 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51) was a German fighter wing during World War II. JG 51's pilots won more awards than any other fighter wing of the Luftwaffe, and operated in all major theatres of war. Its members included Anton Hafner, Heinz Bär ...

. Six Defiants were shot down, with 10 aircrew killed. The losses convinced

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...

that the Defiant was unsuitable for operations over the South of England, and 141 Squadron was ordered back to Scotland on 21 July. Once back in Scotland, the squadron carried out convoy escort and night fighter patrols from

RAF Montrose Royal Air Force Montrose or more simply RAF Montrose is a former Royal Air Force station in Forfarshire (now more commonly called Angus) in Scotland. It became the first operational military aerodrome to be established in the United Kingdom on ...

and

RAF Dyce Aberdeen International Airport ( gd, Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Obar Dheathain) is an international airport, located in the Dyce suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, approximately northwest of Aberdeen city centre. A total of just under 3.1&nbs ...

. The squadron was re-designated a night fighter unit, a role more suited to the Defiant. The Squadron motto derives from this period. Later, 141 Squadron converted to

Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...

s. From 1943, it changed roles again to long range intruder operations with Beaufighters over

occupied Europe German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 ...

, using the

Serrate radar detector Serrate was a World War II Allied radar detection and homing device used by night fighters to track Luftwaffe night fighters equipped with the earlier UHF-band ''BC'' and ''C-1'' versions of the Lichtenstein radar. It allowed RAF night fighters t ...

, while based at

RAF West Raynham Royal Air Force West Raynham or more simply RAF West Raynham is a former Royal Air Force station located west of West Raynham, Norfolk and southwest of Fakenham, Norfolk, England. The airfield opened during May 1939 and was used by RAF Bombe ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North ...

. Venom NF Mk 3s arrived in June 1955 but these were replaced by

Gloster Javelin The Gloster Javelin is a twin-engined T-tailed delta-wing subsonic night and all-weather interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s. The last aircraft design to bear the Gloster name ...

s in February 1957 (rafweb.org). On 16 January 1958, No. 141 Squadron, based at

RAF Coltishall Royal Air Force Coltishall, more commonly known as RAF Coltishall , is a former Royal Air Force station located North-North-East of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, which operated from 1938 to 2006. It was a fighter airf ...

, near Norwich in Norfolk, dropped the '1' at the beginning of its number and was thus reborn as 41 Squadron. In doing so, the reborn 41 Squadron automatically absorbed 141's all-weather

FAW.4 fighters and personnel. Its final incarnation was as a Bloodhound surface to air missile unit at

RAF Dunholme Lodge Royal Air Force Dunholme Lodge or more simply RAF Dunholme Lodge was a Royal Air Force station located between the parishes of Welton and Dunholme in Lincolnshire, England. History The grass airfield was first used by the Royal Air Force duri ...

from 1 April 1959 until 31 March 1964.

Stations

RAF Biggin Hill London Biggin Hill Airport is an operational general aviation airport at Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located south-southeast of Central London. The airport was formerly a Royal Air Force station RAF Biggin Hill, and a smal ...

RAF Gatwick Gatwick Airport was in Surrey until 1974, when it became part of West Sussex as a result of a county boundary change. The original, pre- World War II airport was built on the site of a manor in the parish of Charlwood. The land was first used as ...

RAF Drem The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

- 141 Night Fighter Squadron RAF Commanded by Sqn Ldr J O Dalley DFM RAFCO's Flying Log Book (Source: MoD Records.Battle of Britain
MoD Records Retrieved 14 July 2007)

References

* * * * * *

External links

RAFweb Air of Authority
{{RAF squadrons 141 Squadron 141 Squadron Military units and formations established in 1918 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom

First World War

Second World War

Stations

See also

References

External links