("We shall be there") , colors= , colors_label= , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , anniversaries= , decorations= , battle_honours= , commander1= , commander1_label= , commander2= , commander2_label= , commander3= , commander3_label= , notable_commanders=

Basil Embry Air Chief Marshal Sir Basil Edward Embry, (28 February 1902 – 7 December 1977) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. He was Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command from 1949 to 1953. Early life and career Basil Embry was born in Gloucester ...

Ivor Broom Air Marshal Sir Ivor Gordon Broom, (2 June 1920 – 24 January 2003) was a senior Royal Air Force commander, and a decorated bomber pilot of the Second World War. Ivor Gordon Broom was born on 2 June 1920 in Cardiff, Wales, to parents Albert a ...

, identification_symbol= A double-headed eagle displayed gorged with a collar of

Fleur de Lys The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

.
The double-headed eagle is one of the supporters from the armorial bearings of Salisbury, in which district the squadron was formed. The collar of fleur-de-lys was introduced in reference to service in France in the First World War during a period when the unit was attached to the French Army. The motto is said to have been derived from the squadron magazine produced in the First World War and entitled ''The Objective ('107' Squadron Always Gets There)''. , identification_symbol_label= Squadron Badge heraldry , identification_symbol_2= 107 (Aug 1936 – Oct 1938)
BZ (Oct 1938 – Sep 1939)
OM (Sep 1939 – Oct 1948) , identification_symbol_2_label= Squadron Codes , , current_commander= , ceremonial_chief= , colonel_of_the_regiment= No. 107 Squadron RAF was a

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

bomber unit formed during 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 fightin ...

. It was reformed in the

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) and ...

during 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 opposin ...

and was operational during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

on Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles.

History

Formation and the First World War

Though already formed at Catterick as a day bomber unit on 8 October 1917, No. 107 Squadron was not equipped with aircraft until 15 May 1918 at RFC Lake Down, north of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. The squadron received Airco DH.9s, which it took to the Western Front on 3 June of that year. The squadron became at first part of the 13th wing of the 3rd brigade, working up to operational status. Thereafter it was transferred to the 51st wing of the 9th brigade and it began operations from Drionville. Its main targets were enemy airfields, base areas and communication lines, which it continued to attack until the Armistice. The squadron's most successful raid was made on Saponay on 21 July 1918, where a large ammunition dump was hit. From the squadron's airfield, 20 miles away at Chailly, the reflection of the explosions and fire could be seen going on all the evening and throughout the night. Another notable raid was that made on the

Aulnoye Aulnoye-Aymeries (; pcd, Auno-Aymeries) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It was established in 1953 by the merger of the former communes Aulnoye and Aymeries. Before the opening of the high-speed railway line between Brus ...

railway station and junction on 1 October 1918. Returning to

Hounslow Heath Aerodrome Hounslow Heath Aerodrome was a grass airfield, operational 1914–1920. It was in the London borough of Hounslow, and hosted the British Empire's first scheduled daily international commercial flights, in 1919. The site today includes the main r ...

in March 1919, it disbanded there on 30 June of that same year.

Reformation and the Second World War

No. 107 Squadron was reformed at

RAF Andover RAF Andover is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station in England, west of Andover, Hampshire. As well as RFC and RAF units, units of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, Royal Canadian Air Force, United States Army Air ...

on 10 August 1936 as a light bomber squadron, equipped with

Hawker Hind The Hawker Hind was a British light bomber of the inter-war years produced by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force. It was developed from the Hawker Hart day bomber introduced in 1931. Design and development An improved Hawker Hart bomber d ...

s. These were replaced by Blenheim Mk.Is from August 1938 which gave way in their turn to Blenheim Mk.IVs in May 1939. It was with five of this aircraft that No. 107 took part in the RAF's first bombing raid of the war against enemy ships in the German port of

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...

on 4 September 1939, the day after war was declared on Germany, along with No. 110 Squadron. The raid was not a success: of the five aircraft despatched only one returned – and with its bomb load still intact as it had not been able to locate the enemy. One of shoot down Blenheims (N6189), flown by F/O Herbert Lightoller, crashed into cruiser ''Emden'', causing slight damage, killing 11 crewmen and injuring around 30. These were among the first casualties of the German fleet during the war. The first British

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

in World War II was Sergeant George Booth, a navigator with 107 Squadron. He was captured when his Bristol Blenheim was shot down over the German coast on that 4 September 1939. In April 1940 the squadron carried out attacks on German forces engaged in the

invasion of Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and after the invasion of France and the Low Countries in May 1940 began attacking enemy columns and communications. Following the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

the squadron became engaged with attacking invasion barges and shipping concentrations in the Channel ports. In one of these attacks the new Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Basil Embry was shot down. He had taken over the squadron shortly after the disastrous first war mission in September 1939 and had taught the squadron the need for a tight formation for mutual defence which served the squadron time and again. The adventurous story of his escape from captivity eventually reached book form.

In Coastal Command

Between 3 March 1941 and May 1941, the squadron was on loan to

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

and stationed at

RAF Leuchars Royal Air Force Leuchars or RAF Leuchars was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northern UK airspac ...

. Its duties while in Coastal Command were various: shipping strikes, convoy duties, coastal patrols, submarine searches and attacks on enemy airfields and harbours. These were quite hazardous as the squadron lost two COs during these operations, Wing Commander Cameron in April and Wing Commander Birch on 4 May 1941.

To Malta

On return to

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

the squadron took up its low-level daylight raids again until August of that year, when the aircraft of the unit and their pilots -the air detachment of the squadron- were sent to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. From there anti-shipping missions were carried out along the Axis' north-south convoy routes, around the Italian coast,

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, and along the North African coast. However, after the Italian and German air forces strengthened the air defence of Sicily in December, 1941, and began round-the-clock bombing of the Malta airfields, the air detachment was withdrawn and disbanded at

Luqa Luqa ( mt, Ħal Luqa, , ) is a town located in the Southern Region of Malta, 4.3 km away from the capital Valletta. With a population of 5,945 as of March 2014, it is a small but densely populated settlement which is typical of Malta's old ...

on 12 January 1942. Losses among the squadron had been so heavy – 90% of all original and replacement crews were killed in action during the Malta operations – that at one time the squadron was commanded by a sergeant, I. G. Broom. It was not the last time this man was in command of a RAF unit, he ended his career as Air Marshal Sir Ivor Broom.

Bostons and Mosquitoes

In the meantime the rest of the squadron, forming the ground echelon, had remained at

Great Massingham Great Massingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It has a primary school (including a pre-school in the grounds), a village shop, a pub (Dabbling Duck), a village hall and a church (St Mary's). There is also a spor ...

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 No ...

and on 5 January 1942, it received

Douglas Boston The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was or ...

trainers and new aircrews, and began converting them onto this aircraft. The squadron began flying daylight operations again in March 1942. The most famous operation the squadron flew using the Boston was

Operation Oyster Operation Oyster was a bombing raid made by the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 6 December 1942 upon the Philips works at Eindhoven, Netherlands. The Philips company was a major producer of electronics equipment, including vacuum tubes for radio communi ...

, the daylight raid against the Philips works in

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Mosquito Mk.VIs and switched to night intruder operations. In November the squadron moved onto the continent, flying from

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

and later from

Melsbroek Melsbroek Air Base is a Belgian Air Component facility in Steenokkerzeel, northeast of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. It is located on the northern side of the same site as Brussels Airport, with which it shares runways and ground and air co ...

. The squadron continued to fly in the night intruder role to the end of war, when it took up the duty of training in the light bomber role. Remaining in Germany as part of the British Air Forces of Occupation (BAFO) after the war, it was disbanded on 4 October 1948 at Wahn by being renumbered to No. 11 Squadron RAF. (Though some sources claim 15 September 1948.)

On Thor missiles

When the Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile were employed in the UK each operating missile squadron was originally meant to control three sites. 107 Squadron so started out in September 1958 by being the 'C' flight of the first RAF Thor missile unit,

No. 77 Squadron RAF No. 77 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force which was active in various incarnations between 1916 and 1963. History No. 77 Squadron was formed on 1 October 1916 at Edinburgh, and was equipped with B.E.2 and B.E.12 aircraft. The squ ...

. The flight was stationed at

RAF Tuddenham Royal Air Force Station Tuddenham or RAF Tuddenham is a former Royal Air Force station located south east of Mildenhall, Suffolk, England and north west of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Station history * No. 3 Lancaster Finishing School. * No. ...

. By June 1959 the flights had reached squadron strength and in September 1959 it was decided that such sites should carry their own identities, 'C' flight of 77 Squadron was thus redesignated No. 107(SM) Squadron RAF, to be effective from 22 July 1959, making No. 107 Squadron one of the twenty RAF squadrons that reached operational status using the

Thor missile The PGM-17A Thor was the first operational ballistic missile of the United States Air Force (USAF). Named after the Norse god of thunder, it was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate-range ballistic mi ...

. However, this new incarnation of No. 107 Squadron did not last long. The upcoming

ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

missiles soon made the Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile obsolete, and in 1962 the Minister of Defence announced the phase-out of the Thor missiles. The squadron therefore disbanded once again, at Tuddenham on 10 July 1963.

Aircraft operated

Commanding officers

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

External links

Official history of No. 107 Squadron at Royal Air Force website

{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 107 Squadron Raf 107 Squadron 107 Squadron Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II Ballistic missile squadrons of the Royal Air Force Military units and formations established in 1917 Military units and formations of the Royal Air Force in World War I 1917 establishments in the United Kingdom