No. 109 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of 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) an ...

History

The squadron first formed on 1 November 1917 as 109 Squadron Royal Flying Corps at South Carlton and began training on the de Havilland DH.9 bomber but was disbanded on 19 August 1918 without becoming operational. Reformed on 10 December 1940 from the Wireless Intelligence Development Unit at

RAF Boscombe Down MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Def ...

operating a variety of aircraft. The main task was to identify German radio beams and to develop methods to jam them, its secondary role was to develop wireless and radar navigation aids for Bomber Command.Orbis (1985), p.2876 In 1942 the squadron moved to

RAF Stradishall Royal Air Force Stradishall or more simply RAF Stradishall is a former Royal Air Force station located north east of Haverhill, Suffolk and south west of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. Part of the site remains in use as Stradishall Traini ...

with the twin-engined de Havilland Mosquito light bomber fitted with

Oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

and then, soon, to

RAF Wyton Royal Air Force Wyton or more simply RAF Wyton is a Royal Air Force station near St Ives, Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield is decommissioned and is now home to the Joint Forces Intelligence Group. History Flying station Wyton has b ...

where it operated as part of the Pathfinder Force. The use of Oboe was worked out using Mosquitos of 109 Squadron. After four months work the device was put into service to mark the bomb aim point against Düsseldorf on 1 January 1943. The use of Oboe equipped Mosquitos to mark targets was crucial to the success of the RAF's campaign against the Ruhr. The squadron continued performing marking duties till the end of the war, including the last raid on Berlin on 21 April 1945. As the war finished it used its accurate navigation equipment to help drop supplies in the Netherlands. The squadron was disbanded on 30 September 1945 at

RAF Little Staughton Royal Air Force Little Staughton or more simply RAF Little Staughton is a former Royal Air Force station located south of Great Staughton, Cambridgeshire and west of St Neots, Cambridgeshire, England. Station history The airfield was first ...

it had carried out 5,421 operational sorties with the Mosquito with the loss of 18 aircraft. On 1 October 1945 it was reformed at

RAF Woodhall Spa Royal Air Force Woodhall Spa or more simply RAF Woodhall Spa is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Coningsby, Lincolnshire and southeast of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. History Constructed on farmland south of Woodhall ...

still as a Mosquito unit and provided a light bomber force for Bomber Commander in the post-war years. It eventually re-equipped with Canberras and saw action in the

Suez campaign The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

. With the increase of the V bomber force the squadron was no longer needed and was finally disbanded on 1 February 1957 at

RAF Binbrook Royal Air Force Binbrook or RAF Binbrook was a Royal Air Force station, now closed, located near Binbrook, Lincolnshire, England. The old domestic site (married quarters) has been renamed to become the village of Brookenby. RAF Binbrook was pri ...

Aircraft operated

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * * 109 109 Telecommunications in World War II {{RAF-stub