No. 110 Squadron RAF was a unit 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) an ...

, initially formed as a

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an air ...

squadron 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 ...

. Re-formed 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 ...

, again as a bomber squadron, it was re-formed twice more post-war, firstly as a transport, and then a helicopter squadron, before being disbanded in 1971.

History

Formation and the First World War

No. 110 Squadron RFC was formed on 1 November 1917, at

Rendcomb Rendcomb is a village in the Cotswold local authority area of the English county of Gloucestershire. It is about five miles north of Cirencester in the Churn valley. History Etymology Remdcomb is thought to get its name from the stream runn ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, and was equipped with

B.E.2c The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 was a British single-engine tractor two-seat biplane designed and developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory. Most of the roughly 3,500 built were constructed under contract by private companies, including establis ...

aircraft. The squadron moved to

Kenley Kenley is an area within the London Borough of Croydon. Prior to its incorporation into Greater London in 1965 it was in the historic county of Surrey. It is situated south of Purley, east of Coulsdon, north of Caterham and Whyteleafe and w ...

the following year and re-equipped with the DH.9A – the first squadron to operate this aircraft. Its original complement of DH.9As were the gift of His Exalted Highness, the Nizam of Hyderabad. Each aircraft bore an inscription to that effect, and the unit became known as the 'Hyderabad' Squadron in the newly formed Royal Air Force. The squadron arrived in France in September 1918 and formed part of the

Independent Air Force The Independent Air Force (IAF), also known as the Independent Force or the Independent Bombing Force and later known as the Inter-Allied Independent Air Force, was a First World War strategic bombing force which was part of Britain's Royal Air ...

, engaged in the bombing offensive against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and later disbanded on 27 August 1919.Jefford 2001, p. 58.

Reformation and the Second World War

The squadron reformed on 18 May 1937 at Waddington, equipped first 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 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 ...

s. In 1937 No. 88 Squadron was reformed with personnel drawn from 110 Squadron. In 1939, 110 Squadron was posted to

Wattisham Wattisham is a village and civil parish near to the town of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. From the 2011 Census the population of the parish was 110, according to the ONS, included in the civil parish of Hitcham, Suffolk, Hitcham. Wattisham Air ...

along with No. 107 Squadron. On 4 September 1939 Nos. 110 and 107 Squadron led the first RAF raid of the war against

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. Wilhelmsh ...

. The squadron was mainly involved in anti-shipping strikes during the early part of the war, before being posted to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in March 1942. Later that year the squadron converted to the

Vultee Vengeance The Vultee A-31 Vengeance was an American dive bomber of World War II, built by Vultee Aircraft. A modified version was designated A-35. The Vengeance was not used operationally by the United States, but was operated as a front-line aircraft by ...

which it operated until November 1944 when it re-equipped with the de Havilland Mosquito. The squadron disbanded at

Labuan Labuan (), officially the Federal Territory of Labuan ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan), is a Federal Territory of Malaysia. Its territory includes and six smaller islands, off the coast of the state of Sabah in East Malaysia. Labuan's capita ...

on 15 April 1946.

Post War on Dakotas and Valettas

The squadron reformed again on 1 June 1946 at

RAF Kai Tak RAF Kai Tak was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Hong Kong, based at Kai Tak Airport. It was opened in 1927 and used for seaplanes. The RAF flight operated a few land based aircraft as well as having spare aircraft for naval units. History ...

via the renumbering of No. 96 Squadron, and was equipped with

Douglas Dakota The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

s. In 1948, the squadron took part in

Operation Firedog The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces ...

during the Malayan emergency. In October 1951, the squadron converted to the

Vickers Valetta The Vickers Valetta is a twin-engine military transport aircraft developed and produced by the British manufacturing company Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. Developed from the Vickers VC.1 Viking compact civil airliner, it was an all-metal mid-wing m ...

which it operated until disbanding on 31 December 1957.Bell 1971, p. 17.

On helicopters

On 3 June 1959, 110 Squadron was reformed at

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

from the merger of No. 155 Squadron and No. 194 Squadron, initially equipped with the Westland Whirlwind HC.4. These were in April 1960 supplemented by the

Bristol Sycamore The Bristol Type 171 Sycamore was an early helicopter developed and built by the helicopter division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. The name refers to the seeds of the sycamore tree, ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', which fall with a rotating motio ...

HR.14 with the Whirlwinds being replaced by the much more capable Gnome-engined Whirlwind HAR.10s in July 1963, the Sycamores being finally retired in October 1964. From 1963 the squadron also operated in

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...

and

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

until November 1967 during the Indonesian Crisis. It then continued its normal duties in Malaya, until the Far East Air Force was run-down. The squadron disbanded on 15 February 1971. Vickers 664 Valetta T

Aircraft operated

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Barker, Ralph. ''Down in the Drink'' hapter 2 titled ''Chas'' London: Chatto and Windus 1955. No ISBN known. * Bell, Flight Lieutenant Elwyn D. ''Hyderabad Squadron: The Story of No. 110 (Hyderabad) Squadron Royal Air Force''. Stone Cottage, Great Sampford, Saffron Walden, Essex: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1971. . * Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918–1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. . * Jefford, C.G. ''RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). . * Mosher, Sara V. ''REMEMBER ME - No. 110 (HYDERABAD) SQUADRON''. Winnipeg: S.V.Mosher, c2010. . * Moyes, Philip J.R. ''Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 2nd edition 1976. . * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. .

External links

History of No.'s 106–110 Squadrons at RAF Web

110 Squadron history on official RAF website
{{Royal Air Force

110 110 may refer to: *110 (number), natural number *AD 110, a year *110 BC, a year *110 film, a cartridge-based film format used in still photography *110 (MBTA bus), Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority bus route *110 (song), 2019 song by Capi ...

Military units and formations established in 1917 1917 establishments in England Military units and formations disestablished in 1971