No. 124 Squadron RAF
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No. 124 (Baroda) Squadron RAF was a
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 ...
Squadron formed to be a light bomber unit in
World War I 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 ...
and reformed as a fighter unit in
World War II 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 ...
.


History


Formation and World War I

No. 124 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed on 1 February 1918 at RFC Old Sarum and became a unit 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 ...
. After a move to
RAF Fowlmere Fowlmere Airfield is a small airfield located northeast of Royston, Hertfordshire and southwest of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. It was previously a Royal Air Force satellite station, RAF Fowlmere. History First World War Flying at ...
124 Sqn disbanded on 17 August 1918 having only operated as a training squadron.Lake, Alan. "Flying Units of the RAF".Airlife Publishing. Shrewsbury. 1999.


World War II

Around the outbreak of
World War II 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 ...
, from April to September 1939, 124 Sqn was allocated a squadron code but the squadron was not stood up. The squadron eventually reformed on 10 May 1941 as a fighter unit equipped with Spitfire Mk I, stationed at
RAF Castletown Royal Air Force Castletown or more simply RAF Castletown is a former Royal Air Force station that operated during the Second World War. Built near to Castletown in Caithness, Scotland the station opened in 1940 and closed in 1945. Initially bu ...
, to provide air defence for Scapa Flow from 29 June. In October 1941 it converted to Spitfire Mk IIBs. It was then moved to
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 small ...
with Spitfire Mk V taking part in sorties against the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
Channel Dash The Channel Dash (german: Unternehmen Zerberus, Operation Cerberus) was a German naval operation during the Second World War. ( Cerberus), a three-headed dog of Greek mythology who guards the gate to Hades. A (German Navy) squadron comprisin ...
. In April 1942, it received new equipment in the form of the high altitude Spitfire Mk VI, which it took to
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 ...
for a month in December. Returning from Scotland in January 1943, it absorbed the Special Spitfire Flight from
RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owner ...
and then to
RAF Manston Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpo ...
, where in early 1945 the Squadron was intercepting German reconnaissance aircraft at up to 50,000 ft, using Spitfire Mk VIIs with pressurised cockpits. In early February 1945 the Squadron began re-equipping with Spitfire Mk IX.HF(e)’s primarily in order to carry out dive-bombing attacks on the mobile launch sites of the V2 rockets, mainly in the woodland area around The Hague in the Netherlands. On 10 February, the unit moved to
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 ...
, Norfolk, the nearest sea-crossing to the target, 120 miles. The V2 rockets had been developed by
Wernher von Braun Wernher Magnus Maximilian Freiherr von Braun ( , ; 23 March 191216 June 1977) was a German and American aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and Allgemeine SS, as well as the leading figure in the develop ...
at the
Peenemünde Army Research Center The Peenemünde Army Research Center (german: Heeresversuchsanstalt Peenemünde, HVP) was founded in 1937 as one of five military proving grounds under the German Army Weapons Office (''Heereswaffenamt''). Several German guided missiles an ...
. The first rockets to hit London had been in early September 1944. 124 Squadron became the fifth of six squadrons of Spitfire dive-bombers deployed to attempt to take out the mobile launching sites, by flying sorties known in the RAF as ramrods (daylight bomber sorties on specific targets). Attacks were made in two ways. Firstly, on days when the Squadron received clearance from the
RAF Second Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, ...
(known as the 2nd TAF) for use of liberated airfields in Belgium, squadron aircraft each dropped a 1000 lb bomb-load onto the target. This consisted of a 500lb bomb under the fuselage, and a 250 lb bomb under each wing. After the attacks, they flew on to one of the liberated airfields – Advanced Landing Grounds – most frequently Ursel Airfield, Maldegem and Kleine Brogel, for refuelling, before return to Coltishall. On a few occasions, they refuelled and also re-armed, to enable further attacks on the launch sites in the Netherlands during the return flight to base. Alternatively, on days when clearance was not available from 2nd TAF for use of these forward airfields, the bomb-load was 500 lbs. The 500 lb bomb under the fuselage was replaced by a drop tank (referred to at the time an overload tank) needed for the extra fuel for out-and-return sorties. The drop tanks were jettisoned on approach to the Dutch coast, when the pilot switched to the full main fuel tank. Operations were preceded by early morning photo reconnaissance and/or met flights to try and pointpoint the latest positioning of the mobile launchers, and to check for sufficient visibility and cloud base. After the resulting briefing, the Squadron Leader was responsible for finding the target area and leading all twelve aircraft into the attack on the launch site(s). 124 Squadron’s dive bombing runs at the targets usually started at 11,000 feet, with a steep dive of 60 degrees, to an optimum release height of 4,000 feet. During the dive, each pilot attempted to pick out the rocket launcher amongst the trees. Pulling out of the dive at up to 350 mph at the release height resulted in high G forces which could cause pilots temporarily to black out. To deal with this possibility, during the dive pilots trimmed the aircraft so that it automatically pulled up if pressure on the stick was relaxed - as happened during blacking out. The main danger on these operations was not fighter defence, but heavy flak particularly along the coast and during the descent to drop the bombs. In addition to the ramrods flown against the launching sites, the Squadron also flew sorties known as interdictions. These were low level attacks often flown when the cloud base was too low for dive-bombing the V2 sites. Their objective was finding and bombing railways and other targets to disrupt the movement of rocket launching supplies by the enemy. Interdictions were flown on an out-and-return basis from Coltishall in sections of four aircraft, again with a 500 lb bomb-load using drop tanks. For interdictions, bombs had an 11-second delay to allow the fourth aircraft to clear the area before the bombs exploded. The squadron also carried out daylight escorts for bombers raiding Germany. On 7 April the squadron moved to
RAF Hawkinge Royal Air Force Hawkinge or more simply RAF Hawkinge is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Ashford, north of Folkestone, Kent and west of Dover, Kent, England. The airfield was used by both the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal ...
and carried out its last operational sortie on 25 April, following the liberation of the Netherlands by the Allies, and on 27 April the Squadron moved to
RAF Hutton Cranswick Royal Air Force Hutton Cranswick or more simply RAF Hutton Cranswick is a former Royal Air Force station located to the south of Driffield and immediately south west of the village of Hutton Cranswick in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. T ...
for squadron training. On 24 August 1945, 124 Squadron moved to
RAF Molesworth Royal Air Force Molesworth or more simply RAF Molesworth is a Royal Air Force station located near Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, England with a history dating back to 1917. Its runway and flight line facilities were closed in 1973 and demolished ...
, for conversion to the
Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...
, the RAF's first jet fighter. In October the unit transferred to
RAF Bentwaters Royal Air Force Bentwaters or more simply RAF Bentwaters, now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station about northeast of London and east-northeast of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England. Its name was taken fro ...
, and in February 1946 to
RAF Fairwood Common Royal Air Force Fairwood Common or more simply RAF Fairwood Common is a former Royal Air Force Sector station located at Fairwood Common on the Gower Peninsula to the west of Swansea. It is now the location of Swansea Airport. History RAF Fa ...
, before being disbanded at RAF Bentwaters on 1 April 1946, becoming
No. 56 Squadron RAF Number 56 Squadron, nicknamed ''the Firebirds'' for their ability to always reappear intact regardless of the odds, is one of the oldest and most successful Squadron (aviation), squadrons of the Royal Air Force, with battle honours from many of ...
.


Aircraft operated


References


External links


Squadron history (and more) on RafWeb
{{Royal Air Force 124 124 Military units and formations established in 1918 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom