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 Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, and was equipped with B.E.2 and

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 ...

aircraft. The squadron disbanded at RAF Turnhouse on 13 June 1919. RAF Driffield WWII IWM HU 91931

The squadron was reformed on 14 June 1937, at

RAF Finningley Royal Air Force Finningley or RAF Finningley was a Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station at Finningley, in the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The station straddled the historic county boundaries of both ...

from 'B' Flight of No. 102 Squadron. It operated the Hawker Audax until November 1937, then re-equipped with the

Vickers Wellesley The Vickers Wellesley was a medium bomber that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey. It was one of two aircraft to be named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of ...

. In 1938 the squadron moved to RAF Driffield, to form part of No. 4 Group, and re-equipped with

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the Second World ...

s. The squadron joined Coastal Command in May 1942 and was engaged in anti-submarine patrols, based at

RAF Chivenor Royal Air Force Chivenor or RAF Chivenor was a Royal Air Force station located on the northern shore of the River Taw estuary, on the north coast of Devon, England. The nearest towns are Barnstaple and Braunton. Originally a civil airfield op ...

. In October 1942, the squadron converted to Halifaxes at RAF Elvington, moving to RAF Full Sutton in May 1944. On 8 May 1945 the squadron joined Transport Command, and in July 1945 re-equipped with Douglas Dakotas. The squadron moved to Broadwell in August 1945 followed by a posting to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

in October 1945. The squadron was disbanded by being renumbered as No. 31 Squadron on 1 November 1946. It was reformed at Broadwell in December 1946 when No. 271 Squadron was re-numbered. The squadron operated Dakotas during the

Berlin Airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, ro ...

and then disbanded on 1 June 1949 at RAF Waterbeach.

Strategic missiles

The squadron was again reformed as 77(SM) Sqn. - on 1 September 1958 as one of 20 Strategic Missile (SM) squadrons associated with Project Emily. The squadron was equipped with three PGM-17 Thor Intermediate range ballistic missiles, and based at

RAF Feltwell Royal Air Force Feltwell or more simply RAF Feltwell is a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, East Anglia that is used by the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. The station is located about 10 miles west of Thetford, and ...

. In October 1962, during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis (of 1962) ( es, Crisis de Octubre) in Cuba, the Caribbean Crisis () in Russia, or the Missile Scare, was a 35-day (16 October – 20 November 1962) confrontation between the United S ...

, the squadron was kept at full readiness, with the missiles aimed at strategic targets in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

. The squadron was disbanded on 10 July 1963 with the termination of the Thor Program in Britain.

Aircraft operated

* 1916-1918 Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c * 1916-1918 Royal Aircraft Factory BE12 * 1916

Airco DH.6 The Airco DH.6 was a British military trainer biplane used by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. Known by various nicknames, including the "Clutching hand" and "Skyhook", many survived to be used as a civil light aircraft in the p ...

* 1916 Royal Aircraft Factory BE2d * 1917-1918 Royal Aircraft Factory BE2e * 1917-1918 Royal Aircraft Factory RE8 * 1917-1918 Royal Aircraft Factory BE12b * 1918-1919 Avro 504K (NF) * 1937 Hawker Audax * 1937-1938

* 1938-1939 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley III * 1939-1942 Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V * 1942-1945 Handley Page Halifax II, III, VI and V * 1945-1946 Douglas Dakota * 1946-1949 Douglas Dakota * 1958-1963 PGM-17 Thor IRBM

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* * * {{RAF squadrons 077 077 No. 77 Ballistic missile squadrons of the Royal Air Force