No. 96 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron. The squadron served on the Western Front during World War II and the Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II. No. 96 Squadron served in a variety of roles such as night fighter cover and transportation. It was disbanded in 1959, when its aircraft and personnel became No. 3 Squadron.
| No. 96 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
 No. 96 Squadron badge | |
| Active | 8 October 1917 - 4 July 1918 28 September 1918 - November 1918 18 December 1940 - 12 December 1944 21 December 1944 - 1 June 1946 17 November 1952 – 21 January 1959 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Flying Corps 8 October 1917 – 1 April 1918
 Royal Air Force post-April 1918 |
| Role | Training unit Night Fighter unit Transport unit |
| Garrison/HQ | RAF Wyton RAF Cranage RAF Wrexham RAF Honiley RAF Ford RAF Odiham RAF Leconfield RAF Cairo West RAF Kai Tak RAF Ahlhorn RAF Geilenkirchen |
| Motto(s) | Latin: Nocturni obambulamus ("We prowl by night")[1] |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron badge heraldry | A lion passant facing to the sinister with ten stars representing the constellation of Leo |
| Squadron codes | ZJ December 1940 - December 1944 6H December 1944 - June 1946 L October 1952 - 1955 |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Bomber | December 1944-April 1945: Handley Page Halifax |
| Fighter | December 1940 - March 1942: Hawker Hurricane February 1941 - June 1942: Boulton Paul Defiant May 1942 - June 1943: Bristol Beaufighter June 1943 - December 1944: de Havilland Mosquito |
History
editNo. 96 Squadron was formed on 8 October 1917 at Lincolnshire as an aircrew training unit of the Royal Flying Corps, the air force of the British Army during most of World War I.[2] The unit was disbanded on 4 July 1918 but was reformed at St. Ives, Cambridgeshire on 28 September 1918 as a ground attack squadron of the Royal Air Force.[2]
The headquarters of the squadron at that time were located at RAF Wyton. On 11 November 1918 an armistice between the Allies and the German Empire was signed, marking the end of World War I. As a consequence No. 96 Squadron was disbanded by the end of November, 1918 before becoming operational.[2]
World War II
editOn 18 December 1940 No. 422 Flight, a night fighter unit stationed at RAF Shoreham was renamed to No. 96 Squadron. The commanding officer on reformation was Ronald Gustave Kellett, transferred from the Polish No. 303 Squadron RAF.[3] The squadron's headquarters were located at RAF Cranage in Cheshire. During the war it was commanded by Edward Crew.
Post World War II
editIn March 1945 the squadron was moved to the Far East. Destined for Egypt, the squadron collected its Dakotas en route in Egypt. The squadron provided parachute and glider training in India whilst also providing detachments for operations in Burma and general transport flights throughout the Far East. In April 1946 96 Squadron moved to Hong Kong where air transport was maintained to Malaya and China before the squadron was renamed No. 110 Squadron on 15 June 1946.
No. 96 Squadron reformed again on 17 November 1952 at RAF Ahlhorn in Germany as part of No. 125 Wing RAF.[4] It moved to RAF Geilenkirchen on 12 February 1958.[5] Equipped with Meteor night fighters the squadron provided fighter cover for Germany until it was renumbered No. 3 Squadron on 21 January 1959, at which point it converted to Gloster Javelins.
Aircraft operated
edit| Dates | Aircraft | Variant | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1918[5] | Sopwith Salamander | Single-engined ground attack biplane | |
| 1940-1941[5] | Hawker Hurricane | I | Single-engined fighter |
| 1941-1942[5] | Boulton Paul Defiant | I | Single-engined fighter |
| 1941-1942[5] | Hawker Hurricane | IIC | Single-engined fighter |
| 1942[5] | Boulton Paul Defiant | IA and II | Single-engined fighter |
| 1942-1943[5] | Bristol Beaufighter | IIF and VIF | Twin-engined ground attack |
| 1943-1944[5] | de Havilland Mosquito | XIII | Twin-engined light bomber |
| 1944-1945[5] | Handley Page Halifax | III | Four-engined heavy bomber |
| 1945-1946[5] | Douglas Dakota | Twin-engined transport | |
| 1952-1959[5] | Gloster Meteor | NF11 | Twin-engined jet night-fighter |
| 1958-1959[5] | Gloster Javelin | FAW4 | Twin-engined jet fighter/interceptor |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Smith, David J. (1981). Military airfields of Wales and the North-West (1 ed.). Cambridge: P. Stephens. p. 69. ISBN 0850594855.
- ^ a b c Royal Air Force History: History of No. 96 Squadron
- ^ "Wing Commander Ronald Kellett". The Times. No. 66732. London. 30 November 1998. p. 25.
- ^ "SQN Histories 96-100_P".
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Jefford 1988, p. 53
References
edit- Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- "History of No. 96 Squadron". Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
Media related to No. 96 Squadron RAF at Wikimedia Commons