DV287
RAF 101 sqn
Motto: “Mens agitat molem” (“Mind over matter”).
Badge: Issuant from the battlements of a tower, a demi-lion rampant guardant. The squadron adopted the battlements of a round tower as symbolic of its claim to be the first squadron equipped with an aircraft fitted with a power-operated rotating turret (the Boulton Paul Overstrand). A lion being a fierce fighter is symbolic of the unit’s fighting spirit by its position in the tower
Authority: King George VI, February 1938.
History
The Great War
No 101 Squadron, RFC, was formed at South Farnborough, Hampshire, on 12th July 1917, as a night-bomber squadron, and from August 1917, until the Armistice, operated FE2bs on the Western Front. Its duties included bombing of enemy billets, railway communications and airfields, machine-gun attacks on troops and billets and special patrols to drown the noise of tanks assembling for battle. Its pilots were credited with many outstanding actions: an as example there were Captain Halford’s three trips to Bray in one night when he personally dropped 52 bombs on enemy dumps and billets.
The squadron returned to England in March 1919, and was disbanded the following December. Re-formed at Bircham Newton in March 1928, No 101 became the only operational squadron to have Sidestrands, and later (from 1935) Overstrands, the first RAF bombers with enclosed and power-operated nose gun turrets.
World War II
When war broke out in 1939 the squadron was at West Raynham flying Blenheims and it was with these that it made its first bombing attack on Germany, in July 1940. It operated by day at first but in mid-August switched to night operations, a high proportion of its attacks being directed against enemy invasion barges in the Channel and North Sea ports. In April 1941, a flight of the squadron’s Blenheims was detached to Manston in Fighter Command’s No 11 Group, and from there, operating with fighter escort, began a sustained attempt to close the Straits of Dover to all enemy ships during daylight. In this modest fashion, No 101 inaugurated the Channel Stop – an operation which, with enlarged resources, soon became as good as its name.
New equipment
During May and June 1941, No 101 Squadron converted to Wellingtons and in September it paid its first visit to Italy and successfully bombed Turin. In May and June 1942, it took part in the celebrated 1,000-bomber raids on Cologne, Essen and Bremen; on each occasion all its aircraft returned safely. In October 1942, the squadron got its first four-engined aircraft – Lancasters – and before the year ended paid four more return visits to Turin. In the New Year it added Milan and Spezia to its Italian targets in between supporting the ever-growing offensive on German industrial targets and minelaying. On the night of 17/18th August 1943, 20 of the squadron’s Lancasters took part in the epic raid on Peenemunde and, despite a lively night-fighter defence, all the aircraft got back. A fresh task fell to the squadron on 7/8th October 1943, when for the first time it used the Airborne Cigar, or ABC, operationally. This apparatus, which searched out and then jammed enemy radio frequencies, was vital to the “Battle of the Ether”, and a specially-trained German-speaking operator accompanied the crew. The special Lancasters – they were readily distinguishable from normal aircraft by their two large dorsal masts – carried a normal bomb load less the weight of the operator and the ABC apparatus.
The squadron continued to visit Germany regularly and presented its compliments to Berliners on New Year’s Day and on four more nights before the end of January 1944, in which month it dropped nearly 600 tons of bombs in the course of over 900 operational flying hours, as well as continuing its R/T jamming operations and dropping large quantities of Window. As the year wore on No 101 became concerned with attacks on railway communications and airfields in North-West Europe in preparation for Overlord and on the night of 5/6th June it put up 21 Lancasters solely for the purpose of jamming enemy wireless communications in order to prevent night-fighters being directed against the airborne invasion forces.
In late April 1945, came the last of No 101’s offensive missions during World War 2 – an attack on Berchtesgaden.
S for Sugar
Just over a month before this operation, on 23rd March, the squadron was unfortunate enough to lose a most distinguished aircraft – Lancaster Ill DV245 “S-Sugar” (or The Saint as it was named), a veteran of 118 operational sorties. It was shot down by enemy fighters during its 119th sortie, a daylight raid against Bremen. Gloom spread over Ludford Magna – the airfield at which No 101 was then based – when it became known that The Saint would not be coming back.
Bomber Command WWII Bases:
- West Raynham : May 1939-Jun 1940
- Detachment at Manston on loan to Fighter Command Apr-May 1940.
- Oakington : Jun 1940-Feb 1942
- Bourn : Feb 1942-Aug 1942
- Stradishall : Aug 1942-Sep 1942
- Holme-on-Spalding Moor : Sep 1942-Jun 1943
- Ludford Magna : Jun 1943 onwards
Bomber Command WWII Aircraft:
- Bristol Blenheim I and IV : Jun 1938-May 1941
- Vickers Wellington IC and III : Apr 1941-Oct 1942
- Avro Lancaster B.I and B.III : Oct 1942 onwards
Code Letters:
During the 1938 Munich crisis No 101 was allotted the code letters “LU”. In WW2 its codes were “SR”.
First Operational Mission in WWII:
4th July 1940 : 1 Blenheim bombed oil target at Ostermoor. 2 other Blenheims detailed to bomb oil targets at Harburg & Oslenhausen (1 to each) aborted.
Last Operational Mission in WWII:
25th April 1945 : 23 Lancasters bombed Berchtesgaden & another Lancaster aborted.
Last Mission before VE Day:
7th May 1945 : 26 Lancasters dropped food supplies to Dutch at Rotterdam.