No. 107 Squadron RAF
| No. 107 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 8 Oct 1917 – 30 Jun 1919 6 Aug 1936 – 4 Oct 1948 22 Jul 1959 – 10 Jul 1963 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Royal Air Force
|
| Nickname(s) | Lowestoft's 'own' Squadron |
| Motto(s) |
French: Nous y serons ("We shall be there") |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Ivor Broom |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | A double-headed eagle displayed gorged with a collar of Fleur de Lys. The double-headed eagle is one of the supporters from the armorial bearings of Salisbury, in which district the squadron was formed. The collar of fleur-de-lys was introduced in reference to service in France in the First World War during a period when the unit was attached to the French Army. The motto is said to have been derived from the squadron magazine produced in the First World War and entitled The Objective ('107' Squadron Always Gets There). |
| Squadron Codes |
107 (Aug 1936 – Oct 1938) BZ (Oct 1938 – Sep 1939) OM (Sep 1939 – Oct 1948) |
No. 107 Squadron RAF was a Royal Flying Corps bomber unit formed during the First World War. It was reformed in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and was operational during the Cold War on Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles.
Though already formed at Catterick, as a day bomber unit on 8 October 1917), No. 107 Squadron was not equipped with aircraft until 15 May 1918 at RFC Lake Down, Salisbury, when it received Airco DH.9s, which it took to the Western Front on 3 June of that year. The squadron became at first part of the 13th wing of the 3rd brigade, working up to operational status. Thereafter it was transferred to the 51st wing of the 9th brigade and it began operations from Drionville. Its main targets were enemy airfields, base areas and communication lines, which it continued to attack until the Armistice. The squadron's most successful raid was made on Saponay on 21 July 1918, where a large ammunition dump was hit. From the squadron's airfield, 20 miles away at Chailly, the reflection of the explosions and fire could be seen going on all the evening and throughout the night. Another notable raid was that made on the Aulnoye railway station and junction on 1 October 1918. Returning to Hounslow Heath Aerodrome in March 1919, it disbanded there on 30 June of that same year.
No. 107 Squadron was reformed at RAF Andover on 10 August 1936 as a light bomber squadron, equipped with Hawker Hinds. These were replaced by Blenheim Mk.Is from August 1938 which gave way in their turn to Blenheim Mk.IVs in May 1939. It was with four of this aircraft that No. 107 took part in the RAF's first bombing raid of the war against enemy ships in the German port of Wilhelmshaven on 4 September 1939, the day after war was declared on Germany. The raid was no success: of the four aircraft despatched only one returned – and with its bomb load still intact as it had not been able to locate the enemy. The first British Prisoner of war in World War II was Sergeant George Booth, a navigator with 107 Squadron. He was captured when his Bristol Blenheim was shot down over the German coast on that 4 September 1939. In April 1940 the squadron carried out attacks on German forces engaged in the invasion of Norway and after the invasion of France and the Low Countries in May 1940 began attacking enemy columns and communications. Following the Dunkirk evacuation the squadron became engaged with attacking invasion barges and shipping concentrations in the Channel ports. In one of these attacks the new Commanding Officer, Wing Commander Basil Embry was shot down. He had taken over the squadron shortly after the disastrous first war mission in September 1939 and had taught the squadron the need for a tight formation for mutual defence which served the squadron time and again. The adventurous story of his escape from captivity eventually reached book form.
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