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No. 115 Squadron RAF

No. 115 Squadron RAF
Active 1 Dec 1917 – 18 Oct 1919
5 Jun 1937 – 1 Mar 1950
13 Jun 1950 – 1 Jun 1957
21 Aug 1958 – 1 Oct 1993
2008-date
Country United Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg Royal Air Force
Base RAF Wittering
Motto(s) Despite the elements
Decorations 142 DFC and 2 Bars to DFC, 68 DFM, 6 BEM, 4 DSO, 4 MBE, 3 AFC, 2 AFM and 1 Bar to AFM plus 1 CGM.
Battle honours Independent Force & Germany, 1918*;
Channel & North Sea, 1939–1943*;
Norway, 1940*;
France & Low Countries;
German Ports, 1940–1945*;
Ruhr, 1940–1945*;
Fortress Europe, 1940–1945*;
Invasion Ports, 1940;
Berlin, 1940–1945*;
Biscay Ports, 1940–1943;
Baltic, 1943;
Normandy, 1944*;
France & Germany, 1944–1945;
Rhine
Honours marked with an asterisk* are those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry A dexter hand erased at the wrist holding a tiller.
This unit laid great stress on the importance of navigation and the hand on the tiller is taken to be symbolic of this.
Squadron Codes BK (Apr 1939 – Sep 1939)
KO (Sep 1939 – Mar 1950, Jun 1950 – Apr 1951)
A4 Nov 1943 – Oct 1944 (only used by 'C' Flt)
IL Nov 1944 – Aug 1945

No. 115 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron during World War I. It was then equipped with Handley Page O/400 heavy bombers. During World War II the squadron served as a bomber squadron and after the war it flew in a similar role till 1958, when it was engaged as a radio calibration unit. The squadron disbanded for the last time as an operational unit in 1993, but reformed in 2008 at RAF Cranwell as 115(R) Squadron, part of 22 Group, operating the Grob Tutor before moving to their present base.

No. 115 Squadron, RFC, was formed at Catterick, Yorkshire, on 1 December 1917 from a nucleus provided by No. 52 Training Squadron. At the end of August 1918, after having been equipped with Handley Page O/400 twin-engined bombers, it joined the Independent Force in France. Its first raid was made in the night of 16/17 September when nearly 4 tons of bombs were dropped on Metz-Sablon. For this raid the squadron was congratulated by Major-General Sir Hugh Trenchard and the OC 83rd Wing who described the raid as "the finest piece of work which has ever been done by a new squadron". Its most successful raid was made against Morhange airfield when five O/400s, making double trips, dropped 6½ tons of bombs on their objective. During its service in France, No. 115 made fifteen raids, the longest being to Baden and dropped 26 tons of bombs. From November 1918, 115 Squadron was based at RAF Saint Inglevert. The squadron returned to England on 4 March 1919 and disbanded on 18 October 1919 at Ford Junction.


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