No. 34 Squadron RAF
| No. 34 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 7 Jan 1916 – 25 Sept 1919 3 Dec 1935 – Feb 1942 1 Apr 1942 – 15 Oct 1945 1 Aug 1946 – 31 July 1947 11 Feb 1949 – 24 June 1952 1 Aug 1954 – 10 Jan 1958 1 Oct 1960 – 31 Dec 1967 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Royal Air Force
|
| Motto(s) |
Latin: Lupus vult, lupus volat ("Wolf wishes, wolf flies") |
| Battle honours | Western Front, 1916–17, Ypres, 1917, Italian Front & Adriatic, 1917–18, Somme, 1916, Hindenburg Line, Eastern Waters 1941, Malaya, 1941–42, Arakan, 1942–44, Manipur, 1944, Burma, 1944–45 |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron badge heraldry | In front of an increscent, a wolf passant. |
| Squadron codes |
LB Apr–Aug 1939 EG Sep 1939, Mar–Oct 1945 8Q Feb 1949 – Mar 1952 6J Feb 1949 – Jul 1951 |
No. 34 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. During the First World War it operated as a reconnaissance and bomber squadron and in the 1930s operated light bombers. It was re-equipped with fighter-bombers in the later half of the Second World War and in the post-war period was reformed four times; first as a photo-reconnaissance unit, then anti-aircraft co-operation, then as a jet fighter squadron through the 1950s. It was last active in the 1960s, as a Blackburn Beverley transport squadron.
No. 34 Squadron RAF was formed at RAF Castle Bromwich on 7 January 1916 from elements of No. 19 Squadron RAF. It went to France in July 1916 as a reconnaissance unit equipped with BE.2s It got RE.8s in January 1917. It transferred to the Italian front flying reconnaissance and bomber missions until the end of the war, returning to the UK and disbanding on 25 September 1919.
34 Squadron was re-formed at Bircham Newton on 3 December 1935, out of personnel from No. 18 Squadron RAF. Initially it flew Hawker Hinds before receiving Bristol Blenheims in July 1938 and was stationed at Singapore when the Second World War broke out.
The squadron first saw action in December 1941, against Japanese forces in Malaya. After two months, it had been withdrawn to Sumatra and Java and losses had been so severe that it was officially disbanded. The remaining personnel, aircraft and equipment were withdrawn to India.
It was officially re-formed at RAF Chakrata on 1 April 1942 and re-equipped with Blenheims. In July and August, some of its aircraft were used to attack rebels in North West Frontier Province.From September until April 1943, the squadron carried out bombing raids against Japanese targets in Burma.
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