No. 52 Squadron RAF
| No. 52 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 15 May 1916 (RFC), 1 April 1918 (RAF) to 23 October 1919 18 January 1937 – 8 April 1940 1 July 1941 – 31 March 1944 1 July 1944 –25 April 1966 1 December 1966 – 31 December 1969 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Royal Air Force
|
| Motto(s) |
Latin: Sudore quam sanguine ("By sweat and blood") |
| Battle honours |
World War I • Western Front 1916–1918 • Ypres, 1917 • Messines, 1917 World War II • Mediterranean, 1943 • Sicily, 1943 • Pacific 1944-45 • Burma, 1945 |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron badge heraldry | A lion rampant guardant holding in the forepaws a flash of lightning. The personnel of this squadron were originally recruited from the district of Hounslow, Heston and Isleworth, so the lion has been introduced which appears in the arms of Heston and Isleworth and in those which were used by Hounslow Abbey. The flash of lightning refers to the marking used by this squadron during the First World War. |
| Squadron codes |
MB Apr 1939 - Sep 1939 ZE Sep 1939 - Apr 1940 |
No. 52 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron that saw service in both World War I and World War II.
No. 52 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed as a Corps Reconnaissance squadron at Hounslow Heath Aerodrome on 15 May 1916. It moved to France in November that year, being the first squadron equipped with the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8. At first the squadron had little success with its R.E.8s, suffering many spinning accidents, and these losses affected morale so much that in January 1917 the squadron swapped its R.E.8s for the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s of 34 Squadron. It re-equipped again with R.E.8s in May, flying in support of the allied offensives at Ypres that summer. In March 1918 it suffered heavy losses flying ground attack sorties against the German Spring Offensive in March 1918. The squadron became part of the Royal Air Force when the Royal Flying Corps merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918, continuing in the Corps Reconnaissance role, for the rest of the war. It returned to the United Kingdom in February 1919, disbanding at Lopcombe Corner on 23 October 1919.
No 52 Squadron reformed at RAF Abingdon on 18 January 1937 from a nucleus provided by 15 Squadron. It was initially equipped with Hawker Hind biplane light bombers, these being replaced by Fairey Battle monoplanes from November 1937. In February 1939, the squadron became was assigned the task of training crews for the other squadrons in its group, with its Battles being supplemented by Avro Anson to aid the training task. Following the outbreak of the Second World War it continued in the training role, supporting the Battle equipped Advanced Air Striking Force before being absorbed into No 12 Operational Training Unit on 8 April 1940.
...
Wikipedia