No. 55 Squadron RAF
| No. 55 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active |
27 April 1916 (RFC) |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Royal Air Force
|
| Motto(s) |
Latin: Nil nos tremefacit ("Nothing shakes us") |
| Battle honours | Western Front 1917–1918*, Arras, Ypres 1917*, Independent Force and Germany 1918*, Iraq 1920, Kurdistan 1922-1924, Iraq 1928-1929, Kurdistan 1930-1931, Northern Kurdistan 1932, Egypt and Libya 1940-1943*, El Alamein*, El Hamma*, North Africa 1943, Sicily 1943, Salerno, Italy 1943-1945, Gustav Line, Gothic Line, South Atlantic 1982, Gulf 1991 *Denotes honours emblozoned on standard |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron badge heraldry | A cubit arm, the arm grasping a spear |
27 April 1916 (RFC)
1 April 1918 (RAF) – 22 January 1920
1 February 1920 – 1 November 1946
1 September 1960 – 15 October 1993
15 October 1993 – 31 March 1996
No. 55 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1916 as a unit of the Royal Flying Corps. No. 55 Squadron was the last RAF Squadron to operationally fly the Handley Page Victor, in its Victor K.2 in-flight refuelling tanker role. It was subsequently a navigator training squadron based at RAF Cranwell in Lincolnshire. The squadron operated the Hawker Siddeley Dominie, a military version of the HS.125 business jet, until January 2011.
No. 55 Squadron was formed at Castle Bromwich on 27 April 1916. It initially operated as a training unit, flying a mixture of types, including the Avro 504, Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 and the Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8, but in January 1917 it changed its role to a day-bomber squadron and re-equipped with the Airco DH.4, being the first squadron to receive the new light bomber.
It took these to France on 6 March that year as part of 9th Wing, flying its first bombing mission against Valenciennes railway station on 23 April 1917 in support of the Battle of Arras. It became part of the Independent Air Force as part of No 41 Wing based at Azelot, carrying out daylight strategic bombing missions against targets in Germany. 55 Squadron developed tactics of flying in wedge formations, bombing on the leader's command and with the massed defensive fire of the formation deterring attacks by enemy fighters. Despite heavy losses, 55 Squadron continued in operation, the only one of the day bombing squadrons in the Independent Force which did not have to temporarily stand down owing to aircrew losses. The squadron flew 221 bombing missions during the war, dropping approximately 141 long tons (143,000 kg) of bombs during the war.
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