No. 61 Squadron RAF
| No. 61 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 24 Jul 1917 - 13 June 1919 8 March 1937 – 31 March 1958 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Royal Air Force
|
| Nickname(s) | "Hull's 'own' Squadron" |
| Motto(s) |
Latin: Per purum tonantes ("Thundering through the clear air") |
| Mascot(s) | The Lincoln Imp |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | The lincoln Imp The figure associates the squadron with the district in which it was re-formed in 1937 and where it spent most of its active days in World War II. |
| Squadron Codes |
LS (Mar 1939 - Sep 1939) QR (Sep 1939 - Apr 1951) |
No. 61 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was first formed as a fighter squadron of the British Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. It was reformed in 1937 as a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force and served in the Second World War and after until disbanded in 1958.
No. 61 Squadron was formed at RAF Rochford, Essex, on 24 July 1917 or on 2 August of that year, as one of the first three single-seater fighter squadrons of the London Air Defence Area intended to counter the daylight air raids. It was equipped with the Sopwith Pup. The squadron first went into action on 12 August, when a formation of 10 Gotha bombers came in over the mouth of the Thames. Sixteen Pups of No. 61 Squadron took off to intercept them and succeeded in turning the enemy back, but not before two bombs had been dropped near No. 61's hangars on Rochford Aerodrome. In 1918 the squadron was re-equipped with SE5s, but before the Armistice was signed it began to change over to Sopwith Camels. The squadron used these and from January 1919 also some Sopwith Snipes until disbanded on 13 June 1919.
No. 61 Squadron was re-formed on 8 March 1937 as a bomber squadron, and in World War II flew with No. 5 Group, RAF Bomber Command. The squadron's first operational mission was on 25 December 1939, comprising an armed reconnaissance over the North Sea by 11 Hampden bombers. This was followed on 7/8 March 1940 by the first bombing mission, when one Hampden, during a security patrol of Sylt-Borkum-Norderney, bombed an enemy destroyer which opened fire on it.
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