No. 74 Squadron RAF
| No. 74 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
Squadron crest
|
|
| Active | 1 July 1917 – 3 July 1919 3 September 1935 – 31 August 1971 19 October 1984 – 1 October 1992 5 October 1992 – 22 September 2000 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Royal Air Force
|
| Nickname(s) | Tiger Squadron Trinidad |
| Motto(s) | I fear no man |
| Battle honours | Western Front 1918*, France and Low Countries 1940*, Dunkirk*, Battle of Britain 1940*, Fortress Europe 1940–1941 and 1944*, Home Defence 1940–1941, Mediterranean 1943*, Walcheren, Normandy 1944*, France and Germany 1944–1945*, Rhine Honours marked with an asterisk are those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | A tiger's face. Developed from an unofficial emblem used during the First World War. |
| Squadron Roundel |  |
| Squadron Codes |
JH (Feb 1939 – Sep 1939) ZP (Sep 1939 – Apr 1942) 4D (Apr 1944 – Apr 1951) |
No. 74 Squadron RAF, also known as "Tiger Squadron" from its tiger head motif, was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It operated fighter aircraft from 1917 to the 1990s.
The squadron was first formed at London Colney on 1 July 1917. No. 74 Squadron was a training unit flying Avro 504Ks.
Its first operational fighters were S.E.5as in March 1918. The squadron served in France from April until February 1919, when it returned to Britain where it was disbanded on 3 July 1919.
During its wartime service, it was credited with 140 enemy planes destroyed and 85 driven down out of control, for 225 victories. Seventeen aces had served in the squadron, including Victoria Cross winner Major Edward Mannock, Ira "Taffy" Jones, Benjamin Roxburgh-Smith, future Air Commodore Keith Caldwell, Andrew Kiddie, Frederick Stanley Gordon, Sydney Carlin, Frederick Hunt, Clive Glynn, George Hicks, Wilfred Ernest Young, Henry Dolan, Harris Clements, George Gauld, and Frederick Luff.
During the Abyssian crisis of 1935 the squadron was reformed in September to operate out of Malta with Hawker Demon two-seater fighters. In July the following year, the Squadron, with its Demons, was shipped back to England. It re-equipped with Gloster Gauntlets in April 1937 at RAF Hornchurch, and formed part of the newly created Fighter Command. The Gauntlets were exchanged for the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I in Feb 1939.
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