No. 7 Squadron RAF
| No. 7 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
Official Squadron Crest
|
|
| Active | 1 May 1914 – 8 August 1914 29 September 1914 – 31 December 1919 1 June 1923 – 8 April 1940 1 August 1940 – 1 January 1956 1 November 1956 – 30 September 1962 1 May 1970 – 5 January 1982 1 September 1982 – present |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Royal Air Force
|
| Role | Support helicopter |
| Base | RAF Odiham |
| Motto(s) |
Latin: Per diem, per noctem ("By day and by night") |
| Equipment | Boeing Chinook HC.6 |
| Battle honours | Western Front, 1915–1918*; Ypres, 1915*; Loos; Somme, 1916*; Ypres, 1917; Fortress Europe, 1941–1944*; Biscay Ports, 1941–1944*; Ruhr, 1942–1945*; German Ports, 1942–1945; Berlin, 1943–1945*; France and Germany, 1944–1945*; Normandy, 1944; Rhine, Gulf; Kosovo; Iraq, 2003. Honours marked with an asterix* are those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | On a hurt, seven mullets of six points forming a representation of the constellation Ursa Major |
| Squadron Codes |
LT (Nov 1938 – Sep 1939) |
LT (Nov 1938 – Sep 1939)
MG (Aug 1940 – Apr 1951)
XU (Jun 1943 – 1945)
No. 7 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook HC.6 from RAF Odiham, Hampshire.
No. 7 Squadron was formed at Farnborough Airfield on 1 May 1914 as the last squadron of the RFC to be formed before the First World War, but has been disbanded and reformed several times since, the first being after only three months of existence, the latter as early as 28 September 1914. The squadron spent most of the First World War in observation and interception roles and was responsible for the first ever interception of an enemy aircraft over Britain. It deployed to France in April 1915, flying Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5s for reconnaissance and Vickers Gunbuses as escort fighters. Captain John Aidan Liddell of 7 Squadron won the Victoria Cross for his actions on 31 July 1915, when he continued his reconnaissance mission over Belgium after the aircraft was hit by ground fire, the aircraft being badly damaged and Liddell suffering a broken thigh. Although he successfully recovered the R.E.5 to allied lines, saving his observer, he died of his wounds a month later.
The squadron re-equipped with B.E.2s in 1916, which it used for both bombing and reconnaissance during the Battle of the Somme that year. The B.E.2s were replaced by R.E.8s in July 1917, continuing in the reconnaissance role for the rest of the war, operating over Ypres in the summer and autumn of 1917 and in support of Belgium forces in the closing months of the war. It disbanded at the end of 1919.
It re-formed at RAF Bircham Newton on 1 June 1923 with the Vickers Vimy as a night heavy bomber squadron, continuing in this role with a succession of types through the inter-war period. It started to receive the Vickers Virginia bomber on 22 May 1924, being the first RAF Squadron to operate Virginias, although it did not dispose of the last of its Vimys until April 1927. In 1927 it moved to RAF Worthy Down, commanded by Charles Portal, later to become Chief of the Air Staff during the Second World War. In 1932, Frederick Higginson, who became a fighter ace in the Second World War, was assigned as a mechanic-gunner to the squadron.
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