No. 514 Squadron RAF | |
---|---|
Active | 1 September 1943 – 22 August 1945 |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Air Force |
Role | Bomber Squadron |
Part of | No. 3 Group RAF, Bomber Command[1] |
Motto(s) |
Latin: Nil Obstare Potest (Translation: "Nothing can withstand")[2][3] |
Insignia | |
Squadron Badge heraldry |
A cloud pierced by a sword[3] The design indicates the function of the squadron, i.e. its role of a GH-equipped blind-bombing squadron[2] |
Squadron Codes |
JI (Sep 1943 – Aug 1945)[4][5] A2 (Dec 1943 – Aug 1945, 'C' Flt only)[6][7] |
Aircraft flown | |
Bomber | Avro Lancaster |
No. 514 Squadron RAF was a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
History[]
The squadron was first formed at RAF Foulsham, Norfolk on 1 September 1943,[2][3][8] equipped with Lancaster Mk.II bombers, as part of No. 3 Group RAF in Bomber Command. It transferred to RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire on 23 November, where it re-equipped with Lancaster Mk.I and Mk.III bombers in June 1944.[9] It was finally disbanded at Waterbeach on 22 August 1945,[2][3][8] by which time the squadron had completed 3,675 operational sorties with a loss of 66 aircraft.[10] Its members were awarded with 1 DSO, 84 DFCs, one Bar to the DFC and 26 DFMs.[2]
Aircraft operated[]
From | To | Aircraft | Version |
---|---|---|---|
September 1943 | July 1944 | Avro Lancaster | Mk.II |
June 1944 | August 1945 | Avro Lancaster | Mks.I and III |
Squadron bases[]
From | To | Base |
---|---|---|
1 September 1943 | 23 November 1943 | RAF Foulsham, Norfolk |
23 November 1943 | 22 August 1945 | RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire |
Reunions[]
From 1988 to 2012 the Squadron held an annual Reunion in June at Waterbeach Barracks hosted by the Royal Engineers. A service of remembrance was held in the parish church, and the BBMF Lancaster made a flypast over the former RAF airfield.[11]
In 2013, following the barracks' closure, a reunion is to be held in the village on 15 June 2013, with the Lancaster flypast over the Recreation Ground.[12]
Museum[]
The 514 Squadron Association and the Army established a Museum in Waterbeach Barracks in 1985. This museum closed in September 2012, as the Barracks closed permanently in March 2013, although the contents have been saved.[13] It hoped the new Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum will use a former RAF building when the site is sold for housing, but in the meantime the collection is in storage.[14]
See also[]
References[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Delve 1994, pp. 68, 77.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Moyes 1976, p. 267.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Halley 1988, p. 395.
- ↑ Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 58.
- ↑ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 80.
- ↑ Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 19.
- ↑ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 61.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Jefford 2001, p. 96.
- ↑ Hamlin and Merrington 2011, pp. 27–31.
- ↑ Falconer 2003, p. 255.
- ↑ Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum, unpublished archives.
- ↑ "514 Squadron RAF Waterbeach". http://www.flickr.com/photos/29126266@N00/4432627297/.
- ↑ "Museum's collection is saved". http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Cambridge/Museums-collection-is-saved-18122012.htm. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
- ↑ "Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum". https://sites.google.com/site/rafwaterbeachmuseum/. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
Bibliography[]
- Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. Squadron Codes, 1937–56. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
- Delve, Ken. The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
- Dison, Harry. Some of the story of 514 Squadron: Lancasters at Waterbeach, 1999. (Self published, available from the Museum)
- Falconer, John. Bomber Command Handbook 1939–1945. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 0-7509-3171-X.
- Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. Combat Codes: A full explanation and listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied air force unit codes since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-84037-281-8.
- Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
- Hamlin, John F. & Oliver J. Merrington At the 'Beach: the story of Royal Air Force Waterbeach and Waterbeach Barracks. Peterborough: GMS Enterprises, 2011. ISBN 1-904514-63-4
- Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE, BA, RAF(Retd.). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- Moyes, Philip J.R. Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 2nd edition 1976. ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to No. 514 Squadron RAF. |
- 514 Squadron RAF website - commemorates all who served in the Squadron
- 514 Squadron Facebook page
- Squadron history, on RAF website
- No. 514 Squadron RAF movement and equipment history
- The Wartime Memories Project - 514 Sqn
- Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum
- Squadron histories for nos. 500–520 squadron on RAFweb's Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation
- Former Air Gunner tells his story
- Video about the last flight of 514 Squadron Lancaster A2-C, lost July 28, 1944
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The original article can be found at No. 514 Squadron RAF and the edit history here.