No. 150 Squadron RAF
Encyclopedia
No. 150 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force
during both World War I and World War II.
The squadron was reformed - as 150(SM) Sqn. - on 8 January 1959 as one of 20 Strategic Missile (SM) squadrons associated with Project Emily
. The squadron was equipped with three Thor
Intermediate range ballistic missiles, and based at RAF Carnaby
in Yorkshire
.
In October 1962, during the Cuban missile crisis
, the squadron was kept at full readiness, with the missiles aimed at strategic targets in the USSR.
The squadron was disbanded on 9 April 1963, as the Thor Program in Britain was brought to a close.
. It was equipped with Bristol M.1
c, Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a, and Sopwith Camel
aircraft during its World War I service. Ten aces served with the unit, including such notables as Gerald Gordon Bell
, Charles D. B. Green
,
Douglas Arthur Davies
, Acheson Goulding
, Frederick Travers, Franklin Saunders
,
Arthur Jarvis
, George Gardiner
, and Leslie Hamilton
.
light bombers, taking them to France as part of the Advanced Air Striking Force in September 1939. It received heavy losses in attempting to oppose the German invasion of France
in May 1940, being evacuated back to England by 20 May.
It re-equipped with Vickers Wellington
s from in October 1940, operating from RAF Newton
. It moved to the Mediterranean Theatre in December 1942, flying its Wellingtons from Blida
in Algeria
against targets in Tunisia
and Sardinia
. It moved to Tunisia in May 1943, and to bases in Italy in December, disbanding in October 1944.
It reformed again in November 1944 at RAF Fiskerton
in Lincolnshire
, equipped with the Avro Lancaster
heavy bomber. It soon moved to RAF Hemswell
, flying 827 operational sorties and dropping 3,827 tons of bombs while losing eight aircraft and 40 aircrew. It was involved in Operation Manna to drop food supplies to starving Dutch civilians at the end of the War in Europe, and after the end of hostilities, was used to repatriate POWs from Europe back to the United Kingdom. It was disbanded again on 7 November 1945.
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
during both World War I and World War II.
The squadron was reformed - as 150(SM) Sqn. - on 8 January 1959 as one of 20 Strategic Missile (SM) squadrons associated with Project Emily
Project Emily
Project Emily was the deployment of American-built PGM-17 Thor Intermediate-range ballistic missiles in the United Kingdom between 1959 and 1963....
. The squadron was equipped with three Thor
PGM-17 Thor
Thor was the first operational ballistic missile of the U.S. Air Force . Named after the Norse god of thunder, it was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate range ballistic missile with thermonuclear warheads. Thor was in height and in diameter. It was...
Intermediate range ballistic missiles, and based at RAF Carnaby
RAF Carnaby
RAF Carnaby was an emergency landing strip that enabled crippled bombers a safe place to land near the English coast during World War II. It was situated two miles southwest of Bridlington.RAF Carnaby opened in March 1944...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
In October 1962, during the Cuban missile crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
, the squadron was kept at full readiness, with the missiles aimed at strategic targets in the USSR.
The squadron was disbanded on 9 April 1963, as the Thor Program in Britain was brought to a close.
World War I
The squadron was founded in April 1918 at Salonika, Greece with elements from both No. 17 Squadron RAF and No. 47 Squadron RAFNo. 47 Squadron RAF
No. 47 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Hercules from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.-First formation:No. 47 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed at Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire on 1 March 1916 as a home defence unit, protecting Hull and East Yorkshire against attack by German...
. It was equipped with Bristol M.1
Bristol M.1
|-See also:-External links:* * * * *...
c, Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a, and Sopwith Camel
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...
aircraft during its World War I service. Ten aces served with the unit, including such notables as Gerald Gordon Bell
Gerald Gordon Bell
Gerald Gordon Bell DFC was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 16 victories.During 1917 Bell flew as an observer/gunner with No. 22 Squadron, claiming 3 victories. After training as a pilot, Bell was sent to Greece to fly scouts with 47 Squadron and 150 Sqn.-List of...
, Charles D. B. Green
Charles D. B. Green
Lieutenant Charles Duncan Bremner Green was a Canadian-born World War I flying ace credited with 11 aerial victories. Postwar, he went on to success in business until World War II. After rejoining military life, he again served until his untimely accidental death.-Early life:Charles Duncan Bremner...
,
Douglas Arthur Davies
Douglas Arthur Davies
Lieutenant Douglas Arthur Davies was a World War I flying ace credited with 10 aerial victories.-Early life:Douglas Arthur Davies was born on 12 January 1896. He was the first-born son of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Davies. His birthplace was Harrow, England....
, Acheson Goulding
Acheson Goulding
Captain Acheson Gosford Goulding was a Canadian-born World War I flying ace credited with nine aerial victories. After infantry service, he transferred to aviation and served in Asia Minor and the Balkans. After winning the Military Cross for courage, he returned to civilian life...
, Frederick Travers, Franklin Saunders
Franklin Saunders
Captain Franklin Geoffrey Saunders was a World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories.-Reference:...
,
Arthur Jarvis
Arthur Jarvis
Arthur Eyguem De Montaigne Jarvis was a Canadian World War I flying ace credited with 5 victories.-Distinguished Flying Cross:"Lieut. Arthur Eyguem de Montaingne Jarvis ....
, George Gardiner
George Gardiner (aviator)
Captain George Cecil Gardiner, DFC was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.Gardiner flew as an observer with 14 Squadron in the Middle East. He made the transition to piloting and joined 47 Squadron in Salonika in 1917. Flying a Royal Aircraft Factory BE.12, he shared...
, and Leslie Hamilton
Leslie Hamilton
Lieutenant Leslie Hamilton was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories. After a postwar spell of stunt flying as "The Flying Gypsy", he attempted the first nonstop east-west flight across the Atlantic Ocean...
.
World War II
It reformed in 1938 equipped with Fairey BattleFairey Battle
The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company in the late 1930s for the Royal Air Force. The Battle was powered by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine that gave contemporary British fighters high performance; however, the Battle was weighed...
light bombers, taking them to France as part of the Advanced Air Striking Force in September 1939. It received heavy losses in attempting to oppose the German invasion of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
in May 1940, being evacuated back to England by 20 May.
It re-equipped with Vickers Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
s from in October 1940, operating from RAF Newton
RAF Newton
RAF Newton was a Royal Air Force station, 7 miles east of Nottingham, England. It was used briefly as a bomber base and then as a flying training school during World War II....
. It moved to the Mediterranean Theatre in December 1942, flying its Wellingtons from Blida
Blida
Blida is a city in Algeria. It is the capital of Blida Province, and it is located about 45 km south-west of Algiers, the national capital. The name Blida, i.e...
in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
against targets in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
and Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
. It moved to Tunisia in May 1943, and to bases in Italy in December, disbanding in October 1944.
It reformed again in November 1944 at RAF Fiskerton
RAF Fiskerton
RAF Fiskerton was located in the Lincolnshire village of Fiskerton, 5 miles east of Lincoln, Lincolnshire. It was one of many new bomber airfields built in the early part of World War II. The airfield was situated north of the village...
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, equipped with the Avro Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
heavy bomber. It soon moved to RAF Hemswell
RAF Hemswell
RAF Hemswell was an airfield used by RAF Bomber Command for 20 years between 1937 and 1957 and saw most of its operational life during World War II. Later used by RAF Fighter Command as a nuclear ballistic missile base during the Cold War it closed to military use in 1967...
, flying 827 operational sorties and dropping 3,827 tons of bombs while losing eight aircraft and 40 aircrew. It was involved in Operation Manna to drop food supplies to starving Dutch civilians at the end of the War in Europe, and after the end of hostilities, was used to repatriate POWs from Europe back to the United Kingdom. It was disbanded again on 7 November 1945.