No. 76 Squadron RAF
Encyclopedia
No. 76 Squadron is a squadron
of the Royal Air Force
. It was formed during World War I
as a home defence fighter squadron and in its second incarnation during World War II
flew as a bomber squadron, first as an operational training unit and later as an active bomber squadron. With the end of the war the squadron converted to the role of transport squadron, to be reactivated shortly in the bomber role during the 1950s. From 2007 to 2011, it was a training unit, equipped with the Short Tucano
at RAF Linton-on-Ouse
.
was formed at Ripon
, Yorkshire
for home defence duties on 15 September 1916 in the Yorkshire area, having detachments at Copmanthorpe
, Helperby
and Catterick
. It was equipped with Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s and B.E.12s
, these being replaced by Bristol F.2Bs in 1918. The squadron disbanded at Tadcaster
on 13 June 1919, having seen no action during this part of its service life.
on 12 April 1937 from 'B' Flight of No. 7 Squadron
, equipped with Vickers Wellesley
bombers. These were replaced by Handley Page Hampden
s and Avro Anson
s in April 1939, the unit moving to RAF Upper Heyford
at the outbreak of war. It performed an operational training role until 8 April 1940, when it merged with No. 7 Squadron
to form No. 16 Operational Training Unit (OTU).
as a Hampfden unit before being disbanded on 2 May 1940. On 1 May 1941, the squadron reformed properly at RAF Linton-on-Ouse
as the second Handley Page Halifax
bomber squadron, part of the newly created No. 4 Group
, RAF Bomber Command
. The Squadron moved to RAF Middleton St. George
in June 1941, returning to Linton-on-Ouse in July 1942. The squadron moving again, this time to RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor
in June 1943 as part of a policy to allow the newly formed Canadian 6 Group to use the better equipped RAF stations that had been built pre-war. The Squadron had a substantial number of Norwegian pilots and aircrew
From August 1942 to April 1943, No 76 Squadron was commanded by Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire
.
in May 1945, re-equipping with Dakotas, shortly thereafter moving to RAF Broadwell
. It moved to India
in September the same year, where it was disbanded on 1 September 1946 at Palam Airport
by being re-numbered to No. 62 Squadron
.
, equipped with Canberra B.2
bombers. The squadron moved in November 1955 to RAF Weston Zoyland
, for Operation Grapple. Some of these aircraft were tasked with collecting air samples during the Operation Grapple
nuclear trials in 1956/58. The squadron disbanded on 30 December 1960 at RAF Upwood
.
Air Navigation Squadron at RAF Linton-on-Ouse
was redesignated as No. 76 (Reserve) Squadron. In 2008, Prince William spent three months at Linton learning to fly. The Squadron continued to train WSOs (Weapons Systems Officers) until December 2010, and was disbanded in May 2011.
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
of the Royal Air Force
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...
. It was formed during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as a home defence fighter squadron and in its second incarnation during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
flew as a bomber squadron, first as an operational training unit and later as an active bomber squadron. With the end of the war the squadron converted to the role of transport squadron, to be reactivated shortly in the bomber role during the 1950s. From 2007 to 2011, it was a training unit, equipped with the Short Tucano
Short Tucano
|-See also:-External links:*...
at RAF Linton-on-Ouse
RAF Linton-on-Ouse
RAF Linton-on-Ouse is a Royal Air Force station at Linton-on-Ouse near York in Yorkshire, England. It is currently a major flying training centre, one of the RAF's busiest airfields...
.
First World War
No. 76 Squadron, RFCRoyal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
was formed at Ripon
Ripon
Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...
, 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...
for home defence duties on 15 September 1916 in the Yorkshire area, having detachments at Copmanthorpe
Copmanthorpe
Copmanthorpe is a village and civil parish in the City of York in the English county of North Yorkshire, south west of York, west of Bishopthorpe and close to Acaster Malbis, Askham Bryan and Askham Richard. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,262. Until 1996 it had...
, Helperby
Helperby
Helperby is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, about five miles west of Easingwold. Over the years it has joined on to Brafferton....
and Catterick
Catterick
Catterick could be*Catterick, North Yorkshire, England, commonly known as Catterick Village**Catterick Bridge, a hamlet near Catterick Village**Catterick Garrison, a British Army garrison near Catterick Village...
. It was equipped with Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s and B.E.12s
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12
|-See also:-External links:*...
, these being replaced by Bristol F.2Bs in 1918. The squadron disbanded at Tadcaster
Tadcaster
Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England. Lying on the Great North Road approximately east of Leeds and west of York. It is the last town on the River Wharfe before it joins the River Ouse about downstream...
on 13 June 1919, having seen no action during this part of its service life.
Wellesleys, Hampdens and Ansons
The squadron was next reformed at RAF FinningleyRAF Finningley
RAF Finningley is a former Royal Air Force station at Finningley, South Yorkshire, partly within the traditional county boundaries of Nottinghamshire and partly in the West Riding of Yorkshire, now wholly within the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster....
on 12 April 1937 from 'B' Flight of No. 7 Squadron
No. 7 Squadron RAF
No. 7 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook HC.2 from RAF Odiham, Hampshire.-Formation and early years: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...
, equipped with Vickers Wellesley
Vickers Wellesley
The Vickers Wellesley was a British 1930s light bomber built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey, for the Royal Air Force...
bombers. These were replaced by Handley Page Hampden
Handley Page Hampden
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the Second World War. With the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane...
s and Avro Anson
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
s in April 1939, the unit moving to RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Upper Heyford
RAF Upper Heyford was a Royal Air Force station located north-west of Bicester near the village of Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, England. The base was brought into use for flying in July 1918 by the Royal Flying Corps. During World War II it was used by many units of the RAF, mainly as a training...
at the outbreak of war. It performed an operational training role until 8 April 1940, when it merged with No. 7 Squadron
No. 7 Squadron RAF
No. 7 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook HC.2 from RAF Odiham, Hampshire.-Formation and early years: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...
to form No. 16 Operational Training Unit (OTU).
Halifaxes
The squadron reformed shortly on 30 April 1940 at RAF West RaynhamRAF West Raynham
RAF West Raynham was a Royal Air Force station located west of the village of West Raynham in Norfolk, England. It opened in the 1930s and closed in 1994. During the Second World War, RAF Bomber Command operations from RAF West Raynham claimed 86 aircraft. The site was sold by the Ministry of...
as a Hampfden unit before being disbanded on 2 May 1940. On 1 May 1941, the squadron reformed properly at RAF Linton-on-Ouse
RAF Linton-on-Ouse
RAF Linton-on-Ouse is a Royal Air Force station at Linton-on-Ouse near York in Yorkshire, England. It is currently a major flying training centre, one of the RAF's busiest airfields...
as the second Handley Page Halifax
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
bomber squadron, part of the newly created No. 4 Group
No. 4 Group RAF
No. 4 Group was a Royal Air Force group, originally formed in World War I, and reformed in the wake of the Second World War, mostly part of RAF Bomber Command, but ending its days in RAF Transport Command.-Formation in World War I:...
, RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
. The Squadron moved to RAF Middleton St. George
RAF Middleton St. George
RAF Middleton St. George was a Royal Air Force Bomber Command station during World War II. It was located in County Durham, five miles east of Darlington, England....
in June 1941, returning to Linton-on-Ouse in July 1942. The squadron moving again, this time to RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor
RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor
RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor, or more simply RAF Holme as it was also known, was an airfield in Yorkshire. Built during the Second World War, it was used during the war by the Royal Air Force as a bomber station, and after the war as a transport base and bomb store before being "mothballed"...
in June 1943 as part of a policy to allow the newly formed Canadian 6 Group to use the better equipped RAF stations that had been built pre-war. The Squadron had a substantial number of Norwegian pilots and aircrew
From August 1942 to April 1943, No 76 Squadron was commanded by Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire
Leonard Cheshire
Group Captain Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, VC, OM, DSO and Two Bars, DFC was a highly decorated British RAF pilot during the Second World War....
.
Dakotas
With the rest of No.4 Group, 76 Squadron was transferred to RAF Transport CommandRAF Transport Command
RAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 1967.-History:...
in May 1945, re-equipping with Dakotas, shortly thereafter moving to RAF Broadwell
RAF Broadwell
RAF Broadwell was a Royal Air Force station located 2 miles north of Broadwell and 3 miles southeast of Burford, Oxfordshire, within 2 miles of RAF Brize Norton. It opened on 15 November 1943 and closed on 31 March 1947, operating under RAF Transport Command...
. It moved to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in September the same year, where it was disbanded on 1 September 1946 at Palam Airport
Indira Gandhi International Airport
Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport of the National Capital Region of Delhi, India, situated in West Delhi, 16 km southwest of New Delhi city centre. Named after Indira Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India, it is the busiest airport in India in...
by being re-numbered to No. 62 Squadron
No. 62 Squadron RAF
-World War I:No. 62 Squadron RAF was formed on 8 August 1916, at Filton from No. 7 Training Squadron. In May 1917 it equipped with the Bristol F2B, before being posted to France in January 1918. The squadron operated as fighter-reconnaissance unit until disbanding on 31 July 1919. Its wartime...
.
Post-war
On 9 December 1953 the squadron reformed at RAF WitteringRAF Wittering
RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire is the nearest town, the runways of RAF Wittering cross the boundary between Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire....
, equipped with Canberra B.2
English Electric Canberra
The English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft in 1957...
bombers. The squadron moved in November 1955 to RAF Weston Zoyland
RAF Weston Zoyland
thumb|C-47s of the 306th Troop Carrier SquadronRAF Station Weston Zoyland is a former World War II airfield in Somerset, England. The airfield is located approximately east-southeast of Bridgwater; about west-southwest of London...
, for Operation Grapple. Some of these aircraft were tasked with collecting air samples during the Operation Grapple
Operation Grapple
Operation Grapple, and operations Grapple X, Grapple Y and Grapple Z, were the names of British nuclear tests of the hydrogen bomb. They were held 1956—1958 at Malden Island and Christmas Island in the central Pacific Ocean. Nine nuclear detonations took place during the trials, resulting in...
nuclear trials in 1956/58. The squadron disbanded on 30 December 1960 at RAF Upwood
RAF Upwood
RAF Upwood was a United States Air Force installation adjacent to the village of Upwood, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom.It is a non-flying station which was under the control of the United States Air Force, and one of three RAF stations in Cambridgeshire currently used by the United States...
.
Training
The squadron remained dormant until 1 May 2007, when the TucanoShort Tucano
|-See also:-External links:*...
Air Navigation Squadron at RAF Linton-on-Ouse
RAF Linton-on-Ouse
RAF Linton-on-Ouse is a Royal Air Force station at Linton-on-Ouse near York in Yorkshire, England. It is currently a major flying training centre, one of the RAF's busiest airfields...
was redesignated as No. 76 (Reserve) Squadron. In 2008, Prince William spent three months at Linton learning to fly. The Squadron continued to train WSOs (Weapons Systems Officers) until December 2010, and was disbanded in May 2011.
External links
- Royal Air Force History: History of No. 76 Squadron
- Air of Authority: No 76 - 80 Squadron Histories
- Air of Authority: Aircraft and Markings for 76 sqn
- One of the Many The story of a 76 Squadron Flight Engineer in World War II