No. 42 Squadron RAF

No. 42 Squadron RAF
Official Badge of No. 42 Squadron RAF
Active	1 Apr 1916 (RFC) - 26 Jun 1919 14 Dec 1936 - 30 Jun 1945 1 Jul 1945 - 30 Dec 1945 1 Oct 1946 - 15 Oct 1947 28 Jun 1952 - 30 Mar 2010
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Role	Maritime Patrol
Base	RAF Kinloss
Motto	Latin: Fortiter in re (Translation: "Bravely into action")[1][2]
Aircraft	Nimrod MR.2
Battle honours	Western Front, 1916-1918* Italian Front & Adriatic, 1917-1918* Somme, 1916 Arras, 1917 Ypres, 1917 Lys Channel & North Sea, 1939-1942* Biscay, 1940* Baltic, 1941* Fortress Europe, 1941 Pacific, 1943-1945 Eastern Waters, 1943* Arakan, 1943-1944* Manipur, 1944* Burma, 1944-1945 South Atlantic, 1982 Gulf, 1991. Honours marked with an asterisk (*) are those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard[3]
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry	On a terrestrial globe, a figure of Perseus[1][2] No. 42 Squadron was the 1st to use the Bristol Perseus engine and this accounts for the presence of Perseus in the badge; he was known always to achieve his object and destroy his enemies and he stands in front of a globe to signify his activities over many lands and seas[1]
Squadron Codes	QD (Allocated Apr 1939 - Sep 1939, but probably not used)[4][5] AW (Sep 1939 - Jun 1942 1943 - Dec 1945)[6][7] QM (Oct 1946 - Oct 1947)[8][9] A (Jun 1952 - 1956)[10][11] 42 (1956 - 1968)
Aircraft flown
Attack	Hawker Hurricane Republic Thunderbolt Bristol Beaufighter
Bomber	Vickers Vildebeest
Patrol	Avro Shackleton Hawker Siddeley Nimrod
Reconnaissance	Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8

No. 42 Squadron of the Royal Air Force has served during World War I as an army co-operation squadron and during World War II in various roles. In recent years, it was the Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) for the Nimrod MR.2, based at RAF Kinloss, Moray, until the Nimrod MR2's retirement in 2010.

History

First World War

Formed 1 April 1916 from crews of 19 Squadron Royal Flying Corps at Filton, 42 Squadron spent the First World War flying reconnaissance sorties. Using BE2s (and later RE8s), the squadron spent time on both the Western Front and the Austro-Italian Front. On returning to England after the war, the squadron was disbanded at RAF Netheravon on 26 June 1919.^[1][12]

Second World War

On 14 December 1936 'B' flight of No. 22 Squadron RAF was expanded into a new No. 42 Squadron.^[1][2] In 1939 No. 42 Squadron was based at RAF Bircham Newton. Initially the unit was equipped with Vickers Vildebeests before re-equipping with Bristol Beauforts in January 1940. The squadron operated also a bomber unit in the Burma campaign flying Blenheims during 1942 and as a fighter-bomber unit flying Hurricanes during 1943. The squadron disbanded on 30 June 1945 but on the following day 146 squadron was renumbered to No. 42 Squadron and flew Thunderbolts.^[2] The squadron fought on with these until the Burma campaign ended and thereafter the squadron disbanded on 30 December 1945 at Meiktela.^[1][12]

Post-war

Beaufighters

On 1 October 1946 254 Squadron at RAF Thorney Island was renumbered to No. 42 Squadron. Equipped with Bristol Beaufighter, it was a strike unit in RAF Coastal Command until disbanded on 15 October 1947.^[2][12]

Shackletons

On 28 June 1952, No. 42 Squadron was reformed, flying Avro Shackletons in the maritime reconnaissance role.^[12]

1955 midair collision

On 11 January 1955, Two Shackletons (WG531 and WL743) of the squadron departed on a routine exercise off Fastnet Rock on the southwest Irish coast. The two maritime patrol aircraft took off from RAF St Eval at 10:14 and 10:20 respectively to carry out search exercises as part of their 15-hour patrol. Radio messages received from the two airplanes through 20:00 that night indicated that they were flying at the prescribed 85 mi (137 km) distance from one another, despite their having departed St. Eval with only six minutes' separation. From 20:58 all contact was lost. A three-day search was conducted, but both aircraft remained missing without a trace, leading to the assumption that there had been a mid-air collision. In 1966, the starboard outer (#4) engine of WL743 was recovered about 75 miles north of where authorities had long assumed the collision had occurred.^[13]

Nimrods

The squadron converted to Nimrods in April 1971.^[2][12] Disbanded as a front-line unit in October 1992, it was later reformed as No. 42 (Reserve) Squadron at RAF Kinloss, Moray, taking over from No. 236 OCU as the Nimrod Operational Conversion Unit (OCU).^[14] The squadron flew its last Nimrod MR.2 flight on 30 March 2010,^[15] and was formally disbanded on 26 May 2011.^[16]

Aircraft operated

42 Squadron Avro Shackleton MR.2 of RAF Coastal Command in September 1956

Aircraft operated by no. 42 Squadron RAF, data from^{[1][2][12][17]}

From	To	Aircraft	Version
April 1916	August 1916	B.E.2	2d
April 1916	April 1917	B.E.2	2e
April 1917	February 1919	R.E.8
December 1936	December 1937	Vickers Vildebeest	Mk.III
January 1937	March 1937	Vickers Vildebeest	Mk.I
March 1937	April 1940	Vickers Vildebeest	Mk.IV
September 1939	April 1940	Vickers Vildebeest	Mk.III
April 1940	January 1942	Bristol Beaufort	Mk.I
January 1942	February 1943	Bristol Beaufort	Mk.II
February 1943	October 1943	Bristol Blenheim	Mk.V
October 1943	June 1945	Hawker Hurricane	Mk.IV
September 1944	December 1944	Hawker Hurricane	Mk.IIc
April 1945	June 1945	Hawker Hurricane	Mk.IIc
July 1945	December 1945	Republic Thunderbolt	Mk.II
October 1946	October 1947	Bristol Beaufighter	TF.10
June 1952	July 1954	Avro Shackleton	MR.1/1A
January 1953	January 1966	Avro Shackleton	MR.2
November 1965	September 1971	Avro Shackleton	MR.3
August 1971	August 1984	Hawker Siddeley Nimrod	MR.1
August 1983	April 2011	Hawker Siddeley Nimrod	MR.2

See also

• Other RAF Nimrod squadrons:
  • No. 120 Squadron, Nimrod MR.2
  • No. 201 Squadron, Nimrod MR.2
  • No. 51 Squadron, Nimrod R.1

References

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Rawlings 1982, p. 65.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Halley 1988, p. 95.
3. ^ http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn041-45.htm
4. ^ Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 12.
5. ^ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 51.
6. ^ Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 18.
7. ^ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 63.
8. ^ Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 86.
9. ^ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 155.
10. ^ Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 126.
11. ^ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 192.
12. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Jefford 2001, p. 42.
13. ^ Accident description for Mid-air collision of RAF Avro Shackletons WG531 & WL743 off Fastnet Rock, Ireland at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 2010-05-04.
14. ^ "42 Squadron". www.raf.mod.uk. Royal Air Force. http://www.raf.mod.uk/organisation/42squadron.cfm. Retrieved 4 May 2010. 
15. ^ Hastings, David. "BAE System Nimrod: Squadron Service". Target Lock. http://www.targetlock.org.uk/nimrod/service.html. Retrieved 4 May 2010. 
16. ^ "Squadron Disbandment Parade". www.raf.mod.uk. Royal Air Force. 27 May 2011. http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/squadron-disbandment-27052011. Retrieved 29 May 2011. 
17. ^ Coleman 1992, p. 110.

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.
• Coleman, Ian. Resolute in Action: The History of 42 Squadron RAF, 1916-1992. St Mawgan, Cornwall, UK: Blackfords of Cornwall, 1992.
• 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, 1981-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
• 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, 2001. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
• Rawlings, John D.R. Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.

External links

• The History of No 42 Squadron at raf.mod.uk
• WW2 bases of no. 42 sqn
• Histories for nos. 41-45 sqn on RAFweb
• Rickard, J (1 October 2008), No. 42 Squadron (RAF): Second World War
• No 42 Reserve Squadron, RAF