No. 120 Squadron RAF

No. 120 Squadron RAF
Official Squadron crest of No. 120 Squadron RAF
Active	1 Jan 1918 (RFC) - 21 Oct 1919 2 Jun 1941 - 4 Jun 1945 1 Oct 1946 - 31st March 2010
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Role	Maritime Patrol
Base	RAF Kinloss
Motto	Endurance
Equipment	Nimrod MR.2
Battle honours	Atlantic, 1941-1945*; Biscay, 1941-1944*; Arctic, 1942-1944*; Channel and North Atlantic, 1941-1944*; South Atlantic, 1982; Gulf, 1991; Iraq, 2003 Honours marked with an asterisk* are those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry	Standing on a demi-terrestrial globe, a falcon close[1] The falcon, an Icelandic falcon, commemorates the Squadron's stay there and also indicates the squadron's predatory instinct[2]
Squadron Codes	OH (Jun 1941 - Dec 1941, Jul 1944 - Jun 1945) BS (Oct 1946 - Mar 1951) (Codes taken over from No 160 Sqn) A (Mar 1951 - Apr 1956) 120 (Apr 1956 - Feb 1971?)

No. 120 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operated the Nimrod MR2, based at RAF Kinloss, Moray, Scotland^[1] until the type's withdrawal in March 2010.^[3]

History

Formation in WWI

No. 120 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Cramlington on 1 January 1918, as a day bomber unit and was planned to be equipped with Airco DH.9. The First World War ended before it became operational, as the DH.9s were not delivered until October 1918,^[1] so 120 Squadron spent late 1918 and 1919 flying communication and mail flights in Western Europe until it was disbanded late in 1919.^[4]

WWII

Reformed as part of Coastal Command in Northern Ireland in 1941 at RAF Nutts Corner, the unit was equipped with the Consolidated Liberator, flying against the U-Boat threat in the war in the North Atlantic. The squadron received the first Mark I Liberators in June and began flying nine of them in September from bases in Aldergrove, Northern Ireland and Reykjavik, Iceland. The number of Liberators in September 1942 had increased to six Mark I, two Mark II, and three Mark III. 120 Squadron remained the only Coastal Command squadron flying VLR (Very Long Range) Liberators in February 1943 with five Mark I and twelve Mark III.^[5]

The squadron was very successful in this role, sinking 14 U-Boats outright, with shares in three more and eight damaged by the end of the war and its disbandment on 4 June 1945 at RAF Ballykelly.^[1] This was the highest kill total in Coastal Command, achieved whilst flying from Northern Ireland, Iceland, and in support of Operation Overlord - the Allied invasion of France in 1944.^[4]

• 12 October 1942 - convoy SC 107 (but initially believed to have sunk U-132)
• 8 December 1942 - (U-254 credited but postwar evidence indicates sank in collision with U-221 near convoy HX 217)
• 10 December 1942 - convoy SC 118
• 15 February 1943 - convoy ON 166 by Liberator T
• 5 April 1943 - convoy SC 130 by depth charges from Liberator P
• 28 May 1943 - No. 86 Squadron RAF
• 16 October 1943 - U-470 sunk near convoys ONS 20/ON 206 by Liberator Z in cooperation with No. 59 Squadron RAF
• 17 October 1943 - convoys ONS 20/ON 206 by depth charges from Liberator H in cooperation with No. 59 Squadron RAF
• 6 March 1944 - edit] Immediate Post-War

  The squadron reformed again on 1 October 1946, by renumbering 160 Squadron at RAF Leuchars. It was equipped with Lancaster GR.3s though some Liberators remained on strength till June 1947.^[1] A detachment moved to Palestine in November 1947 where it carried out searches for illegal immigrant ships until February 1948, when it returned to Britain.^[4]

  Cold War and beyond

  The squadron re-equipped with Shackleton MR.1s in April 1951, and continued operating the MR.2 and MR.3 versions in the maritime patrol role until February 1971.^[1] It re-equipped with Hawker-Siddeley Nimrods in February 1971, gaining the updated Nimrod MR.2 in 1981.^[4] It flew operationally in the Falklands War in 1982 and the Gulf War in 1991.^[6] The squadron has been based at RAF Kinloss since 1 April 1959.^[1][6] On 31 March 2010, the Nimrod MR.2 was withdrawn from service,^[3] and the squadron formally disbanded on 26 May 2011.^[7]

  Aircraft operated

  From	To	Aircraft	Variant	Notes
  Oct 1918	Oct 1919	Airco DH.9	DH.9A, DH.10
  Jun 1941	Feb 1943	Consolidated Liberator	Mk.I
  Dec 1941	Dec 1942	Consolidated Liberator	Mk.II
  Jun 1942	Jan 1944	Consolidated Liberator	Mk.III
  Dec 1943	Jan 1945	Consolidated Liberator	Mk.V
  Dec 1944	Jun 1945	Consolidated Liberator	Mks.VI, VIII
  Oct 1946	Jun 1947	Consolidated Liberator	GR.1
  Nov 1946	Apr 1951	Avro Lancaster	GR.3
  Apr 1951	Oct 1956	Avro Shackleton	MR.1
  Mar 1953	Nov 1958	Avro Shackleton	MR.2
  Sep 1958	Feb 1971	Avro Shackleton	MR.3
  Oct 1970	Feb 1982	Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod	MR.1
  Apr 1981	Apr 1982	Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod	MR.2
  Apr 1982	30 March 2010	Hawker-Siddeley/BAe Nimrod	MR.2p

  ^[1][8][9]

  See also

  • List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons

  References

  Notes

  1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Halley 1988, p. 196.
  2. ^ Rawlings 1982, p. 103.
  3. ^ ^{a b} Hastings, David. "BAE System Nimrod: Squadron Service". Target Lock. http://www.targetlock.org.uk/nimrod/service.html. Retrieved 4 May 2010. 
  4. ^ ^{a b c d} Ashworth 1989, p. ?
  5. ^ Gannon 1998, p. ?
  6. ^ ^{a b} RAF-120 Squadron
  7. ^ "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. 
  8. ^ Jefford 2001, p. 60.
  9. ^ White and Rennison 1998, Appendix 2-1.

  Bibliography

  • Ashworth, Chris. Encyclopedia of Modern Royal Air Force Squadrons. Patrick Stevens Ltd., 1989. ISBN 1-85260-013-6.
  • Gannon, Michael. Black May. HarperCollins, 1998. ISBN 0-06-017819-1.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • White, P.G. & Rennison, S.P. No. 120 squadron Royal Air Force, 1918-1998. 120 Squadron RAF, 1998.

  External links

  • Squadron history on official RAF website
  • Squadron history and more on RAFWeb's "Air of Authority"
  • Aircraft and markings for no. 120 sqn on RAFWeb's "Air of Authority"