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No.108 Sqn RAF

Name : No.108 Sqn RAF Founded : 11th November 1917 Disbanded : 28th March 1945 Country : UK Fate : Disbanded 28th March 1945 More Details : Viribus contractis - With gathering strength Known Code Letters : , LD, MF,

The unit was formed at Stonehenge in November 1917, and was equipped with Airco DH.9 bombers. In July 1918, the squadron went to Capelle, Dunkirk, equipped with DH.9s for day-bombing operations against targets in North-West Belgium. In October 1918, it moved to Bisseghem, Belgium, and remained based there until the Armistice. During its service overseas the squadron made 59 successful bombing raids, 40 reconnaissance flights, two photographic flights, dropped approximately 70 tons of bombs, and shot down nine enemy aircraft (a further 20 were reported shot down, but were not confirmed).[ Disbanded in July 1919, the squadron did not reappear in the order of battle until January 1937, when it was re-formed as No 108 (Bomber) Squadron at Upper Heyford. On the day before the outbreak of World War 2 it became a No. 6 Group training squadron and in April 1940, was absorbed into No 13 OTU. On 1 August 1941, No. 108 reformed at Kabrit as a night bomber Squadron. Its Wellingtons began bombing raids on the 22 September, targets being ports on the Libyan coast and in Greece. In November it began to receive Liberators and these supplemented the Wellingtons until June 1942. On the 18 December 1942 the Squadron was reduced to a cadre which was disbanded on 25 December 1942. On 15 March 1943 No. 108 reformed at Shandur as a night fighter Squadron. Its Beaufighters flew night patrols over Egypt, Libya and Malta and were supplemented by Mosquitoes in February 1944. The latter were used for intruder missions until withdrawn in July while the Beaufighters moved back to Libya for intruder operations over Greece and the Aegean. In October 1944 the Squadron moved to Greece and became involved in the attempted Communist take-over of the country in December. After taking part in attacks on rebel positions until the uprising was quelled, the Squadron gave up its aircraft and sailed for Italy in March 1945, disbanding on 28 March 1945.

Pilots and Aircrew for : No.108 Sqn RAF
A list of all aircrew from our database who are associated with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking their name.
Name	Info
Cowper, Bob Click the name above to see a profile of Cowper, Bob	Cowper, Bob Joining 153 Sqn flying Defiants, changing to Beaufighters. In 1943 he flew Beaufighters in Malta. With 89 Sqn he crashed in Tunisia, having to walk home 65 miles through the Sahara Desert. Went from 89 Sqn to 108 Sqn and then as an instructor teaching night flying. Joined 456 Sqn RAAF before D-Day, finishing the war on Intruder missions and 6 air victories. He became acting CO of 456 Sqn.
Souter, Robert Click the name above to see a profile of Souter, Robert	Souter, Robert Robert Souter joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in February 1941, and after training was posted in 1942 to the Middle East, joining No.108 Squadron then flying Wellingtons. He first flew operationally in June of that year, in the Western Desert campaign, and the last operation of his first tour was in Nov 1942 with the battle of El Alamein. After a period with No.26 OTUWing, Robert undertook a second tour - this time flying Lancasters with No.49 Squadron, up to the end of the war. He had completed a total of 47 operations by that time. After the war he flew Dakotas and Liberators with RAF Transport Command.

Aircraft for : No.108 Sqn RAF
A list of all aircraft associated with No.108 Sqn RAF. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Anson Click the name above to see prints featuring Anson aircraft. Manufacturer : Avro Production Began : 1935 Retired : 1968 Number Built : 11020	Anson he Avro Anson originated from the Avro 652 commercial aircraft which first flew on 7th January 1935. It was a twin-engine British-built multi-role aircraft which saw distinctive service with both the Royal Air Force and The Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm as well as The Royal Canadian Air Force during and after the Second World War. The prototype 652A first flew at Woodford on 7th January 1935 and was developed from an initial airliner design and named after Admiral George Anson. The adaptation for a coastal reconnaissance role resulted in the production variant, the Avro 652a, which flew at Woodford on New Years Eve 1935 with the type entering service in March 1936 as the Anson Mk1. Initially it was flown with a 3-man crew but later developments in its reconnaissance role required a 4th crew member. The Anson entered service on 6 March 1936 with 48 Squadron equipped with the Anson. At the start of the Second World War, the RAF had received 824 Ansons and there were 26 RAF squadrons operating the Anson I: 10 with Coastal Command and 16 with Bomber Command. All of the squadrons in Bomber Command in 1939 with Anson Is were operational training squadrons that prepared crews for frontline service. 12 of the squadrons were in No. 6 (Operational Training) Group. Newly formed crews having completed individual flying and technical training were first trained as bomber crews in Ansons and then advanced to the various frontline aircraft types, which were also in the same squadrons with the Ansons. After training in the frontline aircraft type, crews would advance to the frontline bomber squadrons with those aircraft types (Fairey Battle, Bristol Blenheim, Vickers Wellington, Armstrong Whitworth Whitley, and Handley-Page Hampden). At the start of the war, the Lockheed Hudson was beginning to replace the Ansons in Coastal Command with one squadron of Hudsons and one with both Ansons and Hudsons. Limited numbers of Ansons continued to serve in operational roles such as coastal patrols and air/sea rescue. Early in the war, an Anson scored a probable hit on a German U-boat. In June 1940, a flight of three Ansons was attacked by nine Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Remarkably, before the dogfight ended, without losing any of their own, one of the Ansons destroyed two German aircraft and damaged a third. The aircraft's true role, however, was to train pilots for flying multi-engined bombers such as the Avro Lancaster. The Anson was also used to train the other members of a bomber's aircrew, such as navigators, wireless operators, bomb aimers and air gunners. Postwar, the Anson continued in the training and light transport roles. The last Ansons were withdrawn from RAF service with communications units on 28 June 1968. The Royal Australian Air Force operated 1,028 Ansons, mainly Mk Is, until 1955
Beaufighter Click the name above to see prints featuring Beaufighter aircraft. Manufacturer : Bristol Production Began : 1940 Number Built : 5564	Beaufighter BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER The Bristol Beaufighter was a Torpedo Bomber and had a crew of two. with a maximum speed of 330mph and a ceiling of 29,000 feet. maximum normal range of 1500 miles but could be extended to 1750 miles. The Bristol Beaufighter carried four 20mm cannon in the belly of the aircraft and upto six .303in browning machine guns in the wings. it could also carry eight 3 -inch rockets, 1605 lb torpedo or a bomb load of 1,000 lb. The Bristol Beaufighter first flew in July 1939 and with some modifications entered service with the Royal Air Force in July 1940. In the winter of 1940 - 1941 the Beaufighter was used as a night fighter. and in March 1941 the aircraft was used at Coastal Command as a long range strike aircraft. and in 1941, the Beaufighter arrived in North Africa and used as a forward ground attack aircraft. The Bristol Beaufighter was used also in India, Burma and Australia. A total of 5,564 Beaufighters were built until production in Britain finished in 1945, but a further 364 were built in Australia for the Australian Air Force
Blenheim Click the name above to see prints featuring Blenheim aircraft. Manufacturer : Bristol Production Began : 1935 Retired : 1956 Number Built : 4422	Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim, the most plentiful aircraft in the RAFs inventory when WWII began, was designed by Frank Barnwell, and when first flown in 1936 was unique with its all metal monoplane design incorporating a retractable undercarriage, wing flaps, metal props, and supercharged engines. A typical bomb load for a Blenheim was 1,000 pounds. In the early stages of the war Blenheims were used on many daylight bombing missions. On the day that war was declared on Germany, a Blenheim piloted by Flying Officer Andrew McPherson was the first British aircraft to cross the German coast and the following morning 15 Blenheims from three squadrons set off on one of the first bombing missions The Blenheim units operated throughout the battle, often taking heavy casualties, although they were never accorded the publicity of the fighter squadrons. The Blenheim units raided German occupied airfields throughout July to December 1940, both during daylight hours and at night. Although most of these raids were unproductive, there were some successes; on 1 August five out of 12 Blenheims sent to attack Haamstede and Evere (Brussels) were able to bomb, destroying or heavily damaging three Bf 109s of II./JG 27 and apparently killing a Staffelkapitän identified as Hauptmann Albrecht von Ankum-Frank. Two other 109s were claimed by Blenheim gunners. Another successful raid on Haamstede was made by a single Blenheim on 7 August which destroyed one 109 of 4./JG 54, heavily damaged another and caused lighter damage to four more. There were also some missions which produced an almost 100% casualty rate amongst the Blenheims. One such operation was mounted on 13 August 1940 against a Luftwaffe airfield near Aalborg in north-western Denmark by 12 aircraft of 82 Squadron. One Blenheim returned early (the pilot was later charged and due to appear before a court martial, but was killed on another operation); the other 11, which reached Denmark, were shot down, five by flak and six by Bf 109s. Blenheim-equipped units had been formed to carry out long-range strategic reconnaissance missions over Germany and German-occupied territories, as well as bombing operations. In this role, the Blenheims once again proved to be too slow and vulnerable against Luftwaffe fighters and they took constant casualties While great heroism was displayed by the air crews, tremendous losses were sustained during these missions. The Blenhiem was easy pickings at altitude for German Bf-109 fighters who quickly learned to attack from below. To protect the vulnerable bellies of the Blenheims many missions were shifted to low altitude, but this increased the aircrafts exposure to anti-aircraft fire. In the German night-bombing raid on London on 18 June 1940, Blenheims accounted for five German bombers, thus proving that they were better-suited for night fighting. In July, No. 600 Squadron, by then based at RAF Manston, had some of its Mk IFs equipped with AI Mk III radar. With this radar equipment, a Blenheim from the Fighter Interception Unit (FIU) at RAF Ford achieved the first success on the night of 2–3 July 1940, accounting for a Dornier Do 17 bomber. More successes came, and before long the Blenheim proved itself invaluable as a night fighter. One Blenheim pilot, Squadron Leader Arthur Scarf, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for an attack on Singora, Thailand, on 9 December 1941. Another bomber of No. 60 Squadron RAF was credited with shooting down Lt Col Tateo Katō's Nakajima Ki-43 fighter and badly damaging two others in a single engagement on 22 May 1942, over the Bay of Bengal. Katō's death was a severe blow to the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force.
Wellington Click the name above to see prints featuring Wellington aircraft. Manufacturer : Vickers Production Began : 1938 Retired : 1953	Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a Bomber aircraft and also used for maritime reconnaissance. and had a normal crew of six except in the MKV and VI where a crew of three was used. Maximum speed was 235 mph (MK1c) 255 mph (MK III, X) and 299 mph (MK IIII), normal operating range of 1805 miles (except MK III which was 1470miles) The Wellington or Wimpy as it was known, was the major bomber of the Royal Air Force between 1939 and 1943. The Royal Air Force received its first Wellingtons in October 1938 to 99 squadron. and by the outbreak of World war two there were 6 squadrons equipped with the Vickers Wellington. Due to heavy losses on daylight raids, the Wellington became a night bomber and from 1940 was also used as a long range bomber in North Africa. and in 1942 also became a long range bomber for the royal Air Force in India. It was well used by Coastal Command as a U-Boat Hunter. The Wellington remained in service with the Royal Air Force until 1953. Probably due to its versatile use, The aircraft was also used for experimental work including the fitting of a pressure cabin for High altitude tests. The Vickers Wellington could sustain major damage and still fly, probably due to its construction of its geodesic structure and practical application of geodesic lines. Designed by Sir Barnes Wallis

Last edited : 23:52, June 24, 2016
Last editor : HMS

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