No. 154 Squadron RAF

Summary

No. 154 (Motor Industries) Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron formed as a fighter unit in the Second World War.

No. 154 (Motor Industries) Squadron RAF
Active7 August 1918 – 11 September 1918
15 June 1941 – 1 Nov 1944
16 Nov 1944 – 31 March 1945
CountryUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
Nickname(s)Motor Industries
Motto(s)His modis ad victoriam
Latin: By this means to Victory[1]
Insignia
Squadron BadgeA road sign in front of three arrows.
Squadron CodesHT (Nov 1941 - Nov 1942, Jun 1943 - Oct 1944) )
HG (Nov 1944 - Mar 1945)

History edit

Formation and World War I edit

No. 154 Squadron Royal Air Force was formed on 7 August 1918, but was disbanded on 11 September having not received any aircraft.

Reformation in World War II edit

 
Ground crew servicing a Supermarine Spitfire of No. 154 Squadron in its dispersal at Souk el Khemis ('Victoria'), Tunisia.

The squadron reformed in November 1941 at RAF Fowlmere as a fighter squadron equipped with Spitfire IIAs. It was briefly located in the south west of England then based at RAF Hornchurch. In November 1942 it moved to Gibraltar and Algeria to take part in Operation Torch. On 4 June 1943 it arrived in Malta, it then operated from Palestine and Cyprus. From 23 August 1944 it was based at Fréjus, France, providing air cover for the forces that moved north to join those that had landed at Normandy. It was disbanded in Naples on 1 November 1944, but reformed on 16 November 1944 at RAF Biggin Hill to escort bombers and flew Mustangs until it was finally disbanded on 31 March 1945.

Aircraft operated edit

Aircraft operated by No. 154 Squadron RAF[2]
From To Aircraft Variant
Nov 1941 Apr 1942 Supermarine Spitfire IIA
Jan 1942 Apr 1942 Supermarine Spitfire IIB
Feb 1942 Apr 1942 Supermarine Spitfire VA
Feb 1942 Aug 1943 Supermarine Spitfire VB
Nov 1942 Feb 1944 Supermarine Spitfire VC
Jul 1943 Oct 1944 Supermarine Spitfire IX
Aug 1944 Oct 1944 Supermarine Spitfire VIII
Nov 1944 Feb 1945 Supermarine Spitfire VII
Feb 1945 Mar 1945 P-51 Mustang IV

References edit

  1. ^ Pine, L G (1983). A dictionary of mottoes. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. p. 98. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
  2. ^ C.G.Jefford (1988). RAF Squadrons. UK Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.

External links edit

  • History of No.'s 151–155 Squadrons at RAF Web
  • 154 Squadron history on the official RAF website
  • No. 154 Squadron film clip
  • No. 154 Squadron Spitfire at Alesani, Corsica in 1944 (photo by Quentin C. Kaiser) Archived 20 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine