Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Air Force
No. 34 Squadron RAF
|
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Active
| 7 Jan 1916 ? 25 Sept 1919
3 Dec 1935 ? Feb 1942
1 Apr 1942 ? 15 Oct 1945
1 Aug 1946 ? 31 July 1947
11 Feb 1949 ? 24 June 1952
1 Aug 1954 ? 10 Jan 1958
1 Oct 1960 ? 31 Dec 1967
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Country
| United Kingdom
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Branch
| Royal Air Force
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Motto(s)
| Latin
:
Lupus vult, lupus volat
("Wolf wishes, wolf flies")
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Battle honours
| Western Front, 1916?17, Ypres, 1917, Italian Front & Adriatic, 1917?18, Somme, 1916, Hindenburg Line, Eastern Waters 1941, Malaya, 1941?42, Arakan, 1942?44, Manipur, 1944, Burma, 1944?45
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---|
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Squadron badge heraldry
| In front of an increscent, a wolf passant.
|
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Squadron codes
| LB
Apr?Aug 1939
[2]
EG
Mar?Oct 1945
[3]
8Q
Feb 1949 ? Jul 1951
[4]
6J
March 1949 ? Nov 1952
[5]
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Post-1950 squadron roundel
| ![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/RAF_63_Sqn.svg/150px-RAF_63_Sqn.svg.png) |
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Military unit
No. 34 Squadron RAF
was a
squadron
of the
Royal Air Force
. During the First World War it operated as a reconnaissance and bomber squadron and in the 1930s operated light bombers. It was re-equipped with fighter-bombers in the later half of the Second World War and in the post-war period was reformed four times; first as a photo-reconnaissance unit, then anti-aircraft co-operation, then as a jet fighter squadron through the 1950s. It was last active in the 1960s, as a
Blackburn Beverley
transport squadron.
First World War
[
edit
]
No. 34 Squadron RFC
was formed at
Castle Bromwich
on 7 January 1916 from elements of
No. 19 Squadron RFC
.
In early 1916, it was proposed that the squadron transfer to
Beverley Aerodrome
for the defence of Yorkshire against
Zeppelin
attacks, but this was not done, with a new squadron,
47 Squadron
forming at Beverley in its place in March.
34 Squadron went to France in July 1916 as a reconnaissance unit equipped with
Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2s
, arriving at
Allonville
on 15 July, and starting operations on 19 July in support of
III Corps
during the
Battle of the Somme
.
The squadron re-equipped with
Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8s
in January 1917, specialising in low-level operations as the
Germans withdrew
to the
Hindenburg Line
.
The squadron was deployed to the north of the frontline in support of the British
Fourth Army
in preparation for the
Battle of Passchendaele
,
where it was heavily engaged.
On 29 October 1917, as a result of the heavy defeat suffered by the Italians at the
Battle of Caporetto
, the squadron was pulled out of the front line in France and ordered to Italy as part of British efforts to reinforce the Italians.
[a]
It arrived at
Milan
on 14 November and carried out its first operation over the front, an attempted photo reconnaissance mission on 29 November.
Duties included normal corps reconnaissance duties as well as bomber missions.
[13]
The squadron was deployed in the
Monte Grappa
region in support of the
Italian Fourth Army
from July to September 1918, to compensate for a shortage of Italian aircraft.
The squadron took part in the
Battle of Vittorio Veneto
from 27 October to 3 November, flying contact patrol missions to keep track of the location of advancing allied troops, and on one occasion dropping ammunition to British troops.
The squadron remained in Italy after the end of the war, returning to Britain in April 1919 and disbanding at
Old Sarum Airfield
on 25 September 1919.
[13]
1935?45
[
edit
]
A Bristol Blenheim Mark IV (lower right) accompanies a squadron of
Brewster Buffaloes
over the
Malayan
jungle, late 1941.
34 Squadron was re-formed at
Bircham Newton
on 3 December 1935, out of personnel from
No. 18 Squadron RAF
,
and equipped with
Hawker Hind
light bombers.
The squadron moved to
RAF Abbotsinch
(now
Glasgow
airport) on 30 July 1936, and joined the recently established
2 Group
on 1 August.
The squadron soon transferred to
1 Group
,
moving to
RAF Lympne
in
Kent
on 3 November 1936.
It moved to
RAF Upper Heyford
on 11 July, reequipping with
Bristol Blenheims
that month.
The squadron temporarily transferred to 2 Group in September 1938 as part of the RAF's mobilisation in response to the
Munich crisis
before returning to 1 Group in October.
It rejoined 2 Group on 1 January 1939 and moved to
RAF Watton
on 22 February 1939.
In August 1939, the squadron set out from Watton to reinforce British forces in the Far East, arriving at
Singapore
on 10 September, soon after the
Second World War
broke out in Europe.
In 1941, the squadron replaced its Blenheim Mark Is with more modern Mark IV Blenheims.
On 8 December 1941, Japan
invaded Malaya
. The squadron flew its first combat operation of the Second World War that day, attacking Japanese
landings at Kota Bharu
.
After two months, it had been withdrawn to
Sumatra
and
Java
and losses had been so severe that it was officially disbanded. The remaining personnel, aircraft and equipment were withdrawn to India.
It was officially re-formed at
RAF Chakrata
on 1 April 1942 and re-equipped with Blenheims.
[26]
In July and August, some of its aircraft were used to attack rebels in
North West Frontier Province
. From September until April 1943, the squadron carried out bombing raids against Japanese targets in
Burma
.
The squadron converted to the light
ground attack
role from November 1943, when it began to receive single-seat
Hawker Hurricane
fighter-bombers
. These were replaced by
Republic Thunderbolts
in March 1945.
34 Squadron was disbanded on 15 October 1945.
Post-war
[
edit
]
On 1 August 1946
No. 681 Squadron RAF
was renumbered as No. 34 Squadron,
flying photo-reconnaissance
Supermarine Spitfires
until disbanding on 31 July 1947.
No. 695 Squadron RAF
was then renumbered to No. 34 Squadron on 11 February 1949 at
Horsham St. Faith
, near
Norwich
. They operated in anti-aircraft co-operation using
Bristol Beaufighters
and Spitfires until it too disbanded on 24 June 1952.
No. 34 was reformed at
Tangmere
with
Gloster Meteor
jets as a fighter squadron in August 1954. In October 1955
Hawker Hunters
replaced the Meteors until disbandment on 10 January 1958. No. 34 was then reformed yet again on 1 October 1960 at RAF Seletar, Singapore, in the transport role with
Blackburn Beverleys
. In December 1962, four Blackburn Beverleys were used to insert Gurkhas into
Brunei
to combat a
revolt
by the
North Kalimantan National Army
(TNKU) against the Sultan of Brunei.
The Squadron lasted until the end of 1967 when it was disbanded again.
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
In total, three corps reconnaissance squadrons,
28
, 34 and
42 Squadrons
, all operating the RE.8, together with two
Sopwith Camel
-equipped fighter squadrons (
45
and
66 Squadrons
), were transferred to the Italian front.
References
[
edit
]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Bowyer, Michael J. F. (1974).
2 Group R.A.F.: A Complete History, 1936?1945
. London: Faber and Faber Limited.
ISBN
0-571-09491-0
.
- Bowyer, Michael J.F.; Rawlings, John D.R. (1979).
Squadron Codes, 1937?56
. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd.
ISBN
0-85059-364-6
.
- Halley, James J. (1980).
The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force
. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd.
ISBN
0-85130-083-9
.
- Jefford, C. G. (2001).
RAF squadrons : a comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912
. Shrewsbury: Airlife.
ISBN
1-84037-141-2
.
OCLC
46513054
.
- Jones, H. A. (1928).
The War in the Air: Being the Story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force: Volume II
. History of the Great War. Oxford: The Clarendon Press.
OCLC
924164573
.
- Jones, H. A. (1931).
The War in the Air: Being the Story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force: Volume III
. History of the Great War. Oxford: The Clarendon Press.
OCLC
831226907
.
- Jones, H. A. (1934).
The War in the Air: Being the Story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force: Volume IV
. History of the Great War. Oxford: The Clarendon Press.
OCLC
836194155
.
- Jones, H. A. (1937).
The War in the Air: Being the Story of the Part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force Volume VI
. History of the Great War. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
OCLC
769886212
.
- Moyes, Philip (1964).
Bomber Squadrons of the R.A.F. and their Aircraft
. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.
- Pine, L G (1983).
A dictionary of Mottoes
. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
ISBN
0-7100-9339-X
.
- Pitchfork, Graham (2008).
The Royal Air Force Day by Day
. Stroud, UK: History Press.
ISBN
978-0-7509-4309-3
.
{
- Rawlings, John D. R. (1982).
Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Squadrons
. London: Jane's Publishing Company.
ISBN
0-7106-0187-5
.
- Shores, Christopher; Cull, Brian; Izawa, Yasuho (1992).
Bloody Shambles: Volume One: The Drift to War to the Fall of Singapore
. London: Grub Street.
ISBN
0-948817-50-X
.
External links
[
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]