No. 101 Squadron RAF

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No. 101 Squadron RAF
A demi lion behind the battlements on a tower
Active	12 July 1917 - 31 December 1919 1928 - 1 February 1957 15 October 1957 - 4 August 1982 1 May 1984 - present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Role	Air transport/aerial refuelling
Part of	RAF Strike Command
Garrison/HQ	RAF Brize Norton
Motto	Mens agitat molem Latin: "Mind over matter"
Equipment	Vickers VC10
Battle honours	Western Front 1917-1918 Ypres 1917 Somme 1918 Fortress Europe 1940-1944 Invasion Ports 1940 Ruhr 1940-1945 Normandy 1944

An Airborne Cigar (ABC) Lancaster I of No. 101 Squadron dropping bombs over Duisburg, 1944

No. 101 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Vickers VC-10 K3 and K4 from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. Since 10 Squadron disbanded in 2005, the squadron is the only operator of the VC-10.

1 History
2 Bomber Operations post 2nd World War
3 Aircraft operated
4 References
5 External links
6 See also

[edit] History

101 Squadron was formed at Farnborough on 12 July 1917 operating the Royal Aircraft Factory FE2b. Two weeks later it moved to France to operate as a night bomber squadron. In March 1919 the squadron returned to the UK and it was disbanded on 31 December 1919.

The squadron was reformed in March 1928 at RAF Bircham Newton as a day bomber squadron. In 1938 the squadron was equipped with the Bristol Blenheim. In 1941 the squadron changed to a medium-bomber squadron with the Vickers Wellington. These were replaced the following year with the Avro Lancaster. 101 Squadron Lancasters were later equipped with a top secret radio jamming system codenamed "Airborne Cigar" (ABC) operated by German-speaking members known as "special operators" commonly abbreviated to "spec ops". They sat in a curtained off area towards the rear of the aircraft and located and jammed German fighter controllers broadcasts, occasionally posing as controllers to spread disinformation. The aircraft fitted with the system were distinctive due to the two large verticle antennae rising from the middle of the fuselage. Breaking the standing operating procedure of radio silence to conduct the jamming made the aircraft highly vulnerable to being tracked and attacked, which resulted in 101 Squadron having the highest casualty rate of any squadron. ^[1]

[edit] Bomber Operations post 2nd World War

In October 1945, the squadron moved to Binbrook, Lincolnshire and from June of that year was re-equipped with Avro Lincolns. These aircraft were deployed in conducting small-scale raids against the Quteibi tribe at Thumier in Aden in October 1947.

On 25 May 1950 the squadron took delivery of its first English Electric Canberra B2 thereby becoming the RAF’s first jet bomber unit. Without a training unit in existence, conversion to type was achieved by the squadron itself with assistance from English Electric test pilots. Most of the type’s service trials were flown by the squadron and, by the end of 1950, nine Canberra B2s were held on strength. Out of the pool of type-qualified crews, a wing of five squadrons had been formed by August 1952 at Binbrook, comprising Nos. 9, 12, 50, 101 and 617.

In June 1954, the squadron became the first to receive the B.6 variant of the Canberra. After full conversion to the type, the Binbrook Wing of five squadrons undertook an intensive training programme in readiness for staged detachments to Malaya as support for Operation Firedog. This was a large-scale counter-insurgency campaign, on-going in Malaya since 1948 against communist guerrillas.

101 Squadron became the first RAF jet fighter squadron to serve in the Far East when four Canberras arrived at Changi on 11 February 1955. The first bomb drop by an RAF jet bomber occurred when the squadron, which had been deployed to RAF Butterworth, Penang, was operating against a target in Johore. Over a period of two months operating from Butterworth, ninety-eight raids were made before the squadron returned to Binbrook on 21 June 1955. A final deployment to the same base from June to August 1956 signified the last Canberra participation in the Malayan operation.

Also in 1956, the squadron flew night bombing raids against Egyptian airfields from their base at Hal Far, Malta during the Suez crisis.

With the entry into service of the V-bombers, Canberras in the bomber role were becoming outmoded. Consequently, 101 Squadron was temporarily disbanded on 1 February 1957.

The squadron was reformed on 15 October 1957 as part of the V Bomber force operating the Avro Vulcan from RAF Waddington. The squadron performed operations during the Falklands Campaign in 1982. The squadron was again disbanded 4 August 1982.

The RAF bought second-hand civil Vickers VC-10 aircraft for conversion to AAR aircraft. No 101 Squadron was chosen to operate the aircraft and was reformed at RAF Brize Norton on 1 May 1984.

Notable recent deployments of 101 Squadron include the Gulf War, Operations Northern & Southern Watch, Operation Allied Force (Kosovo), Operation Desert Fox, Afghanistan, and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq.

The VC-10 aircraft will be retired from 2015 when the Airbus A330 tanker (bought under the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft program) enters service.