No. 514 Squadron RAF
No. 514 Squadron RAF | |
---|---|
Active | 1 September 1943 – 22 August 1945 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Role | Bomber Squadron |
Part of | No. 3 Group RAF, Bomber Command[1] |
Motto(s) | Latin: Nil Obstare Potest (Translation: "Nothing can withstand")[2][3] |
Insignia | |
Squadron Badge heraldry | A cloud pierced by a sword[3] The design indicates the function of the squadron, i.e. its role of a GH-equipped blind-bombing squadron[2] |
Squadron Codes | JI (Sep 1943 – Aug 1945)[4][5] A2 (Dec 1943 – Aug 1945, 'C' Flt only)[6][7] |
Aircraft flown | |
Bomber | Avro Lancaster |
No. 514 Squadron RAF (514 Sqn) was a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.
History
Members of 514 Sqn were awarded with 1 DSO, 84 DFCs, one Bar to the DFC and 26 DFMs.[2]
Aircraft operated
From | To | Aircraft | Version |
---|---|---|---|
September 1943 | July 1944 | Avro Lancaster | Mk.II |
June 1944 | August 1945 | Avro Lancaster | Mks.I and III |
Squadron bases
From | To | Base |
---|---|---|
1 September 1943 | 23 November 1943 | RAF Foulsham, Norfolk |
23 November 1943 | 22 August 1945 | RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire |
Reunions
From 1988 to 2012 the Squadron held an annual Reunion in June at Waterbeach Barracks hosted by the Royal Engineers. A service of remembrance was held in the parish church, and the BBMF Lancaster made a flypast over the former RAF airfield.[9]
In 2013, following the barracks' closure, a reunion is was held in the village on 15 June with the Lancaster flypast over the Recreation Ground.[10]
In 2015 a Reunion was again held in Waterbeach Barracks in a new community building provided by Urban&Civic.[11]
Museum
The 514 Squadron Association and the Army established a Museum in Waterbeach Barracks in 1985. This museum closed in September 2012, as the Barracks closed permanently in March 2013, although the contents have been saved.[12] It hoped the new Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum will use a former RAF building when the site is sold for housing, but in the meantime the collection is in storage.[13]
See also
References
Notes
- ^ Delve 1994, pp. 68, 77.
- ^ a b c d e Moyes 1976, p. 267.
- ^ a b c d Halley 1988, p. 395.
- ^ Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 58.
- ^ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 80.
- ^ Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 19.
- ^ Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 61.
- ^ a b Jefford 2001, p. 96.
- ^ Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum, unpublished archives.
- ^ "514 Squadron RAF Waterbeach".
- ^ "Waterbeach Barracks and Airfield, 514 Squadron Reunion at Waterbeach Barracks". Urban&Civic. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
- ^ "Museum's collection is saved". Retrieved 21 December 2012.
- ^ "Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum". Retrieved 6 January 2013.
Bibliography
- Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. Squadron Codes, 1937–56. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
- Delve, Ken. The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
- Dison, Harry. Some of the story of 514 Squadron: Lancasters at Waterbeach, Mention The War! Publications 2015. (available from the Museum)
- Falconer, John. Bomber Command Handbook 1939–1945. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 0-7509-3171-X.
- Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. Combat Codes: A full explanation and listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied air force unit codes since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-84037-281-8.
- 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.
- Hamlin, John F. & Oliver J. Merrington At the 'Beach: the story of Royal Air Force Waterbeach and Waterbeach Barracks. Peterborough: GMS Enterprises, 2011. ISBN 1-904514-63-4
- Hepworth, Simon and Porrelli, Andrew. 'Striking Through Clouds, The War Diary of No. 514 Squadron, RAF'. Zug, Switzerland. Mention The War! Publications 2014. ISBN 1495440486
- 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, 1988 (second edition 2001). ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
- Moyes, Philip J.R. Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 2nd edition 1976. ISBN 0-354-01027-1.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 514 Squadron RAF website - commemorates all who served in the Squadron
- 514 Squadron Facebook page
- Squadron history, on RAF website
- No. 514 Squadron RAF movement and equipment history
- The Wartime Memories Project - 514 Sqn
- Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum
- Squadron histories for nos. 500–520 squadron on RAFweb's Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation
- Former Air Gunner tells his story
- Video about the last flight of 514 Squadron Lancaster A2-C, lost 28 July 1944