No. 40 Squadron
Hostem coelo expellere
- Group
- No. 3 Group
- Command
- Bomber Command
- Home station
- RAF Wyton
In the database: 3 aircraft.
History
No. 40 Squadron entered the Second World War as part of the Advanced Air Striking Force, flying Fairey Battles to France in September 1939 and suffering severe losses during the German offensive of May–June 1940. Reequipped with Bristol Blenheim IVs, the squadron attacked German invasion barges along the Channel coast before transferring to 3 Group, Bomber Command, in November 1940 and converting to Vickers Wellingtons for night bombing against industrial targets in Germany and occupied Europe. In October 1941 the bulk of the squadron moved to Malta, flying operations against Axis shipping and targets in North Africa and Sicily, with a UK remnant becoming the nucleus of No. 156 Squadron in February 1942. The squadron subsequently served across North Africa and moved to Foggia, Italy, in late 1943, striking targets in northern Italy and the Balkans. Reequipped with Consolidated Liberators in early 1945, it flew its final wartime sortie against marshalling yards near Salzburg on the night of 25–26 April 1945.