No. 149 Squadron — East India

Group
3 Group
Home station
RAF Methwold

About

No. 149 (East India) Squadron was one of only two squadrons to serve with Bomber Command without a break from the first day of the war to the last. Reformed at RAF Mildenhall in 1937 and flying the Vickers Wellington by the time war came, it was in action on the opening day, and it served throughout in No. 3 Group. It later took the Short Stirling and finally, in 1944, the Avro Lancaster, operating from RAF Lakenheath and RAF Methwold as well as Mildenhall.

The squadron’s outstanding moment of valour came in November 1942, when Pilot Officer Rawdon Middleton, badly wounded and his Stirling crippled returning from Turin, held the aircraft steady long enough for his crew to take to their parachutes before it crashed into the sea; he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. Its motto, Fortis nocte, means “strong by night”.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including History of War — No. 149 Squadron (RAF) in the Second World War and Wikipedia: No. 149 Squadron RAF. The text is original and has been written from factual source material; no source text has been copied unless specifically quoted and attributed.

Photographs

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command A No 149 Squadron Wellington and crew, Mildenhall on 21 December 1939.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vickers_Wellington_-_Mildenhall_-_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_C422.jpgView source & full licence →
The Royal Air Force in Britain, January 1942 A seven man crew from No 149 Squadron, Royal Air Force under the nose of Short Stirling W7455/`OJ-B' at Mildenhall, Suffolk, while the aircraft is being bombed-up.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Royal_Air_Force_in_Britain,_January_1942_TR135.jpgView source & full licence →
The ground staff pushing a giant Stirling, largest four-engined bomber in the world, out for overhaul. Great Britain?.
ⓘ licence & creditBritish Ministry of Information (GPU 13453b; M.4191M/D).Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944 / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_ground_staff_pushing_a_giant_Stirling.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force ground staff pushing a Short Stirling Mk.I ("OJ-T") from No. 149 Squadron RAF out for overhaul.
ⓘ licence & creditBritish Ministry of Information (GPU 13453b; M.4191M/D). Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944; / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_ground_staff_pushing_a_giant_Stirling_mod.jpgView source & full licence →
The German Spring Offensive, March-july 1918 RAF mechanic of No. 149 Squadron fixing detonators to bombs in position under a machine in readiness far a night bombing raid. Saint-Omer Aerodrome, 18 July 1918.
ⓘ licence & creditDavid McLellan / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_German_Spring_Offensive,_March-july_1918_Q10372.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Aircrews of No. 149 Squadron RAF walk towards their Vickers Wellington Mark IAs at Mildenhall, Suffolk for a training sortie. The Squadron's operations at this time were directed mostly against German naval installations and shipping.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Daventry B J / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C423.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. The Commanding Officer of No. 149 Squadron RAF talks to his aircrews in their Operations Room at Mildenhall, Suffolk, before they are briefed for the night's raid.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Tovey P H F (Mr) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._CH2677.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Armourers wait for the conclusion of an engine test on Short Stirling Mark I, 'OJ-N', of No. 149 Squadron RAF, parked at the end of the south-east runway at Mildenhall, Suffolk, before loading her with 250-lb GP bombs for a night raid on Essen, Germany. Each bomb has been fitted with a shackle to enable it to be winched into position in the Stirling's high bomb-bay.
ⓘ licence & creditBrock F J (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH5135.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. A flight commander of No. 149 Squadron RAF briefs aircrews on the course of an impending training sortie outside one of the hangars at Mildenhall, Suffolk.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C428.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Wing Commander Richard Kellett, Commanding Officer of No. 149 Squadron RAF, seated at his desk at Mildenhall, Cambridgeshire. On 18 December 1939, Kellett led a force of 24 Vickers Wellingtons drawn from Nos. 9, 37 and 149 Squadrons to search for enemy shipping targets in the Schillig Roads off Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The Wellingtons were detected by a German radar station on Wangerooge Island while still on their approach flight, and were subsequently intercepted by fighters. Nine Wellingtons were shot down, three ditched into the sea and a further three were forced to seek other landing grounds as they were too badly damaged to return. Kellett was one of those shot down and became a prisoner-of-war. In January 1940 (when this picture was released) he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his leadership during this disastrous raid which, together with that of 14 December, had a major effect on future British bombing policy.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C439.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command Flight Sergeant Leslie Hyder of No 149 Squadron chats with a nurse while recovering from wounds received over Turin on the night of 28-29 November 1942. Hyder was second pilot in a Stirling which was hit by flak over the target.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_CH8167.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Aircrew of No. 149 Squadron RAF gather by one of the Squadron's Vickers Wellington Mark IAs at Mildenhall, Suffolk, following a training sortie.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J H (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vickers_Wellington_-_Mildenhall_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C419.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. An aircrew of No. 149 Squadron RAF disembark from their Vickers Wellington Mark IA at Mildenhall, Suffolk, after a flight.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vickers_Wellington_-_Mildenhall_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C431.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Three Vickers Wellington Mark IAs of No. 149 Squadron RAF, overflying their base at Mildenhall, Suffolk, at sunset.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vickers_Wellington_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C429.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command A typical scene at Mildenhall as armourers of No. 149 Squadron fit bomb carriers to a pair of 1,000-pounders, while behind Stirling 'N-Nuts' runs up its engines, 10 March 1942.
ⓘ licence & creditBrock F J (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_CH5136.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Three Vickers Wellington Mark IAs of No. 149 Squadron RAF make a low pass over the hangars at Mildenhall, Suffolk, watched by a group of aircrew on the ground.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J H (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_Mildenhall_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C416.jpgView source & full licence →
IWM caption : The Commanding Officer of No. 149 Squadron RAF talks to his aircrews in their Operations Room at Mildenhall, Suffolk, before they are briefed for the night's raid.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer : Tovey P H F (Mr) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_aircrew_at_RAF_Mildenhall_WWII_IWM_CH_2677.jpgView source & full licence →
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ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:No._149_Squadron_RAF_badge.pngView source & full licence →
{{En-gb|1= badge. Motto: 'Strong by night'.}}
ⓘ licence & creditDeadlynightshade17 / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:No._149_Squadron_RAF_badge.jpgView source & full licence →

Aircraft (2)

SerialCodeTypeFate
BF372 OJ-H Short Stirling Lost on operations
N2980 R Vickers Wellington Written off (non-op)

No service records linked to this squadron yet. Aircraft, crews and sorties will appear here soon.

Further reading & sources

External sites — facts only are reused here; their text and images remain their authors'.