No. 78 Squadron

Group
4 Group
Home station
RAF Breighton

About

No. 78 Squadron moved to RAF Linton-on-Ouse in 1939 as a founder unit of No. 4 Group, flying night operations on the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley from there and from RAF Dishforth. In early 1942 it converted to the four-engined Handley Page Halifax, flying its first operation with the type against Ostend that April. On the night of 30/31 May 1942 the squadron put up twenty-two Halifaxes for Operation Millennium, the first thousand-bomber raid, against Cologne.

In June 1943 it moved to RAF Breighton, freeing Linton-on-Ouse for the Canadian No. 6 Group, and early in 1944 exchanged its Merlin-engined Halifaxes for the more powerful Hercules-engined Halifax III. The squadron’s motto was “Nobody unprepared”, and its badge — a rampant, twin-tailed tiger — played on the Tiger engines and twin tail of its early Whitley aircraft.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including History of War — No. 78 Squadron (RAF) in the Second World War and Wikipedia: No. 78 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

A Royal Air Force Merlin HC3 helicopter of 78 Squadron based at RAF Benson, kicks up the dust as it lands in the Californian Desert during pre-Afghanistan training in the USA. The Merlin Helicopter Force was on a 4 month training mission called Exercise Merlin Vortex in preparation for the end of year deployment to Afghanistan. *Organization: RAF *Object Name: BEN-2009-619-OUT-UNC-87 *Keywords: Helicopter, Equipment, RAF Benson, 78 Sqn, Support Helicopter, Sqn, Squadron, RAF, Royal Air Force, California, America, US, USA, Afghanistan, 78 Squadron, Merlin, HC3, Desert, Sand, Dust, Landing, Taking Off *Country: USA
ⓘ licence & creditSAC James Stier / OGL v1.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Merlin_Helicopter_Lands_in_Californian_Desert_During_Ex_Merlin_Vortex_MOD_45150795.jpgView source & full licence →
A Royal Air Force Merlin HC3 helicopter of 78 Squadron based at RAF Benson, lands in the Californian Desert during pre-Afghanistan training in the USA. The Merlin Helicopter Force was on a 4 month training mission called Exercise Merlin Vortex in preparation for the end of year deployment to Afghanistan. *Organization: RAF *Object Name: BEN-2009-619-OUT-UNC-85 *Keywords: Helicopter, Equipment, RAF Benson, 78 Sqn, Support Helicopter, Sqn, Squadron, RAF, Royal Air Force, California, America, US, USA, Afghanistan, 78 Squadron, Merlin, HC3, Desert, Sand, Dust, Landing, Taking Off *Country: USA
ⓘ licence & creditSAC James Stier / OGL v1.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Merlin_Helicopter_Lands_in_Californian_Desert_During_Ex_Merlin_Vortex_MOD_45150793.jpgView source & full licence →
A Royal Air Force Merlin HC3 helicopter of 78 Squadron based at RAF Benson, drops an underslung load in the Californian Desert during pre-Afghanistan training in the USA. The Merlin Helicopter Force was on a 4 month training mission called Exercise Merlin Vortex in preparation for the end of year deployment to Afghanistan. *Organization: RAF *Object Name: BEN-2009-619-OUT-UNC-84 *Keywords: Helicopter, Equipment, RAF Benson, 78 Sqn, Support Helicopter, Sqn, Squadron, RAF, Royal Air Force, California, America, US, USA, Afghanistan, 78 Squadron, Merlin, HC3, Desert, Sand, Dust, Landing, Taking Off, Underslung, Load, Cargo, Net *Country: USA
ⓘ licence & creditSAC James Stier / OGL v1.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Merlin_Helicopter_in_Californian_Desert_During_Ex_Merlin_Vortex_MOD_45150792.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Close-up of the Boulton Paul Type 'E' tail gun-turret, mounting four .303 machine guns, on a Handley Page Halifax Mark II of No. 78 Squadron RAF at Breighton, Yorkshire.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Woodbine G (Fg Off) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH11320.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditJun / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Merlin_HC3_helicopter_Wootton_England_(14117378254).jpgView source & full licence →
A CWGC headstone in St Andrew's parish churchyard, Hornchurch, Essex, England
ⓘ licence & creditIrid Escent / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hornchurch_Cemetery_20200929_123321_(50403925437).jpgView source & full licence →
Elwood HLS (Heliport) Barrasford Friends Dropping In For Lunch
ⓘ licence & creditElwood / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elwood_HLS_(Heliport)_Barrasford_Friends_Dropping_In_For_Lunch_-_geograph.org.uk_-_430039.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPublic domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ehi_aw101_merlin_zj123_arp.jpgView source & full licence →
A CWGC headstone in St Andrew's parish churchyard, Hornchurch, Essex, England
ⓘ licence & creditIrid Escent / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hornchurch_Cemetery_20200929_123425_(50403763911).jpgView source & full licence →

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'.