No. 102 Squadron — Ceylon

Group
4 Group
Home station
RAF Pocklington

About

No. 102 Squadron was a heavy-bomber unit of No. 4 Group that flew through most of the war, first on the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and then on the Handley Page Halifax. In February 1942 it was adopted by Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), whose people paid for aircraft for the squadron, and it carried the name “Ceylon” thereafter.

Like the rest of Bomber Command its early Whitleys were at first restricted to dropping leaflets over Germany, and only after the German invasion of Norway in April 1940 did it begin true bombing operations. The squadron flew from Yorkshire, with long spells at RAF Topcliffe and then RAF Pocklington, and over the course of the war dropped more than 14,000 tons of bombs and laid nearly 2,000 sea mines.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including History of War — No. 102 Squadron (RAF) in the Second World War and Wikipedia: No. 102 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

AWM caption : Studio portrait of 415923 Flying Officer (FO) Anthony Carlyle Cameron, RAAF, 102 Squadron RAF of Perth, WA. FO Cameron enlisted on 22 April 1942. He was killed aged 21 over Germany when his Halifax III MZ 772 crashed on the night of 4 November 1944.
ⓘ licence & creditUnknown authorUnknown author / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flying_Officer_Cameron_RAAF_of_102_Squadron_RAF_AWM_P07776.001.jpgView source & full licence →
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk Vs of No. 102 Squadron RAF being prepared for a leaflet-dropping sortie at Driffield, Yorkshire, 7 March 1940. Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mark Vs of No. 102 Squadron RAF being prepared for a leaflet-dropping ("Nickelling") sortie at Driffield, Yorkshire. The nearest aircraft, N1421 'DY-C', was shot down over Norway on the night of 29/30 April 1940, while N1382 'DY-A' was lost during a raid on Augsburg on 16/17 August 1940.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Flying Officer), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Armstrong_Whitworth_Whitley_Mk_Vs_of_No._102_Squadron_RAF_being_prepared_for_a_leaflet-dropping_sortie_at_Driffield,_Yorkshire,_7_March_1940._C921.jpgView source & full licence →
A Royal Air Force Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mark V (s/n N1371) of No. 102 Squadron RAF, landing at Driffield, Yorkshire (UK), after a leaflet dropping ("Nickelling") sortie over Germany.
ⓘ licence & creditB.J. Daventry, Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Armstrong_Whitworth_Whitley_ExCC.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command Ground staff load propaganda leaflets into Whitley N1386/DY-P of No 102 Squadron, 8 March 1940, in preparation for another raid over Germany. Though leaflet dropping was viewed of dubious value as a propaganda weapon, it provided useful experience of night flying over enemy territory.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Armstrong_Whitworth_Whitley_-_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_C922.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPa3ems / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:25-Den_Burg_cemetery_-_K._Oatridge_-_R.A.F._-_27-04-1943.JPGView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. The damaged port-side fuselage of Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mark V, P5005 'DY-N', of No. 102 Squadron RAF, after returning from a bombing raid to the Ruhr on the night of 12/13 November 1940. While trying to locate Cologne marshalling yards, the aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire, detonating a flare which, in turn, blew open a 15-foot section of the fuselage. Despite this damage, the pilot, Flying Officer G L Cheshire, managed to fly the aircraft and crew safely back to base at Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire. for which he was awarded the DSO.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._CH1764.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1940. Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mark Vs of No. 102 Squadron RAF being prepared for a leaflet-dropping ("Nickelling") sortie at Driffield, Yorkshire.
ⓘ 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,_1939-1940._C923.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mark V, N1377 'DY-P', of No. 102 Squadron RAF based at Driffield, Yorkshire, on the ground at Bircham Newton, Norfolk, with badly damaged wings sustained in a severe electrical storm during a Nickelling/reconnaissance mission over Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Despite the loss of much of the upper wing fabric, and a jammed flap, the aircraft was flown 342 miles safely back to the United Kingdom by its crew.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C48.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Half length portrait of Wing Commander G W Holden, Officer Commanding No. 102 Squadron RAF, taken at Pocklington, Yorkshire.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Trievnor J (Fg Off) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH9321.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1940. The crew of an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mark V of No. 102 Squadron RAF study their route at Driffield, Yorkshire, prior to taking off on a leaflet-dropping ("Nickelling") sortie over Germany.
ⓘ 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,_1939-1940._C925.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command Whitley N1375/DY-N of No 102 Squadron being dismantled in preparation for transport by road to a maintenance unit, following flak damage to its hydraulic system incurred over Ludwigshafen, 20-21 June 1940.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B 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_CH407.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPa3ems / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:23-Den_Burg_cemetery_-_W._Foley_-_R.A.F._-_27-04-1943.JPGView source & full licence →
IWM caption : Whitley Mark V, T4162 'DY-S' "Ceylon", of No. 102 Squadron RAF, on the ground at Topcliffe, Yorkshire. It failed to return from a bombing raid on Cologne on the night of 1/2 March 1941.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:102_Squadron_Whitley_at_RAF_Topcliffe_WWII_IWM_CH_2052.jpgView source & full licence →
IWM caption : Non-commissioned aircrew of No. 102 Squadron RAF Detachment walk from their Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mark V at Villeneuve/Vertus France, after completing a nine-hour leaflet-dropping ("Nickelling") sortie over Prague.
ⓘ licence & creditHensser H (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:102_Squadron_Whitley_aircrew_in_France_WWII_IWM_C_837.jpgView source & full licence →
IWM caption : Handley Page Halifax Mark II Series 1A, JD206 'DY-T' of No. 102 Squadron RAF, about to be towed from its dispersal by a David Brown tractor at RAF Pocklington, Yorkshire. This aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 22 June 1943, and ditched off Overflakkee Island, Holland.
ⓘ licence & creditClark N S (P/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:102_Squadron_Halifax_at_RAF_Pocklington_WWII_IWM_CH_10776.jpgView source & full licence →
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ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:No._102_Squadron_RAF_badge.pngView 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'.