No. 35 Squadron — Madras Presidency

Group
8 Group
Home station
RAF Graveley

About

No. 35 Squadron reformed on 5 November 1940 at RAF Boscombe Down within No. 4 Group, and holds a notable place in Bomber Command history as the first squadron to take the four-engined Handley Page Halifax into service. It flew the type’s first operation on the night of 11/12 March 1941 against the docks at Le Havre, and after spells at Leeming and Linton-on-Ouse settled at RAF Graveley.

In August 1942 it was chosen as one of the five founding squadrons of the Pathfinder Force, the target-marking elite that went ahead of the main bomber stream, and was absorbed into the new No. 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group. Pilots who served with it included Leonard Cheshire, later a commander of No. 617 Squadron. The squadron exchanged its Halifaxes for Avro Lancasters in March 1944 and flew its last wartime sorties in late April 1945. Its motto, Uno animo agimus, means “we act with one accord”.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including History of War — No. 35 Squadron (RAF) in the Second World War and Wikipedia: No. 35 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 Bomber Command 1939-1941. The wireless operator of a Handley-Page Halifax of No. 35 Squadron RAF, in his position prior to take-off at Linton-On-Ouse, Yorkshire.
ⓘ licence & creditMinistry of Information Photo Division Photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command_1939-1941._D6053.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command 1939-1941. Handley-Page Halifax B Mark II Series Is of No. 35 Squadron RAF, taking off from Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire.
ⓘ licence & creditMinistry of Information Photo Division Photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command_1939-1941._D6016.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command 1939-1941. A Handley-Page Halifax B Mark II Series I of No. 35 Squadron RAF, being prepared for an engine start in a dispersal, while another aircraft taxies past, at Linton-On-Ouse, Yorkshire.
ⓘ licence & creditMinistry of Information Photo Division Photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command_1939-1941._D6054.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command 1939-1941. The flight engineer of a Handley-Page Halifax of No. 35 Squadron RAF, at his work station aft of the pilot's position, prior to take-off from Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire. He is wearing a Type B helmet and 1930 Pattern flying suit.
ⓘ licence & creditMinistry of Information Photo Division Photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command_1939-1941._D6011.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Flying Officer Leonard Cheshire, while serving his second tour of operations with No. 35 Squadron RAF, stands with his air and ground crews in front of a Handley Page Halifax at Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._CH6373.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Vertical aerial photograph taken during a daylight attack on German warships docked at Brest, France. Two Handley Page Halifaxes of No. 35 Squadron RAF (upper right) fly over the naval dockyard, towards the dry docks in which the battlecruisers SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU are berthed (top right), and over which a smoke screen is rapidly spreading. At middle right, a stick of bombs can be seen to have exploded inland from their intended target, PRINZ EUGEN, moored by the quayside. 47 aircraft from Nos. 3, 4 and 5 Groups took part in the operation, claiming accurate bombing on their targets for the loss of 6 aircraft.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brest,_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941_C2228.jpgView source & full licence →
Avro Vulcan B.2 XH559 wearing the 35 Squadron badge on its fin at the 1977 Royal Review at RAF Finningley
ⓘ licence & creditRuthAS / CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Avro_Vulcan_B.2A_XH559_35_Sqn_Scampton_FINN_30.07.77_edited-2.jpgView source & full licence →
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ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:No._35_Squadron_RAF_badge.pngView source & full licence →
A Royal Air Force Handley Page Halifax Mark II Series I (s/n W7676, 'TL-P') of No. 35 Squadron RAF based at Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire (UK), being piloted by Flight Lieutenant Reginald Lane, (later Lieutenant-General, RCAF), over the English countryside. Flt Lt Lane and his crew flew twelve operations in W7676, which failed to return from a raid on Nuremberg on the night of 28/29 August 1942, when flown by Flt Sgt D. John and crew.
ⓘ licence & creditRAF / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Halifax_II_35_Sqn_RAF_in_flight_c1942.jpgView source & full licence →

Operations flown

Aircraft (2)

SerialCodeTypeFate
ND646 TL Avro Lancaster Unknown
W1048 TL-S Handley Page Halifax Lost on operations

Known personnel (1)

NameRankStationDates
Gill, Robert Henry James Air Gunner RAF Graveley ? – ?

Further reading & sources

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