No. 105 Squadron

No. 105 Squadron badge
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
Group
8 Group
Home station
RAF Bourn

About

No. 105 Squadron began the war flying the Bristol Blenheim against German-held ports and airfields, and served for a time on Malta striking at Axis shipping in the Mediterranean. On its return it made history as the first RAF squadron to operate the de Havilland Mosquito, taking the unarmed bomber version of the “Wooden Wonder”.

From May 1942 it pioneered the fast, low-level and shallow-dive daylight attacks that made the Mosquito famous, including the precision raid on the Gestapo headquarters in Oslo in September 1942 and the first daylight attack on Berlin in January 1943. In June 1943 the squadron joined No. 8 (Pathfinder) Group and switched to night work, using Mosquitoes fitted with the Oboe blind-bombing system to guide the main bomber stream to its targets. It flew from RAF Marham and later RAF Bourn.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including History of War — No. 105 Squadron (RAF) in the Second World War and Wikipedia: No. 105 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: PORTRAIT OF WING COMMANDER HUGHIE IDWAL EDWARDS VC DFC, RAAF. WING COMMANDER EDWARDS OF NO 105 SQUADRON, 2 GROUP, BOMBER COMMAND, RAF, WAS AWARDED THE VICTORIA CROSS FOR THE DISPLAY OF THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE STANDARD OF GALLANTRY AND DETERMINATION DURING A DAYLIGHT AIR ATTACK ON THE PORT OF BREMEN, ONE OF THE MOST HEAVILY DEFENDED TOWNS IN GERMANY.
ⓘ licence & creditphotographer not identified / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HughieEdwards.jpgView source & full licence →
De Havilland Mosquito B Mark IV Series 2, DK338, in flight after completion. DK338 served with No. 105 Squadron RAF as 'GB-O', and took part in the successful low-level raid on the Phillips radio factory at Eindhoven, Holland, (Operation OYSTER) on 6 December 1942, led by the Squadron Commander, Wing Commander H.I.Edwards VC.
ⓘ licence & creditPhotographer: De Havilland photographer for Ministry of Aircraft Production / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:De_Havilland_Mosquito-DK338-1942.jpgView source & full licence →
Low-level oblique aerial taken during a dusk attack on the railway workshops at Namur, Belgium, by de Havilland Mosquito B Mark IVs of No. 105 Squadron RAF. DZ519 'GB-U', flown by Pilot Officer R Massie (pilot) and Sergeant G Lister (navigator), flys over the target with bomb doors open and bombs falling, just after successfully striking the roof of the carriage and wagon repair shops (top right).
ⓘ licence & credit105 Sqn Leader R W Reynolds (pilot) and Pilot Officer E B Sismore (navigator) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:De_Havilland_Mosquito_bombing_railway_workshops.jpgView source & full licence →
Air-to-air photograph of a De Havilland DH.98 Mosquito B Mk IV Series 2 bomber with No. 105 Squadron of the Royal Air Force in flight.
ⓘ licence & creditFotoafdrukken Koninklijke Luchtmacht / Photo Prints, Royal Netherlands Air Force; restored by Chris Woodrich / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:De_Havilland_DH.98_Mosquito_B_Mk_IV_Series_2_(restoration).jpgView source & full licence →
IWM caption : Corporal J Patterson records the 203rd sortie on the operations tally of De Havilland Mosquito B Mark IX, LR503 'GB-F', of 'C' Flight, No. 105 Squadron RAF at Bourn, Cambridgeshire, watched by its crew, Flight Lieutenant T P Lawrenson (pilot, far left) and Flight Lieutenant D W Allen RNZAF (navigator, right). "F-Bar for Freddie" went on to complete 213 sorties, a Bomber Command record.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Canadian Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_nose_art_detail,_105_Squadron_Mosquito_and_crew_WWII_IWM_CH_15100_(cropped).jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Armourers prepare to load 500-lb MC bombs into De Havilland Mosquito B Mark IV, DZ483 'GB-R', of No. 105 Squadron RAF at Marham, Norfolk, in preparation for a night raid on Berlin, Germany by aircraft of No. 2 Group. Two weeks later, DZ483 crashed at Marham while attempting to land on one engine, on returning from the low-level raid on Jena. Its crew, Flying Officer A J Rae and Flying Officer K S Bush, were both killed.
ⓘ 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._CH18009.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command Flying Officer A Whickham (left), a Mosquito pilot, and his navigator, Pilot Officer W Makin, pose for an official portrait in the imposing setting of the Air Council Room at the Air Ministry in Whitehall on 31 January 1943, the day after their participation on the first daylight raid on Berlin. Six Mosquitos from Nos 105 and 139 Squadrons bombed the German capital in two attacks, timed to disrupt broadcast speeches by Goebbels and Goring at rallies marking the tenth anniversary of Hitler's ascession to power.
ⓘ licence & creditBridge B (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_CH8522.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. German 2,500-ton motor vessel under attack by four Bristol Blenheim Mark IVs of No. 105 Squadron Detachment from Lossiemouth, Moray, off the coast of Norway.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C1897.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. De Havilland Mosquito B Mark IVs of No. 105 Squadron RAF taxy to the main runway at Marham, Norfolk, for a night raid on Berlin, Germany.
ⓘ 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._CH18013.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Flying Officer R G Hayes (left) and Flight Lieutenant J Gordon, navigator and pilot respectively of a De Havilland Mosquito B Mark IV of No. 105 Squadron RAF, listen intently during the briefing for a night raid on Berlin, Germany in the Operations Room at Marham, Norfolk. Both men were killed on 5 November 1943 when their Mosquito, DZ587 'GB-B', crashed at Hempnall, Norfolk, while returning from an evening raid on Bochum.
ⓘ 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._CH18010.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Bristol Blenheim Mark IV, 'GB-S', of No. 105 Squadron RAF Detachment based at Lossiemouth, Moray, flying in at 50 feet above sea level to attack a 2,500-ton motor vessel off the coast of Norway.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_Blenheim_-_North_Sea_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C1894.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Bristol Blenheim Mark IV, Z5899 'GB-J', of No. 105 Squadron RAF based at Watton, Norfolk, about to touch down on the main runway at Attlebridge, Norfolk, during an Army Co-operation exercise.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J H (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_Blenheim_-_Attlebridge_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._CH17171.jpgView source & full licence →
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- De Havilland Dh.98 Mosquito. Mosquito B Mark IX, ML914 “Nigeria”, on the ground, 1943. Bought with donations from Nigeria, ML914 became a veteran of several important operations with No.105 Squadron RAF between September 1943 and April 1945.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_De_Havilland_Dh.98_Mosquito._E(MOS)1305.jpgView source & full licence →
Image from the Charles Daniels Photo Collection album "British Aircraft." SOURCE INSTITUTION: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
ⓘ licence & creditSan Diego Air & Space Museum Archives / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:15_Dehavilland_Mosquito_Merlin_Engine_B.Mk_IV_in_service_with_105_Sq_RAF_(15650368848).jpgView source & full licence →
IWM caption : Corporal J Patterson records the 203rd sortie on the operations tally of De Havilland Mosquito B Mark IX, LR503 'GB-F', of 'C' Flight, No. 105 Squadron RAF at Bourn, Cambridgeshire, watched by its crew, Flight Lieutenant T P Lawrenson (pilot, far left) and Flight Lieutenant D W Allen RNZAF (navigator, right). "F-Bar for Freddie" went on to complete 213 sorties, a Bomber Command record.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Canadian Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:105_Squadron_Mosquito_and_crew_WWII_IWM_CH_15100.jpgView source & full licence →
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ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:No._105_Squadron_RAF_badge.pngView source & full licence →

Aircraft (2)

SerialCodeTypeFate
LR503 GB-F de Havilland Mosquito Written off (non-op)
V6028 GB-D Bristol Blenheim Unknown

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'.