No. 139 Squadron — Jamaica

Group
8 Group
Home station
RAF Marham

About

No. 139 Squadron took the name “Jamaica” in recognition of a fund raised on the island to buy bombers for Britain. Reformed in 1936 and equipped with the Bristol Blenheim, it earned an early distinction when, on 3 September 1939, one of its Blenheims became the first British aircraft to cross the German coast after the declaration of war.

After wide-ranging Blenheim operations the squadron re-equipped with the de Havilland Mosquito at RAF Horsham St Faith in 1942, and in July 1943 joined the Pathfinder Force in No. 8 Group. Switching to night work, it specialised in flying ahead of the heavy bombers to scatter “Window” — strips of metal foil that swamped German radar — and in mounting spoof raids to draw the night fighters away from the real target. Later it operated as an H2S-equipped Mosquito marker squadron over the most heavily defended targets in Germany.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including Imperial War Museums — A brief history of No. 139 (Jamaica) Squadron RAF and Wikipedia: No. 139 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- France 1939-1940. An engine tent is erected around the engine of a Bristol Blenheim Mark IV of No. 139 Squadron RAF at Betheniville to protect it from the weather.
ⓘ licence & creditHensser H (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force-_France_1939-1940._C525.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force- France 1939-1940. An airman stands guard in the snow at Betheniville, framed by the camouflage netting on the wing of a Bristol Blenheim Mark IV of No. 139 Squadron RAF.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force-_France_1939-1940._C355.jpgView source & full licence →
Operation OYSTER, the daylight attack on the Philips radio and valve works at Eindhoven, Holland, by No. 2 Group. Wing Commander H I Edwards VC (left), leader of the De Havilland Mosquito B Mark IVs of Nos. 105 and 139 Squadrons RAF on the raid, and his navigator approach their aircraft before taking off from Marham, Norfolk.
ⓘ licence & creditRAF FPU / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MossyCloseup42.jpgView source & full licence →
No. 139 Squadron RAF fighter bombers attacking the molybdenum mines at Knaben in German-occupied Norway.
ⓘ licence & creditNo. 139 Squadron RAF / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Knaben_bombing_March_1943.jpgView source & full licence →
English Electric Canberra B.2 WH649 of 139 Squadron RAF displaying at Wolverhampton (Pendeford) Airport in 1953
ⓘ licence & creditRuthAS / CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:EE_Canberra_B.2_WH649_139_Sqn_WVTN_16.05.53_edited-3.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, 1942-1945. De Havilland Mosquito B Mark IVs of No 139 Squadron RAF being prepared for a raid at Marham, Norfolk, while serving with No. 2 Group.
ⓘ 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._CH10126.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force- France, 1939-1940. Three Bristol Blenheim Mark IVs of No. 139 Squadron RAF based at Plivot, flying eastwards over Northern France to survey enemy fortifications.
ⓘ licence & creditStanley Devon / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_Blenheim_-_Royal_Air_Force-_France,_1939-1940._C1308.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force- France, 1939-1940 Bristol Blenheim Mark IV, L8760 'XD-D', of No. 139 Squadron RAF taxies to a halt at Betheniville after a sortie.
ⓘ licence & creditHensser H (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_Blenheim_-_Royal_Air_Force-_France,_1939-1940_C346.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force- France, 1939-1940. Two Bristol Blenheim Mark IVs of No. 139 Squadron RAF based at Plivot, in flight over northern France.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_Blenheim_-_Royal_Air_Force-_France,_1939-1940._C1350.jpgView source & full licence →
Aerial Photography during the Second World War Bomb-aimer holding an F24 aerial camera in the nose of a Blenheim (possibly of No 139 Squadron RAF) during an unescorted aerial photography mission over France.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aerial_Photography_during_the_Second_World_War_C1314.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force- France, 1939-1940. Bristol Blenheim Mark IV, N6227 'XD-M', of No. 139 Squadron RAF, undergoes an engine overhaul at Plivot. Note the armourer (foreground) who has just removed the forward-firing .303 machine gun from its mounting in the port wing for examination.
ⓘ licence & creditStanley Devon / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_Blenheim_-_Plivot_-_Royal_Air_Force-_France,_1939-1940._C1348.jpgView source & full licence →
Aerial Photography during the Second World War Blenheims of No 139 Squadron, Royal Air Force, part of the Advanced Air Striking Force, in flight over France during an unescorted aerial photography mission.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_Blenheim_-_France_-_Aerial_Photography_during_the_Second_World_War_C1311.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force- France, 1939-1940 Bristol Blenheim Mark IVs of No. 139 Squadron RAF about to take off from Betheniville on reconnaissance sorties.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bristol_Blenheim_-_Betheniville_-_Royal_Air_Force-_France,_1939-1940_C352.jpgView source & full licence →
Blenheim Mark IV, L8756 ‘XD-E’ of No. 139 Squadron RAF, based at Plivot, France, in flight over northern France.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blenheim_L8756.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPa3ems / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:18-Den_Burg_cemetery_-_P.J.D._MC_Geenhan_DFM_-_NZ_-_16-03-1943.JPGView source & full licence →

Aircraft (1)

SerialCodeTypeFate
N6215 — Bristol Blenheim Unknown

Known personnel (1)

NameRankStationDates
McPherson, Andrew Flying Officer — ? – ?

Further reading & sources

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