No. 156 Squadron

Group
8 Group
Home station
RAF Warboys

About

No. 156 Squadron reformed in February 1942 at RAF Alconbury, flying the Vickers Wellington. In August that year it was chosen as one of the original squadrons of the Pathfinder Force, joining No. 8 Group, and converted to the Avro Lancaster early in 1943.

For the rest of the war it flew in the target-marking role, going ahead of the main bomber stream to find and light up the aiming point. It operated from the Pathfinder stations at RAF Warboys and RAF Upwood, ending the war back at RAF Wyton, where it disbanded in September 1945. Its motto — “We light the way” — captured its purpose exactly.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including 156 Squadron RAF (8 Group Pathfinder Force) — Squadron history and Wikipedia: No. 156 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

ⓘ licence & creditPa3ems / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gramsbergen_-_erehof_-8.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPa3ems / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gramsbergen_-_erehof_-_W._Massey.JPGView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPa3ems / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gramsbergen_-_erehof_-_W._Herbert.JPGView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPa3ems / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gramsbergen_-_erehof_-_V.G._Brough.JPGView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPa3ems / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gramsbergen_-_erehof_-_T.C._Dewar.JPGView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPa3ems / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gramsbergen_-_erehof_-_P.S._Hammond.JPGView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPa3ems / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gramsbergen_-_erehof_-_J._Herring.JPGView source & full licence →
COOKE, LEONARD FRANK - died 31-05-1942 - Royal Canadian Air Force - 156 (R.A.F.) Sqnd
ⓘ licence & creditA.E. van Kooten, Ermelo / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:COOKE,_LEONARD_FRANK-31-05-1942-Vorden.JPGView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditA.E. van Kooten, Ermelo / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CATLEY,_RAYMOND-31-05-1943-Vorden.JPGView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited three Pathfinder stations on 10 February 1944. Here they are seen talking to ground crew of No 156 Squadron at Warboys, Huntingdonshire, beneath the imposing bulk of one of the squadron's Lancasters protruding from a T2 hangar.
ⓘ licence & creditCrouch F W (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Avro_Lancaster_-_RAF_Warboys_-_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_CH12153.jpgView source & full licence →

Operations flown

Aircraft (6)

SerialCodeTypeFate
ED485 GT Avro Lancaster Lost on operations
EE118 — Avro Lancaster Lost on operations
ND406 GT-S Avro Lancaster Lost on operations
ND466 GT-Z Avro Lancaster Lost on operations
ND476 GT-V Avro Lancaster Lost on operations
ND492 GT-L Avro Lancaster Lost on operations

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'.