No. 100 Squadron

Group
No. 1 Group
Command
Bomber Command
Home station
RAF Grimsby (Waltham)

In the database: 2 aircraft · 7 service members · 1 sortie.

History

No. 100 Squadron was reformed in Britain on 15 December 1942 at RAF Grimsby, near Waltham in Lincolnshire, as a night heavy-bomber squadron of No. 1 Group, and was among the many units equipped with the Avro Lancaster. Its first aircraft arrived in January 1943, and crews trained up alongside the established Lancaster squadrons at neighbouring stations.

The squadron flew its first operation on 4 March 1943 against the U-boat base at St Nazaire, followed quickly by a raid on Nuremberg, and from then on took part in the main force’s every major attack on Germany. In the closing weeks of the war it moved to RAF Elsham Wolds. It lost 92 aircraft on operations. Its motto — Sarang tebuan jangan dijolok, “do not stir up a hornets’ nest” — dated from the squadron’s earlier service in Malaya.

Photographs

A Royal Air Force [Avro Lancaster](/aircraft/1/) B Mk. I (serial number PA474) in flight during Air Fete'88, a NATO aircraft display hosted by the U.S. Air Force's 513th Airborne Command and Control Wing, at [RAF Mildenhall](/airfields/22/), Suffolk (UK). PA474 is one of only two Lancasters remaining in airworthy condition out of the 7377 that were built – the other being in Canada. She was built in Chester in mid-1945 and was earmarked for the "Tiger Force" in the Far East. However, the war with Japan ended before she could take part in any hostilities. She was therefore assigned to Photographic Reconnaissance duties with [82 Squadron](/squadrons/139/), RAF, in East and South Africa. While operating with 82 Squadron, PA474 had her turrets removed. In 1964 she was adopted by the Air Historical Branch (RAF) for future display in the proposed RAF Museum at [Hendon](/airfields/6189/). Since 2007, PA474 wears the markings of EE139, the "Phantom of the Ruhr"', that flew her first 30 strikes with [No 100 Squadron](/squadrons/2/) based at Waltham before completing a further 91 ope
ⓘ licence & creditUSAF / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lancaster_B1_PA474_28_May_1988.jpgView source & full licence →

Operations flown