No. 103 Squadron

Group
No. 1 Group
Command
Bomber Command
Home station
RAF Elsham Wolds

In the database: 5 aircraft · 2 service members.

History

No. 103 Squadron entered the war flying the Fairey Battle and went to France in 1939 with the Advanced Air Striking Force. After the fall of France it re-equipped at home with the Vickers Wellington, flew briefly on the Handley Page Halifax, and from late 1942 took the Avro Lancaster, which it operated for the rest of the war.

From July 1941 the squadron was based at RAF Elsham Wolds in Lincolnshire as part of No. 1 Group. It flew more operational sorties than any other squadron in the group — and, inevitably, suffered the group’s heaviest losses, the large majority of the aircraft lost from Elsham Wolds being its own. Its badge featured a swan, chosen as a bird both strong in flight and well able to defend itself.

Photographs

Royal Air Force- France, 1939-1940. Officers of [No. 103 Squadron](/squadrons/4/) RAF lined up in front of a [Fairey Battle](/aircraft/10/) at [Betheniville](/airfields/8590/). They are, (left to right): Squadron Leader H G Lee (wounded, 9 June), Pilot Officer V Cunningham (killed, 14 May), Flying Officer J R Hayes, Flying Officer G B Morgan-Dean (killed, 12 May), Flying Officer D D A Kelly, Flying Officer T B Fitzgerald, Pilot Officer T Pugh, Flight Lieutenant J A Ingram (commander, 'A' Flight), Pilot Officer Taylor (Equipment Officer), Wing Commander T C Dickens (Commanding Officer), Flight Lieutenant C E R Tait (commander, 'B' Flight), Flying Officer "Doc" Mahon (Medical Officer), Flying Officer A L Vipan, Flying Officer W Rayne, Flying Officer Rhys Price (Officer i/c Servicing Flight), Flying Officer M C Wells (prisoner of war, 10 May), Flying Officer MacDonald (Intelligence Officer), Flying Officer J N Leyden (prisoner of war, 26 May), Pilot Officer E E Morton (killed, 12 May), Pilot Officer K J Drabble (killed, 10 May), Flight Lieut
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force-_France,_1939-1940._C1498.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force- France, 1939-1940. Bomb-trolleys loaded with 250-lb GP bombs and attendant armourers being towed out by tractor to [Fairey Battles](/aircraft/10/) at [Betheniville](/airfields/8590/) prior to a sortie to the bombing practice range at Moronvilliers. Behind them, Battle, K9408 'PM-N', of [No. 103 Squadron](/squadrons/4/) RAF is prepared for a flight.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fairey_Battle_-_Betheniville_-_Royal_Air_Force-_France,_1939-1940._C1071.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force- France, 1939-1940. Three [Fairey Battles](/aircraft/10/) of [No. 103 Squadron](/squadrons/4/) RAF overfly [Betheniville](/airfields/8590/), watched by ground crew servicing K9408 'PM-N', another aircraft of the Squadron.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fairey_Battle_-_Betheniville_-_Royal_Air_Force-_France,_1939-1940._C1061.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. LAC E Turner paints the 65th 'raid completed' symbol onto the nose of [Avro Lancaster](/aircraft/1/) B Mark III, ED731 'AS-T2' "Dante's Daughter", of [No. 166 Squadron](/squadrons/5/) RAF at [Kirmington](/airfields/11/), Lincolnshire, following the aircraft's return from a raid on Berlin on the night of 15/16 February 1944. ED731 started its operational service with [No. 103 Squadron](/squadrons/4/) RAF in March 1943, being transferred to 166 Squadron in September of that year. It completed more than 70 Sorties before being lost on the last major Bomber Command raid on Berlin on 24/25 March 1944. The artwork acknowledges a DFC awarded to the pilot and three ice creams among the bomb symbols, indicating raids on Italian targets.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CE126.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1941-1945 [Avro Lancaster](/aircraft/1/) B Mark III, ED724 'PM-M', of [No. 103 Squadron](/squadrons/4/) RAF pauses on the flarepath at [Elsham Wolds](/airfields/12/), Lincolnshire, before taking off for a raid on Duisburg, Germany, during the Battle of the Ruhr. Three searchlights (called 'Sandra' lights), two of which are visible on the left, form a cone to indicate the height of the cloud base for the departing aircraft.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Miller (Plt Off) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1941-1945_CH9030.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. The pilot of an [Avro Lancaster](/aircraft/1/) of [No. 103 Squadron](/squadrons/4/) RAF based at [Elsham Wolds](/airfields/12/), Lincolnshire, wearing his oxygen mask while flying the aircraft at high altitude.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, No. 103 Squadron RAF / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH8971.jpgView source & full licence →
Australian War Memorial summary: "[Serny](/airfields/8588/), France. 1918-11. Wing score board recording the results of various flying operations performed by No. 80 Wing RAF. The aircraft tally board was probably in the briefing room or mess of the base and appears to consist of chalk marks on a wall rather than a special board. It is dated 1918-07-01 to 1918-11-11. The squadrons listed are [No. 4 Squadron](/squadrons/209/), Australian Flying Corps (AFC), [No. 88 Squadron](/squadrons/249/) RAF, [No. 2 Squadron](/squadrons/208/) AFC, [No. 92 Squadron](/squadrons/74/) RAF, [No. 103 Squadron](/squadrons/4/) RAF, [No. 46 Squadron](/squadrons/161/) RAF, and [No. 54 Squadron](/squadrons/90/) RAF. The other columns are headed `In Flames', `Crashed', `O.O.C.' (Out of Control), `Driven Down' and `Balloons Destroyed'."
ⓘ licence & creditnot stated / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AWM_P02163.016.jpgView source & full licence →