No. 12 Squadron

No. 12 Squadron badge
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons
Group
No. 1 Group
Command
Bomber Command
Home station
RAF Wickenby

In the database: 5 aircraft · 21 service members · 3 sorties.

History

No. 12 Squadron went to war in 1939 flying the Fairey Battle light bomber as part of the Advanced Air Striking Force sent to France. It was there, in the desperate fighting of May 1940, that the squadron won an enduring place in RAF history. On 12 May a handful of its Battles were sent against the heavily defended bridges over the Albert Canal near Maastricht, across which German forces were pouring; in the face of intense fire the attack was driven home but most of the aircraft were lost.

The pilot of the leading aircraft, Flying Officer Donald Garland, and his navigator, Sergeant Thomas Gray, were each awarded the Victoria Cross — the first to airmen of the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. After the fall of France the squadron returned to England, to RAF Finningley and then RAF Binbrook, re-equipped with the Vickers Wellington, and went on to serve through Bomber Command’s main offensive in No. 1 Group.

Photographs

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943 A [Douglas Boston](/aircraft/14/) Mark III of [No. 12 Squadron](/squadrons/150/) SAAF raises the dust while opening up its engines for take off at [Bir el Beheira](/airfields/8943/), Libya.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_the_Middle_East_and_North_Africa,_1939-1943_CM2903.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943 [Douglas Boston](/aircraft/14/) Mark IIIs of [No. 12 Squadron](/squadrons/150/) SAAF set off in loose formation on a bombing raid from their base at [Bir el Beheira](/airfields/8943/), Libya.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Operations_in_the_Middle_East_and_North_Africa,_1939-1943_CM2912.jpgView source & full licence →
[12 Squadron](/squadrons/150/), Royal Flying Corps No 12 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps, was formed at [Netheravon](/airfields/6276/) on 14 February 1915, out of a flight of [No 1 Squadron](/squadrons/84/). The original intention was that one flight should have Avro 504s and the other, Moranes. The Avros arrived, but by April of that year, the Squadron was completely equipped with BE 2cs, using the Avros only for training. Work up for France commenced and on 6 September, 12 Squadron arrived at St Omer to become Headquarters squadron for long-range reconnaissance. It flew its first operation, a photographic reconnaissance mission of the Hanbourdin-Seclin-Lille-Roubaix area, on 9 September. Three days later, the squadron scored its first 'kill' when, flying an 80 HP Gnome-engined Bristol Scout, Captain Strange, C Flight Commander, drove down a German aircraft over Comines. Although never intended for armour, as the war escalated the BE2c carried a variety of weapons and soon found a role as a light-medium bomber. Most of the two-seat aircraft ca
ⓘ licence & creditIWM Collections from London/Duxford/Manchester, United Kingdom / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lieutenant_Louis_A_Strange_(6282413687).jpgView source & full licence →

Operations flown