No. 149 Squadron — East India

Group
No. 3 Group
Command
Bomber Command
Home station
RAF Methwold

In the database: 6 aircraft.

History

No. 149 (East India) Squadron was one of only two squadrons to serve with Bomber Command without a break from the first day of the war to the last. Reformed at RAF Mildenhall in 1937 and flying the Vickers Wellington by the time war came, it was in action on the opening day, and it served throughout in No. 3 Group. It later took the Short Stirling and finally, in 1944, the Avro Lancaster, operating from RAF Lakenheath and RAF Methwold as well as Mildenhall.

The squadron’s outstanding moment of valour came in November 1942, when Pilot Officer Rawdon Middleton, badly wounded and his Stirling crippled returning from Turin, held the aircraft steady long enough for his crew to take to their parachutes before it crashed into the sea; he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. Its motto, Fortis nocte, means “strong by night”.

Photographs

Pilot and co-pilot in the cockpit of their [No 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) Wellington bomber, probably at [RAF Mildenhall](/airfields/22/) in 1941. The pilot is David Donaldson, who was promoted to Wing Commander in 1943 at the age of 28. In order to make a better composition, Beaton transposed the pilot and co-pilot. David Donaldson was indeed the pilot but is shown next to what would normally be his seat and not in it.
ⓘ licence & creditBeaton, Cecil / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wellington_pilots_WWII_IWM_D_4737.jpgView source & full licence →
A Royal Air Force [Vickers Wellington](/aircraft/4/) Mk. IC (P9245, "OJ-W") of [No. 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) RAF. P9245 was delivered in March-April 1940 and lost in a raid from [RAF Mildenhall](/airfields/22/), Suffolk (UK), to Boulogne on 9 September 1940. It crashed into the sea off Clacton, Essex (UK), P/O Parish being the only survivor.
ⓘ licence & creditCanadian Forces / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vickers_Wellington_1_ExCC.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command A [No 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) Wellington and crew, [Mildenhall](/airfields/22/) on 21 December 1939.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vickers_Wellington_-_Mildenhall_-_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_C422.jpgView source & full licence →
The Royal Air Force in Britain, January 1942 A seven man crew from [No 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/), Royal Air Force under the nose of [Short Stirling](/aircraft/3/) W7455/`OJ-B' at [Mildenhall](/airfields/22/), Suffolk, while the aircraft is being bombed-up.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Royal_Air_Force_in_Britain,_January_1942_TR135.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force ground staff pushing a [Short Stirling](/aircraft/3/) Mk.I ("OJ-T") from [No. 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) RAF out for overhaul.
ⓘ licence & creditBritish Ministry of Information (GPU 13453b; M.4191M/D). Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944; / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_ground_staff_pushing_a_giant_Stirling_mod.jpgView source & full licence →
The German Spring Offensive, March-july 1918 RAF mechanic of [No. 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) fixing detonators to bombs in position under a machine in readiness far a night bombing raid. [Saint-Omer](/airfields/8649/) Aerodrome, 18 July 1918.
ⓘ licence & creditDavid McLellan / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_German_Spring_Offensive,_March-july_1918_Q10372.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Aircrews of [No. 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) RAF walk towards their [Vickers Wellington](/aircraft/4/) Mark IAs at [Mildenhall](/airfields/22/), Suffolk for a training sortie. The Squadron's operations at this time were directed mostly against German naval installations and shipping.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Daventry B J / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C423.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. The Commanding Officer of [No. 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) RAF talks to his aircrews in their Operations Room at [Mildenhall](/airfields/22/), Suffolk, before they are briefed for the night's raid.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Tovey P H F (Mr) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._CH2677.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Armourers wait for the conclusion of an engine test on [Short Stirling](/aircraft/3/) Mark I, 'OJ-N', of [No. 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) RAF, parked at the end of the south-east runway at [Mildenhall](/airfields/22/), Suffolk, before loading her with 250-lb GP bombs for a night raid on Essen, Germany. Each bomb has been fitted with a shackle to enable it to be winched into position in the Stirling's high bomb-bay.
ⓘ licence & creditBrock F J (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH5135.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. A flight commander of [No. 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) RAF briefs aircrews on the course of an impending training sortie outside one of the hangars at [Mildenhall](/airfields/22/), Suffolk.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C428.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Wing Commander Richard Kellett, Commanding Officer of No. 149 Squadron RAF, seated at his desk at [Mildenhall](/airfields/22/), Cambridgeshire. On 18 December 1939, Kellett led a force of 24 [Vickers Wellingtons](/aircraft/4/) drawn from Nos. [9](/squadrons/28/), [37](/squadrons/228/) and [149](/squadrons/16/) Squadrons to search for enemy shipping targets in the Schillig Roads off Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The Wellingtons were detected by a German radar station on Wangerooge Island while still on their approach flight, and were subsequently intercepted by fighters. Nine Wellingtons were shot down, three ditched into the sea and a further three were forced to seek other landing grounds as they were too badly damaged to return. Kellett was one of those shot down and became a prisoner-of-war. In January 1940 (when this picture was released) he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his leadership during this disastrous raid which, together with that of 14 December, had a major effect on future British bombing policy.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C439.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command Flight Sergeant Leslie Hyder of [No 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) chats with a nurse while recovering from wounds received over Turin on the night of 28-29 November 1942. Hyder was second pilot in a Stirling which was hit by flak over the target.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_CH8167.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Aircrew of [No. 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) RAF gather by one of the Squadron's [Vickers Wellington](/aircraft/4/) Mark IAs at [Mildenhall](/airfields/22/), Suffolk, following a training sortie.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J H (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vickers_Wellington_-_Mildenhall_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C419.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. An aircrew of [No. 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) RAF disembark from their [Vickers Wellington](/aircraft/4/) Mark IA at [Mildenhall](/airfields/22/), Suffolk, after a flight.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vickers_Wellington_-_Mildenhall_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C431.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Three [Vickers Wellington](/aircraft/4/) Mark IAs of [No. 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) RAF, overflying their base at [Mildenhall](/airfields/22/), Suffolk, at sunset.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vickers_Wellington_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C429.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command A typical scene at [Mildenhall](/airfields/22/) as armourers of [No. 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) fit bomb carriers to a pair of 1,000-pounders, while behind Stirling 'N-Nuts' runs up its engines, 10 March 1942.
ⓘ licence & creditBrock F J (F/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_CH5136.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Three [Vickers Wellington](/aircraft/4/) Mark IAs of [No. 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) RAF make a low pass over the hangars at [Mildenhall](/airfields/22/), Suffolk, watched by a group of aircrew on the ground.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J H (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_Mildenhall_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C416.jpgView source & full licence →
The Commanding Officer of [No. 149 Squadron](/squadrons/16/) RAF talks to his aircrews in their Operations Room at [Mildenhall](/airfields/22/), Suffolk, before they are briefed for the night's raid.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer : Tovey P H F (Mr) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RAF_aircrew_at_RAF_Mildenhall_WWII_IWM_CH_2677.jpgView source & full licence →