No. 156 Squadron

Group
No. 8 Group (Pathfinder Force)
Command
Bomber Command
Home station
RAF Warboys

In the database: 7 aircraft · 44 service members · 6 sorties.

History

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.

Photographs

Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Avro 683 Lancaster. Lancaster B Mark I, W4113 ‘GP-J’, of No. 1661 Heavy Conversion Unit based at [Winthorpe](/airfields/8585/), Nottinghamshire, in flight. W4113 was a veteran aircraft having flown on a number of raids with Nos. [49](/squadrons/30/) and [156](/squadrons/63/) Squadrons RAF in 1942 and 1943
ⓘ licence & creditStanley Devon / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Avro_683_Lancaster._CH11936.jpgView source & full licence →
HM Queen Elizabeth inspecting flight and ground crews on a visit to [Warboys](/airfields/27/), a station of No 8 Pathfinder Group. An [Avro Lancaster](/aircraft/1/) of [No 156 Squadron](/squadrons/63/), Royal Air Force is seen in a T2 hangar.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Queen_Elizabeth_at_RAF_Warboys_Feb_1944_IWM_TR_1554.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](/squadrons/63/) at [Warboys](/airfields/27/), 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