No. 166 Squadron

Group
No. 1 Group
Command
Bomber Command
Home station
RAF Kirmington

In the database: 6 aircraft · 19 service members · 5 sorties.

History

No. 166 Squadron reformed on 27 January 1943 at RAF Kirmington in Lincolnshire, built up from crews and equipment left behind when other squadrons departed for North Africa. Flying the Vickers Wellington in No. 1 Group, it went into action almost at once, raiding Lorient just two days after forming.

In September 1943 it converted to the Avro Lancaster, which it flew for the rest of the war, taking part in many of the main force’s major attacks on Germany as well as in minelaying — known in the trade as “gardening”. Several of its Lancasters became veterans of a hundred operations apiece. The squadron remained at Kirmington throughout and was disbanded there at the end of 1945.

Photographs

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:Lancaster_nose_art_Dante%27s_Daughter_1944_IWM_CE_126.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 1939-1945- Bomber Command The crew of an RAF Air/Sea Rescue launch haul in a dinghy with two exhausted survivors from a [No 166 Squadron](/squadrons/5/) Wellington, HE862/AS-L, which ditched off the French coast after developing engine trouble on its way to [Mannheim](/airfields/8659/) on 16 April 1943. Flying Officer R Lord (facing camera) and Flying Officer E Hadingham (out of sight) drifted for five days before being picked up. They survived on rainwater, 18 Horlicks tablets and a bar of chocolate between them.
ⓘ licence & creditBridge B (Fg Off), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Bomber_Command_CH9389.jpgView source & full licence →

Operations flown