No. 77 Squadron

Group
No. 4 Group
Command
Bomber Command
Home station
RAF Elvington

In the database: 8 aircraft.

History

No. 77 Squadron reformed in 1937 and moved to RAF Driffield in Yorkshire as part of No. 4 Group, flying the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley. Its crews were over Germany on the very first night of the war, dropping propaganda leaflets. In May 1942 the squadron was loaned to Coastal Command for anti-submarine patrols, operating from RAF Chivenor in Devon, before returning to the bomber offensive.

Late in 1942 it settled at RAF Elvington and re-equipped with the Handley Page Halifax, flying its first operation with the type against the U-boat base at Lorient in February 1943. In May 1944 the squadron moved to RAF Full Sutton and took the improved, Hercules-engined Halifax III. Its motto, Esse potius quam videri, means “to be, rather than to seem”.

Photographs

Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- [Armstrong Whitworth Whitley](/aircraft/7/). Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mark V, Z9266 'ZA-K' of [No. 10 Squadron](/squadrons/148/) RAF based at [Leeming](/airfields/47/), Yorkshire, in flight. Z9266 was soon to be transferred to [No. 77 Squadron](/squadrons/24/) RAF, with whom it went missing while on a raid to Dusseldorf on 28 December 1941.
ⓘ licence & creditHensser H (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Armstrong_Whitworth_Whitley._CH4450.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Aircrew a [No. 77 Squadron](/squadrons/24/) RAF Detachment at [Villeneuve/Vertus](/airfields/8587/), France, prepare to board [Armstrong Whitworth Whitley](/aircraft/7/) Mark V, N1357 'KN-H', for a leaflet-dropping ("Nickelling") sortie to [Prague](/airfields/9117/) and Vienna. The leather 'apron' worn by the air gunner on the left is the unzipped trousers section of his two-piece Irvin flying suit. N1357 was shot down on the night of 27/28 March 1940, after straying into neutral Holland while returning from a similar mission to the Ruhr.
ⓘ licence & creditDevon S A (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1939-1941._C496.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Sergeant H C Clayton, the bomb-aimer of a [Handley Page Halifax](/aircraft/2/) "N for Nuts", of [No. 77 Squadron](/squadrons/24/) RAF, shows the crew's mascot "Wakee Wakee" to Air Commodore G A Walker, Air Officer Commanding No. 42 Base, at [Elvington](/airfields/43/), Yorkshire. On the left is the Station Commander of Elvington, Group Captain S S Bertram, and to Clayton's immediate right two pilots of 77 Squadron, Flight Lieutenant P M Cadman and Flight Lieutenant S E Wodehouse, both of whom were to lose their lives on bombing raids in June 1944.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH12362.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Farm labourers stack a load of late hay by a dispersal at [Elvington](/airfields/43/), Yorkshire, in which [Handley Page Halifax](/aircraft/2/) B Mark II Series I (Special), DT807 'KN-R' "Rita", of [No. 77 Squadron](/squadrons/24/) RAF is standing.
ⓘ licence & creditClarke N S (Pilot Officer), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Handley_Page_Halifax_-_Elvington_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH10598.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Crews of [No. 77 Squadron](/squadrons/24/) RAF about to be driven to the dispersals at [Elvington](/airfields/43/), Yorkshire, for the Squadron's fourth raid on Berlin, Germany. Note the two WAAF drivers by the tailboard of the lorry.
ⓘ licence & creditRAF Elvington, Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH12231.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. [Handley Page Halifax](/aircraft/2/) B Mark II Series I (Special), JB781 'KN-W', of [No. 77 Squadron](/squadrons/24/) RAF gathers speed on the runway at [Elvington](/airfields/43/), Yorkshire as it takes off for a bombing raid on Dusseldorf, Germany. This was the first occasion on which more than 200 Halifaxes took part in a raid, of which 12 were lost. Extensive damage was caused to the centre of Dusseldorf, which suffered its most destructive attack of the war. The aerial of the 'Monica' tail-warning radar can be seen protruding below the rear turret of JB781.
ⓘ licence & creditClark N S (P/O), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Handley_Page_Halifax_-_Elvington_-_Royal_Air_Force_Bomber_Command,_1942-1945._CH10240.jpgView source & full licence →
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945-handley Page Hp.57 Halifax. Halifax B Mark III of [No. 77 Squadron](/squadrons/24/) RAF, taking off from [Elvington](/airfields/43/), Yorkshire. Note the censor’s attempt to obliterate the H2S radome under the fuselage
ⓘ licence & creditBellamy W (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-handley_Page_Hp.57_Halifax._CH12532.jpgView source & full licence →
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945-armstrong Whitworth Aw.38 [Whitley](/aircraft/7/) Two Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mark Vs, N1373 'KN-J' and N1347 'KN-E', of [No. 77 Squadron](/squadrons/24/) RAF, overfly [Driffield](/airfields/6125/), Yorkshire, on return from a night-reconnaissance sortie.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Flying Officer), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-armstrong_Whitworth_Aw.38_Whitley_C928.jpgView source & full licence →
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Handley Page Hp.57 Halifax. Halifax B Mark II Series 1 (Special), JB911’ KN-X’, of [No. 77 Squadron](/squadrons/24/) RAF, making a low level pass over other aircraft of the squadron at [Elvington](/airfields/43/), Yorkshire.
ⓘ licence & creditClarke N S (Pilot Officer), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945-_Handley_Page_Hp.57_Halifax._CH10594.jpgView source & full licence →