Was it unusual for a whole squadron to only have one victory in WW1 ? No 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron Formed as a Home Defence Unit at Hainault Farm on 24 July 1917, its initial equipment was Sopwith 1½ Strutters but these were soon replace by Camels. One of its CO's at this time was Major A T Harris (later MRAF Sir Arthur Harris). The Camels were used for night patrols which was not the easiest of activities in a Camel and in January 1918 Captain G H Hackwill and 2nd Lieutenant C C Banks destroyed a Gotha, thereby making history with the first ever night victory in air combat. However, this also remained the squadron's only victory and it eventually disbanded on 31 December 1919. The squadron reformed as a day bomber unit with Hinds on 8 March 1937 at Wyton. Blenheims arrived in December and these in turn were replaced with Hampdens and Ansons in February 1939. Its first task was to act as the 5 Group conversion unit, converting pilots from single to twin engined aircraft for the other squadrons in the Group. The squadron reverted to operational status on 1 June 1939 and following the outbreak of war by which time it was commanded by Wg Cdr J N Boothman, carried out sweeps over the North Sea and leaflet dropping raids. It started bombing raids in April 1940 but by the end of 1941 it was declared non-operational and tasked with working up a new type - the Lancaster. Operations began in March and on 17 April a daring low level daylight was attempted on the M.A.N. engine works in Augsburg. This resulted in the award of the Victoria Cross to the leader of the raid, Sqn Ldr J Nettleton, a flight commander on No 44. The squadron continued to operate in Bomber Command's Main Force until the end of the war. After the war the squadron was retained and gradually re-equipped with Lincolns, although the last Lancaster did not leave until May 1947. In January 1951 the squadron exchanged these for Washingtons, the British version of the Boeing B29. and these were in turn replaced by Canberras in Apr 1953. During the Suez Crisis, the squadron operated from Cyprus but on 16 July 1957 it disbanded. Between 1 February 1949 and 14 July 1957 it was linked with No 55 Squadron. The squadron reformed on 10 August 1960 as a Vulcan equipped part of the V-Force. The original B Mk 1s were taken over from No 83 Squadron and retained until August 1962. Vulcan B Mk 1As arrived in January 1961 and B Mk 2s arrived in September 1966, the B Mk 1As remained until September 1967 after which it only operated the B Mk 2. These remained in service at Waddington until 21 December 1982 when the squadron disbanded for the last time. Motto: Fulmina regis justa (The King's thunderbolts are righteous) Annie
Well it might have only been one ... but it looks like a good one !! http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1955/1955 - 0531.html http://books.google.com/books?id=OT...&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result Annie
By 1918 bombing raid on Britain were conducted entirely by night, and with no radar, and no wireless in the aircraft either, it was extremely difficult for the Home Defence fighters to make contact with the enemy. The Gothas and Staakens were a lot more difficult to see at night, or to catch, than the Zeppelin airships used previously. In the circumstances, I don't think that having only one victory would be a reflection on the aircrew.
