No. 7 Squadron was formed at Farnborough Airfield on 1 May 1914 as the last squadron of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) to be formed before the First World War,[3] but has been disbanded and reformed several times since, the first being after only three months of existence,[4] the latter as early as 28 September 1914.[5] The squadron spent most of the First World War in observation and interception roles and was responsible for the first ever interception of an enemy aircraft over Britain.[6]
No 7 Squadron deployed to France in April 1915, flying Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5s for reconnaissance and Vickers Gunbuses as escort fighters. Captain John Aidan Liddell of 7 Squadron won the Victoria Cross for his actions on 31 July 1915, when he continued his reconnaissance mission over Belgium after the aircraft was hit by ground fire, the aircraft being badly damaged and Liddell suffering a broken thigh. Although he successfully recovered the R.E.5 to allied lines, saving his observer, he died of his wounds a month later.[7][8]
The squadron re-equipped with B.E.2s in 1916,[7] which it used for both bombing and reconnaissance during the Battle of the Somme that year.[9] The B.E.2s were replaced by R.E.8s in July 1917, continuing in the reconnaissance role for the rest of the war, operating in Ypres during the Battle of Passchendaele in the summer and autumn of 1917 and in support of Belgium forces in the closing months of the war. It disbanded at the end of 1919.[7][10]
The squadron gained a reputation as being one of the leading RAF heavy bomber squadrons, winning the Lawrence Minot Memorial Bombing Trophy six times between 1927 and 1933 and shared in 1934 with 54 Squadron, achieving an average bombing error of 40 yards (37 m).[15] By this time, the elderly Virginia was obsolete and in April 1935 they were replaced by the more modern Handley Page Heyford, with which the squadron won the Lawrence Minot trophy yet again in 1935. Part of the squadron was split off in October 1935 to form No. 102 Squadron, while the remainder moved to RAF Finningley in September 1936. In April 1937 the squadron received four Vickers Wellesleys to equip a flight which was again split off to form 76 Squadron.[11][16]
On the outbreak of the Second World War, it continued to be used for training bomber crews, disbanding on 4 April 1940 when it merged with 76 Squadron to form No. 16 OTU.[17] On 1 August 1940 it reformed, becoming the first squadron to equip with the new Short Stirling heavy bomber, the first RAF squadron to operate four engined bombers during the Second World War, flying the first bombing raids with the Stirling against oil storage tanks near Rotterdam on the night of 10/11 February 1941.[7][19] It flew on the 1000 bomber raids to Cologne, Essen and Bremen in May and June 1942.[11] It was transferred to the Pathfinder Force in August 1942, with the job of finding and marking targets for the Main Force of Bomber Command bombers.[7]
The squadron re-equipped with the Avro Lancaster from 11 May 1943,[20] flying its first mission with the Lancaster on 12 July 1943.[21] It continued in the Pathfinder role until the end of the war in Europe. It flew its last bomber mission on 25 April 1945 against Wangerooge, and dropped food to starving civilians in the Netherlands in May. While it was planned to fly 7 Squadron out to the Far East to join Tiger Force for air attacks against Japan, the war ended before the squadron was due to move.[22] The squadron carried out 5,060 operational sorties with the loss of 165 aircraft.[23]
Post-war
After World War II it was equipped with Avro Lincoln bombers, an update of the Lancaster. Based at RAF Upwood, the Lincoln was for several years the front line Cold War bomber aircraft. It was used in the Malayan emergency, the Middle East, the Trucial States (the Emirates) and then Aden. The squadron disbanded on 2 January 1956 before reforming with the Vickers Valiant at RAF Honington in Suffolk in December that year, flying them in the Strategic Bomber role until disbanding in 1962.[7] 7 Squadron was eventually reformed in 1970, this time as a target squadron flying the English Electric Canberra until January 1982.[24]
The squadron reformed in the Support Helicopter role, receiving Chinooks HC.1s in September 1982.[25] The Chinook HC.2, equivalent to the US Army CH-47D standard, began to enter RAF service in 1993. Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, 7 Squadron took part in the UK's deployment to the Gulf in 1991.[26]
Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians), 1980. ISBN0-85130-083-9.
Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN0-85130-164-9.
Jefford, Wing Commander C.G. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing, 2001. ISBN1-84037-141-2.
Moyes, Philip J.R. Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1964 (new edition 1976). ISBN0-354-01027-1.
Rawlings, John D.R. Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. ISBN0-7106-0187-5.
Thetford, Owen. "By Day and By Night: Part Seven: Vickers Vimy Service History". Aeroplane Monthly, December 1992. London:IPC. ISSN 0143-7240. pp. 30–38.
Thetford, Owen. "By Day and By Night: Ginnies in Service :Part 1". Aeroplane Monthly, June 1993. London:IPC. ISSN 0143-7240. pp. 32–39.
Ward, Chris. Royal Air Force Bomber Command Squadron Profiles no. 1: 7 Squadron (Per Diem Per Noctem). Published by the author, no ISBN.
West, Flt Lt R.J. Nothing Heard After Take-off: A Short History of No. 7 Squadron Royal Air Force, 1914–1974. St Mawgan, Newquay, Cornwall, UK: The Lithoprint Company, 1974.
