First World War No. 39 Squadron was founded at
Hounslow Heath Aerodrome on 15 April 1916 with
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s and
B.E.12s in an attempt to defend against German
Zeppelin raids on
London. Having moved to
RFC Suttons Farm, 39 Squadron achieved its first success on the night of 2/3 September 1916, when
Lieutenant William Leefe Robinson shot down the German Airship
Schütte-Lanz SL11, being awarded the
Victoria Cross for this action. On 23 September 1916, the German Navy launched another Zeppelin raid against London. Responding to this raid, 2nd Lieutenant
Frederick Sowrey of No. 39 Squadron shot down Zeppelin
L.32, while
Alfred Brandon in another No. 39 Squadron B.E.2 engaged Zeppelin
L.33, already damaged by anti-aircraft fire, with L.33 force landing at Little Wigborough, Essex, and being destroyed by its crew. On the night of 1/2 October 1916, 2nd Lieutenant
W. L. Tempest of 39 Squadron, flying a B.E.2c, spotted Zeppelin
L.31 illuminated by searchlights over southwest London and shot it down with the loss of the entire airship crew. The squadron continued in the defence of London, supplementing its B.E.2s and B.E.12s with three
Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s to help deal with daylight attacks by German Gotha bombers, with at least one
Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 also operated by the unit. The squadron re-equipped with
Bristol F.2 Fighters in September 1917, but had no more success against German raiders until the night of 19/20 May 1918, when a No. 39 Squadron Bristol Fighter shot down a Gotha bomber. In October 1918, it was re-equipped with
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b aircraft and sent to France for night bombing, but was disbanded five days after the
Armistice. In April 1940, the squadron was ordered back to India, arriving at
Lahore on 25 April, and then to strengthen defences in the Middle East, being ordered to reinforce
Aden, setting out on 5 May, with the air component reaching Aden on 13 May and the groundcrew arriving by ship on 10 June 1940. On that day, Italy declared war on Great Britain and France, and No. 39 Squadron was quickly committed to action against
Italian East Africa, carrying out its first combat mission of the war on 12 June when a force of Blenheims attacked
Dire Dawa airfield in
Ethiopia, causing little damage. The squadron continued operations against Italian forces until 24 November, when it was ordered to transfer to Egypt to support the planned offensive in the
Western Desert (
Operation Compass), with the first aircraft leaving Aden for
RAF Helwan on 29 November. A detachment of three Blenheims operated with
45 Squadron over the Western Desert from 10 December, flying harassment raids against Italian-held airfields, while the remainder of the Squadron remained at Helwan while it recovered from the operations in East Africa, and started to replace its Blenheim Is with Blenheim IVs. In January, the squadron was ordered to recall the three aircraft detachment and hand over the squadron's Blenheims to
11 Squadron, which was to deploy to Greece. To replace its Blenheim IVs, 39 Squadron received
Martin Maryland bombers, originally built for the French Air Force, becoming the first RAF squadron to operate the Maryland. Owing to the long-range of the Maryland, No. 39 Squadron used it mainly for reconnaissance. The squadron was in action during the
Battle of Crete, claiming at least two Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft shot down in its operations during the battle. at
RAF Luqa,
Malta, in June 1943. In August–September 1941, the squadron partly converted to the
Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber for anti-shipping operations, although it retained a flight of Marylands until January 1942. The Beauforts were armed with bombs but from January 1942 it added torpedo attack to its roles. On 23 January 1942, in the first torpedo bombing by the squadron, three Beauforts set out an airfield near
Benghazi against an Italian convoy carrying supplies to
Tripoli, Libya. They hit the troopship and ex-liner with two torpedoes. A third torpedo hit later that day by a
Fairey Albacore of
826 Naval Air Squadron caused
Victoria to sink. On 9 March 1942, eight 39 Squadron Beauforts carried out a strike against an Italian convoy running between North Africa and Italy. The squadron claimed that a destroyer had been sunk, with a cruiser and a merchant ship hit and damaged, but in fact no ships were hit. On 14 April, six 39 Squadron and two 22 Squadron Beauforts set out to attack an Italian convoy of four merchant ships escorted by five destroyers and a torpedo boat. The Beauforts came under very heavy air attack from German fighters as they attempted to attack the convoy, with five Beauforts shot down and two more badly damaged. While hits on two merchant ships and a destroyer were claimed, no damage was caused. From June 1942, the squadron began to operate regular detachments from Malta, as most targets were at the edge of the Beaufort's range when operating from Egypt. The first detachment of five Beauforts was commanded by
Squadron Leader Patrick Gibbs, and operated in conjunction with
217 Squadron, using tactics developed by Gibbs where the convoy would be attacked from both sides to spilt defensive fire, while fighters suppressed anti-aircraft fire. On 23 June, twelve Beauforts of 39 and 217 Squadron left
RAF Luqa to attack a convoy of two merchant ships escorted by two destroyers and three torpedo boats. Both merchant ships, the
Nino Bixio and
Maria Roselli, were hit and the convoy had to return to Taranto, while two Beauforts were shot down and a third crashed on landing. On 3 July, Gibbs led four Beauforts, escorted by five Beaufighters on an attack against a convoy of three merchant ships escorted by three destroyers off the Greek coast. One merchant ship (
Nino Bixio, which had been damaged on 23 June) was torpedoed and had to put into port for repairs, while two Beauforts were shot down. In August 1942, the remainder of the squadron's Beauforts were sent to Malta, joining with the original detachment from the squadron and Beauforts from
86 and 217 Squadrons to form a new 39 Squadron under the command of Gibbs. On 17 August, the squadron attacked a convoy west of
Lampedusa, hitting the cargo ship
Rosalino Pilo with two torpedoes (the ship was sunk by the submarine that night). On 21 August, the squadron torpedoed the tanker
Pozarica off
Paxos, with the badly damaged tanker beaching herself, on 28 August the squadron sank the tanker
Dielpi, and on 30 August sank the tanker
San Andrea. Losses of shipping severely restricted supplies reaching the
Afrika Korps, disrupting the
German offensive. In October 1942, the squadron moved back to Egypt, being based at
RAF Shallufa in the Suez Canal Zone, with forward deployments to
Gianaclis, near
Alexandria, from where it carried out attacks against the Axis convoy routes between
Crete and
Tobruk. On 2 November, six of the squadron's Beauforts attacked a convoy just outside Tobruk, sinking the Italian
auxiliary cruiser and damaging the , which made harbour but was sunk by USAAF bombers before the ship's cargo of fuel and ammunition could be unloaded. Early in November 1942, as Allied forces advanced after the
Second Battle of El Alamein, the squadron sent its Beauforts back to Malta to attack shipping to Tripoli and to intervene if the Italian Navy attempted to interfere with supply convoys to Malta or
Operation Torch, the Allied landing in French North-West Africa. While no action was needed against the Italian fleet, the squadron carried out day and night anti-shipping patrols, and minelaying operations against Axis-held ports. In December 1942, most of the squadron's aircraft returned to Africa, while retaining a detachment at Malta. On 14 January 1943, three Beauforts of 39 Squadron were carrying out an anti-submarine patrol south east of Malta when they spotted the Italian submarine , returning to Italy after a supply run to Tripoli and carrying 11 Allied
Prisoners of War, on the surface and attacked, badly damaging the submarine.
Narvalos commanding officer decided to scuttle the submarine, but while the crew were abandoning ship, the British destroyers and and opened fire. Thirty-seven men from
Narvalo were killed, including 8 prisoners, while 32 were rescued. On 20 January 1943, two 39 Squadron Beauforts attacked the Italian tanker
Saturno, which had been bombed earlier that day by American bombers and was under tow by the torpedo boat
Ardito, sinking
Saturno. On 21 January, the squadron's remaining Africa-based Beauforts and aircrew were sent to Malta to join up with the existing detachment. The squadron's ground staff remained at Shallufa and were loaned out to other units while remaining part of 39 Squadron. On the night of 23/24 January 1943, 39 Squadron Beauforts attacked a convoy of two freighters on passage from
Naples to
Bizerta. The freighter
Verona was torpedoed and sank the next day, while the other freighter in the convoy,
Pistoia, was torpedoed and sunk later the same night by
Wellingtons of
221 Squadron. In 1943 the unit re-equipped with
Bristol Beaufighter for ground attack and moved back to Egypt then on to Italy. In December 1944, it re-equipped with
Martin B-26 Marauders, flying medium bombing missions in support of
Tito's
Partisans. It re-equipped with
de Havilland Mosquitos in 1946, disbanding later in the year.
Cold War It reformed as a fighter squadron equipped with
Tempests at
Nairobi on 1 April 1948, disbanding on 28 February 1949 and reforming the next day at
RAF Fayid in
Egypt, flying
Mosquito NF Mk 36 night fighters. The squadron moved to nearby
RAF Kabrit on 21 February 1951. Tension between the British forces in the
Suez Canal Zone and the Egyptians, who wanted Britain out of Egypt, and following
anti-British riots in Cairo in January 1952, the squadron was readied to support a British attack on Cairo if the situation further deteriorated, until the Egyptian army intervened and stopped the rioting, easing tensions a little. It re-equipped with
Meteor NF.13 night fighters in March 1953, but following the
Egyptian revolution of 1952, the situation for the British gradually became untenable and in October 1954, the Anglo-Egyptian Agreement was signed, in which Britain agreed that its forces would leave Egypt by June 1956. As part of this agreement, 39 Squadron moved to
RAF Luqa in
Malta on 10 January 1955. The squadron moved to
RAF Akrotiri on
Cyprus in August 1956 as Britain and France prepared to invade the Egypt over the
Suez Crisis the nationalisation of the Suez Canal. On 31 October, the British and French launched
Operation Musketeer, air attacks against Egyptian targets, followed by landings on 6 November; 39 Squadron's role was to protect the vital airfields on Cyprus from any potential Egyptian retaliation. Pressure from the UN forced a ceasefire in Egypt and a withdrawal of the Anglo-French forces by the end of December, but the squadron remained in Cyprus after the British forces dispersed, flying patrols to deter aircraft that were suspected of dropping supplies to
EOKA forces fighting against the British rule of Cyprus. The main body of the squadron returned to Malta in March 1957, but a detachment was maintained on Cyprus. Tensions in
Lebanon (which culminated in the
Lebanon Crisis of July–October 1958) caused the squadron to move to Cyprus in May 1958, but it soon returned to Malta and disbanded on 30 June 1958. The squadron reformed the next day at RAF Luqa by renumbering
69 Squadron, flying reconnaissance
Canberra PR.3s for high-altitude reconnaissance and assigned to the NATO
Sixth Allied Tactical Air Force. It moved to
RAF Wyton in September 1970, disbanding on 1 June 1982. In December 1996, the squadron deployed to
Uganda to search for
Rwandan refugees in eastern
Zaire after the
Rwandan genocide. Between 1996 and 2001, 39 (1 PRU) Squadron deployed six times to Kenya and Zimbabwe to carry out photo-mapping. Between October 2001 and January 2002, the squadron deployed two Canberra PR.9s to
Seeb International Airport, Oman, from where it undertook sorties over Afghanistan as part of
Operation Veritas and
Operation Oracle. In 2003, the unit deployed to
Azraq Air Base, Jordan, in support of
Operation Telic. On 8 September 2003, Canberra PR.9
XH168 was written off after bursting its main landing gear tyres upon touching down at RAF Marham, with the crew suffering no injuries. In November 2003, two Canberra PR.9s departed to
RAF Mount Pleasant,
Falkland Islands, to carry out survey work. On 2 September 2004, Canberra T.4
WJ866 crashed at RAF Marham while carrying out a touch and go at night time, killing both pilots and injuring the navigator, this was the last operational Canberra loss for the RAF. No. 39 (1 PRU) Squadron carried out the last RAF flight of a Canberra T.4 (
WJ874) on 1 September 2005, marking an end to 45 years of service, flying over locations associated with the type such as RAF Wyton, former
RAF Bassingbourn and the former English Electric factory at
Samlesbury Aerodrome. In January 2006, 39 (1 PRU) Squadron deployed for the last time to Afghanistan in support of
Operation Herrick, with the two Canberra PR.9s arriving back to RAF Marham on 23 June 2006 – marking an end to operational service for the Canberra. The squadron disbanded on 28 July 2006 at RAF Marham, with the occasion marked by a flypast and parade. The last three Canberras (
XH131,
XH134 and
XH135) undertook their last flight from Marham to
Kemble Airfield, Gloucestershire, on 31 July 2006.
RPAS ZZ203 of No. 39 Squadron landing at
Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, 2010. In January 2004, a new unit, No. 1115 Flight, was formed at
Creech Air Force Base in
Nevada to operate the RAF's first
Remotely-piloted Air System (RPAS). Operating the
General Atomics MQ-1 Predator, the unit was embedded with the
United States Air Force as part of the Joint Predator Task Force. The RAF crews, integrated with
42nd Attack Squadron, began training on the
General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper in late 2006. The former No. 1115 Flight became 'A' Flight still operating the Predator, while 'B' Flight prepared to receive the Reaper. The squadron's first Reaper (
ZZ200) was delivered to Afghanistan in early October 2007, officially entering into RAF service on 31 October. On 23 January 2008, No. 39 Squadron was awarded a new squadron Standard. As of March 2009, the squadron operated 12 three-man teams to pilot its Reaper aircraft. Supporting intelligence specialists, Information Communications Technicians, signallers, and meteorologists bring the total number of squadron personnel to around 90. The squadron operated two aircraft but planned to have a total of six by the end of 2009. As of April 2011, five Reaper aircraft were in operation, with a further five on order and as of September 2016, the squadron had ten operational Reaper aircraft, with missions being undertaken in
Syria as part of
Operation Shader. No. 39 Squadron was awarded the
battle honour 'Afghanistan 2001–2014' (without the right to emblazon) by Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II on 24 March 2020 due to their participation in Operation Herrick. The squadron disbanded in July 2022, with a Reaper Ground Control System returning from Creech AFB to RAF Waddington for use by
No. 13 Squadron. No. 39 Squadron managed 90,000 hours of RPAS operations while based at Creech AFB. The last Officer Commanding No. 39 Squadron Group Captain Wigglesworth went on to become the Station Commander for RAF Marham, the former home of No. 39 Squadron, in September 2022. ==Aircraft operated==