The World Wars (1917–1945) No. 44 Squadron was formed on 24 July 1917 as a Home Defence unit forming part of the
London Air Defence Area. The squadron, based at Hainault Farm, Essex, pioneered the use of the
Sopwith Camel in
night fighter operations. By the end of the
First World War it was commanded by Arthur Harris, later known as
Bomber Harris. Disbanding on 31 December 1919, the squadron was reformed as a bomber squadron in March 1937 and equipped with
Hawker Hinds. Moving to
RAF Waddington later that year, it was equipped with
Bristol Blenheims before changing to
Handley Page Hampdens. During the war the squadron was subsequently based at
RAF Dunholme Lodge, near
Dunholme, then
RAF Spilsby at Great Steeping in
Lincolnshire. .
John Nettleton is sitting second from the left. At the outbreak of the
Second World War, as part of Bomber Harris'
No. 5 Group, the squadron was commanded by
John Boothman, winner of the
Schneider Trophy in September 1931. It was one of only two squadrons to operate continuously throughout the war. There were two squadron commanders who held the
Victoria Cross – Wing Commanders
Roderick Learoyd and
John Nettleton. In 1941, the squadron was renamed No. 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron in honour of that colony's contribution to Britain's war effort, and also to recognise that up to 25% of the ground and air crew were from
South Africa, including
John Nettleton who was born and raised there, and
Southern Rhodesia. The badge is based upon the seal of
Lo Bengula, the chief of the
Matabele on conquest. The seal shows an elephant which, in the case of this unit, is intended to indicate heavy attacks. No. 44 Squadron received its first
Avro Lancaster, in late 1941 and became the first squadron to convert completely to Lancasters, flying their first operational missions in the aircraft on 3 March 1942. Total sorties and losses for the war were: • Handley Page Hampden – 2,043 sorties (43 lost) • Avro Lancaster – 4,362 sorties (149 lost, plus 22 destroyed in crashes) The squadron suffered the third highest overall casualties of
RAF Bomber Command. In July 1945, the squadron exchanged places with
No. 75 Squadron in
RAF Mepal in
Cambridgeshire to prepare for transfer to
Tiger Force in the
Far East for the war on
Japan.
Cold War (1946–1982) After the war (from 1946–1947) the squadron was re-equipped with
Avro Lincolns, converting to the
Boeing Washington B.1 in 1951 and then the
English Electric Canberra during the
Suez Crisis before disbanding on 16 July 1957. , 1980. Reforming yet again at
RAF Waddington on 10 August 1960, as part of
RAF Bomber Command's
V bomber force maintaining the UK's strategic nuclear deterrent, the squadron was equipped with the
Avro Vulcan B.1 before upgrading to the Vulcan B.1A in January 1961. Both types were equipped with various free-fall nuclear weapons. These may have included
Blue Danube, the U.S.
Mark 5 nuclear bomb supplied under
Project E,
Red Beard,
Yellow Sun Mk.1, and certainly
Yellow Sun Mk.2. After the advent of effective Soviet
surface-to-air missiles forced Bomber Command to reassign
V bombers from high-altitude operations to low-level penetration operations, the squadron's Vulcans adopted a mission profile that included a 'pop-up' manoeuvre to 11,000 ft for safe release of Yellow Sun Mk. 2. The aircraft was then leveled off at about 10 miles or less from the target. In training this distance tended to creep until the aircraft would have been vulnerable to SAM. A new manoeuvre was developed by the research branch and the Bomber Command Development Unit. This required aircraft to home to a specific point at a distance from the target based on the mark of aircraft and its engines. In the case of No. 44 Squadron with the Vulcan B.1A, this point was some 21,000 yards from the target. The aircraft would then be set in a climb at a specified angle of about 12 degrees for the Mk1a. As the aircraft passed 10,500 feet the bomb would be released. This was crude dead reckoning, and the Mk 1 crews realized that the ballistic computer in the NBC could calculate a much more accurate release point. The crews determined to use the automatic computing. Occasionally in training the pull up was late and the release would occur at a much lower altitude. This risked either a weapon failure or suicide from an early burst. In January 1968 the squadron was re-equipped with eight Vulcan B2 aircraft and eight
WE.177B laydown bombs which improved aircraft survivability by enabling aircraft to remain at low-level during weapon release. Following the transfer of responsibility for the nuclear deterrent to Royal Navy submarines the squadron was reassigned to NATO's
Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) for tactical strike missions. when they saw action during the
Falklands War. No. 44 Squadron was then disbanded on 21 December 1982. ==Honours==