96 Squadron Association
Royal Air Force
A brief history of 96 Squadron
World War 1. 96 Squadron was formed at South Carlton, near Lincoln, on 28th September 1917. It was a training unit. It received aircrew from training schools and taught them operational techniques before they were posted to France. It was therefore never operational itself but played a very important part in the war effort. It was disbanded on 4th July 1918. It was reformed again at Wyton on 28th September 1918 to teach ground attack and trench strafing roles with the newly introduced Sopwith Salamander. With the armistice being signed in November it was disbanded again by the end of the month. World War 2. There was a need for more RAF night fighters during the night blitz in summer 1940. To this end No. 422 Flight was formed at Shoreham on 14th October. The Flight later moved to Cranage, near Crewe, on 18th December and was reformed as 96 Squadron. It was responsible for the night defence of Liverpool and the surrounding area, and flew Hurricane I's. In February 1941 the Squadron received Defiant I's to partially replace the Hurricanes, but they flew side by side in action. In May the Squadron was using Honiley as a base for patrols. In October the Squadron moved to Wrexham, which had better runway facilities. In February 1942 the Squadron was re-equipped with Defiant II, these were fitted with the MkIII A1 Radar. In May the Squadron received the new Beaufighter II's and conversion to these rapidly took place. The 30th May saw the last Defiant sortie and the gunners were replaced on the Beaufighters by navigators. In June, A Flight moved to Honiley, to be joined by the rest of the Squadron in October, by November they were equipped with MkVI Beaufighters. In April 1943, 4 crews operated from Ford in Sussex and flew successful operational sorties over France. It was at this time the Squadron Badge was approved by the King and the College of Heralds. |
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A lion passant facing to the sinister, charged with ten stars representing the constellation of Leo. Motto:
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The Squadron moved to Church Fenton on 4th August and later moved to Drem on 9th September to re-equip with the Mosquito NF XII. The Squadron then moved to West Malling on 8th November and was now equipped with the Mosquito NFXIII and was very successful, it claimed 20 enemy aircraft destroyed. In 1944 the Squadron covered the Allied invasion Forces crossing to France and later was countering the V.1 flying bomb attacks with some success, and during June was credited with 49 kills. On the 20th June the Squadron moved to Ford and by the 17th July had destroyed 88 V.1's. In late September, with the V.1 effort reduced, the Squadron moved to Odiham and with the reduction in night attacks 96 Squadron was disbanded on 12th December 1944. In its time as a night fighter squadron it had claimed 27 enemy aircraft and 180 V.1 Flying Bombs. The Squadron was reformed eighteen days later on 30th December in Transport Command at Leconfield equipped with Halifax III's. Crews were posted in. The aircraft were modified for troop-lift and casualty evacuation with the idea of flying troops to India and casualties home, but within a few weeks plans changed and the aircraft finished up in storage units, whilst the aircrew moved to Cairo in March 1945 and received the Dakota. The ground crew moved to India and the whole Squadron re-assembled at Bilsapur on 1st May. Following the Japanese surrender the Squadron moved to Hmawbi, Burma. In April 1946 the Squadron moved to Kai Tak, Hong Kong and was disbanded yet again in June and renumbered 110 Squadron. Post War. In the 1950's the RAF expanded considerably in Germany. This led to 96 Squadron being reformed at Ahlhorn in October 1952, where with 256 Squadron it formed 125 Wing. The Squadron was equipped with Meteor NF11 with the A1 Mk10 radar equipment. It's task was the night defence of the British Zone. Most activities, however, were routine practice interceptions. The Squadron continued it's duties and moved to Geilenkerchen in February 1958, where it prepared to re-equip with Javelin FAW.4 and was finally disbanded on 21st January 1959 on being renumbered 3 Squadron. |
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Meteor NF11. "T" WM158
A hobby model crafted by Dave Sanderson
96 Squadron Association. The Association was formed on 16th October 1999. Earlier in the year a few old pals made contact and eventually tracked down 37 ex members. Not all of these joined the Association, but 19 gathered for the first reunion at Honiley and the Association was formed. Currently over 100 ex members have been traced, all ranks, all trades, mainly from Ahlhorn but also from the days at Cranage and whilst in Transport Command. The membership currently stands at 78. Newsletters are sent, telephone calls are made, photos swapped and the annual reunion arranged. If you require further details on the History or the Association please contact:
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