No. CCVII Squadron RAF

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No. CCVII or 207 (Reserve) Squadron of the Royal Air Force is currently based at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in Yorkshire.

[edit] History

No 7 Squadron RNAS was formed from "B Squadron" of "No 4 Wing" RNAS on 31 December 1916.

RAF Spilsby bomber airfield, designed for Lancaster bombers was built near Spilsby, just two miles south west of its originally planned location at Gunby, during 1942 to 1943 and opened for action on 20 September 1943 as an overflow satellite airfield to RAF East Kirkby in 5 (Bomber) Group RAF. The first operational squadron to be based at Spilsby was No 207 squadron RAF who moved from RAF Langar on 12 October 1943. The squadron bombed Hanover in Germany six days later on 18 October and the following week the station was upgraded from satellite status to a full station in its own right. ^[1]

In 1944 a Spilsby based 207 Squadron airman, Flight Lieutenant Denys Street was one of the real escapees from the German prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III and was one of the fifty executed by the Gestapo in the aftermath of the mass escape that was later filmed as The Great Escape. During the war the Lancasters of 207 Squadron flew over 6,000 individual sorties during 540 operational missions, by both day and night with the loss of 154 seven man crews killed or missing, with at least another 9 aircraft lost on non-operational training or ferry flights.

After flying from Spilsby for the remainder of the war the squadron was scheduled to form part of the Tiger Force against Imperial Japan. With the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Tiger Force plans were dropped and in November 1945 No 207 Squadron relocated to RAF Methwold.

[edit] References

^ RAF Spilsby history

Bibliography

Hamlin, John F. Always Prepared - The History of 207 Squadron RAF. Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1999. ISBN 0-85130-285-8.