Nous y serons - We shall be there

Though already formed at Catterick, as a day bomber unit on 8 October 1917, No. 107 Squadron was not equipped with aircraft until 15 May 1918 at RFC Lake Down, Salisbury, when it received Airco DH.9s, which it took to the Western Front on 3 June of that year. The squadron became at first part of the 13th wing of the 3rd brigade, working up to operational status. Thereafter it was transferred to the 51st wing of the 9th brigade and it began operations from Drionville. Its main targets were enemy airfields, base areas and communication lines, which it continued to attack until the Armistice. The squadron's most successful raid was made on Saponay on 21 July 1918, where a large ammunition dump was hit. From the squadron's airfield, 20 miles away at Chailly, the reflection of the explosions and fire could be seen going on all the evening and throughout the night. Another notable raid was that made on the Aulnoye railway station and junction on 1 October 1918. Returning to Hounslow Heath Aerodrome in March 1919, it disbanded there on 30 June 1919, No. 107 Squadron was reformed at RAF Andover on 10 August 1936 as a light bomber squadron, equipped with Hawker Hinds. These were replaced by Blenheim Mk.Is from August 1938 and on 4th September 1939, the squadron contributed four of these aircraft to the RAF's first air attack of World War 2 - the raid on the German warships near Wilhelmshaven. Only one of No 107's aircraft returned from this operation - and with its bomb load intact.1 No 107 Squadron, flying Blenheims, then Bostons and, finally, Mosquitos, subsequently took part in scores of raids, including such other notable ones as the mass low-level daylight raid on the Knapsack and Quadrath power stations near Cologne, on 12th August 1941; the great combined raid on Dieppe on 19th August 1942 (its task on this occasion was to bomb hostile shore batteries and thus reduce enemy opposition to the landing force); and the low-level daylight raid on the Philips radio and valve factory at Eindhoven on 6th December 1942. For a brief spell in 1941/42 the squadron operated from Malta, whilst in the closing stages of the European war (from November 1944, onwards) it operated from the Continent. In November 1945 No. 107 moved to Germany and formed part of the occupation forces until renumbered 11 Squadron on 4 October 1948. On 22 July 1959, C Flight of No. 77 Squadron was redesignated No. 107 Squadron at the Thor intermediate range ballistic base at Tuddenham. On 10 July 1963 the Squadron was disbanded.

No.107 Sqn Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Aviation Art

Overture to Overlord by David Pentland 5 editions. One edition features an additional signature. £2.50 - £500.00

Dangerous Duty by Stan Stokes. 3 editions. 2 of the 3 editions feature an additional signature. £35.00 - £120.00

The First Blow by Gerald Coulson. This single edition is sold out. The edition features an additional signature.

Text for the above items :

Overture to Overlord by David Pentland RAF De Havilland Mosquito FbIVs of 107 Squadron, 2nd Tactical Airforce on a night bombing mission of the French Railways, as part of the allied preparations for D-Day.

Dangerous Duty by Stan Stokes. Some of those most dangerous missions of WW II were the low level shipping attacks by Bristol Blenheims carried out against Axis shipping. These missions were important in the early stages of the War in the Mediterranean in terms of disrupting supply lines to Rommels troops fighting in North Africa. It was not uncommon for the RAF to lose 10-30% of the aircraft it sent on such missions. One of the most successful of the RAFs Blenheim pilots was Sir Ivor Broom, who rose from the rank of Sergeant Pilot, completing three combat tours, including thirty-one low level attacks while based on the island of Malta. With all the officer pilots in his squadron either killed or missing in action, Broom received his commission. Allied interdiction efforts had become so successful that in October and November of 1941 only 25% of the supplies destined to supply Rommels armies in North Africa were getting through. The Germans decided to reroute their supply ships, opting for taking a longer route, but one which made Allied attacks much less likely. The Blenheimss of Brooms 107 Squadron had sufficient range to reach shipping targets off the Greek coast, but this necessitated a long over water flight and precise navigation. Brooms 43rd combat mission involved the attack on German ships at anchor in the harbor at Argostoli which was on the island of Cephalonia off the west coast of Greece. The ships there were forming a convoy which would make the dash to Benghazi. Six Blenheims from 107 and 18 Squadrons took part in the raid. With Broom in the lead the six attackers avoided the heavily armed coastal defenses by approaching the harbor from an inland direction. This required some highly skilled low level flying as they followed a road through a saddle in the hills. With the advantage of surprise on their side the six attackers swept down on the ships at anchor in the harbor at mast height. After releasing their bomb load the group executed a sharp turn to starboard and a fast climb up and over the hills to the west of the harbor. A-A fire greeted the Blenheims as they made their escape, and two of the six aircraft fell victim. This attack on December 13, 1941 is depicted in Stan Stokes painting appropriately entitled Dangerous Duty. The Bristol Blenheim, the most plentiful aircraft in the RAFs inventory when WW II began, was designed by Frank Barnwell, and when first flown in 1936 was unique with its all metal monoplane design incorporating a retractable undercarriage, wing flaps, metal props, and supercharged engines. A typical bomb load for a Blenheim was 1,000 pounds. In the early stages of the war Blenheims were used on many daylight bombing missions. While great heroism was displayed by the air crews, tremendous losses were sustained during these missions. The Blenhiem was easy pickings at altitude for German Bf-109 fighters who quickly learned to attack from below. To protect the vulnerable bellies of the Blenheims many missions were shifted to low altitude, but this increased the aircrafts exposure to anti-aircraft fire.

The First Blow by Gerald Coulson. Published to mark the 50th anniversary of the first RAF bombing raid of the second world war, on the 4th of September 1939 by the Blenheims of 107, 110 and 139 squadrons.

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View No.107 Sqn RAF Aircraft

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