No. 70 Squadron of the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 most recently operated the Lockheed Hercules

C-130 Hercules

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...

 from RAF Lyneham

RAF Lyneham

RAF Lyneham is a Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire, England. It was the home of all the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft of the Royal Air Force before they were relocated to RAF Brize Norton.The station was also home to No...

, Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

 until September 2010.

World War I

The squadron was formed on April 22, 1916 at Farnborough

Farnborough Airfield

Farnborough Airport or TAG London Farnborough Airport is an airport situated in Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England...

, and was equipped with the Sopwith 1½ Strutter

Sopwith 1½ Strutter

The Sopwith 1½ Strutter was a British one or two-seat biplane multi-role aircraft of the First World War. It is significant as the first British-designed two seater tractor fighter, and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronised machine gun...

. The squadron was posted to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and in 1917 re-equipped with Sopwith Camel

Sopwith Camel

The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...

s. The squadron briefly disbanded in January 1920, reforming nine days later at Heliopolis

Heliopolis (Cairo Suburb)

Modern Heliopolis is a district in Cairo, Egypt. The city was established in 1905 by the Heliopolis Oasis Company, headed by the Belgian industrialist Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Empain, as well as Boghos Nubar, son of the Egyptian Prime Minister Nubar Pasha.-History:The Baron Empain, a well known...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 via the renumbering of No. 58 Squadron

No. 58 Squadron RAF

No. 58 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force.- History :No. 58 Squadron was first formed at Cramlington, Northumberland, on 8 June 1916 as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps....

. The squadron was equipped with the Vickers Vimy

Vickers Vimy

The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft of the First World War and post-First World War era. It achieved success as both a military and civil aircraft, setting several notable records in long-distance flights in the interwar period, the most celebrated of which was the first non-stop...

 bomber.

During World War I, the squadron claimed 287 victories, and had as members nineteen aces, including
Frank Granger Quigley

Frank Granger Quigley

Frank Granger Quigley DSO, MC & Bar was a Canadian World War I flying ace who was credited with 33 victories. He was notable for scoring the majority of his victories against German fighter planes.-Early life and service:...

,
John Todd

John Todd (aviator)

Captain John Todd DFC, MC, OBE was a World War I flying ace credited with 18 aerial victories.He was a medical student at Edinburgh University before he signed up in the Royal Air Force....

,
Frank Hobson

Frank Hobson

Captain Frank Harold Hobson was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories.Hobson was born in West Bridgford, Nottingham on 8 October 1894. He originally served in the Royal Engineers, but transferred to the Royal Flying Corps. In September 1917, he scored his first victory while...

,
Oscar Heron

Oscar Heron

Captain Oscar Aloysius Patrick Heron was an Irish World War I flying ace credited with thirteen confirmed aerial victories.-World War I:Heron was assigned to 70 Squadron as a Sopwith Camel pilot in May 1918. On 30 June, he scored his first victories, driving down one Albatros D.V and setting...

,
Frank Gorringe

Frank Gorringe

Captain Frank Clifford Gorringe was a World War I flying ace credited with 14 aerial victories.Frank Clifford Gorringe was working as an express clerk when he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on 23 September 1914, a week shy of his 25th birthday. Frank J. Gorringe was listed as his next...

,
Walter M. Carlaw

Walter M. Carlaw

Captain Walter Macfarlane Carlaw DFC was a Scottish-born flying ace who served during World War I. He was credited with 12 confirmed aerial victories.-Early life:...

,
George Robert Howsam,
Clive Franklyn Collett

Clive Franklyn Collett

Captain Clive Franklyn Collett was a World War I flying ace from New Zealand credited with 12 aerial victories. He was the first British or Commonwealth military pilot to use a parachute, in a test.-Early life:...

,
Alfred Michael Koch

Alfred Michael Koch

Lieutenant Alfred Michael Koch was a Swiss-born Canadian flying ace credited with ten aerial victories.- Early life :Alfred Michael Koch was born on 25 February 1894 in Arosa, Graubünden, Switzerland. He moved to Canada at the age of four years. His father was John Koch...

,
Kenneth Bowman Watson

Kenneth Bowman Watson

Lieutenant Kenneth Bowman Watson was a Canadian World War I flying ace. He was credited with nine aerial victories. On 9 October 1918, he achieved the extraordinary feat of capturing two enemy airplanes during a dogfight.-Personal life:...

,
Noel Webb

Noel Webb (aviator)

Captain Noel William Ward Webb was an early World War I flying ace credited with 14 aerial victories. He was the first pilot to use the Sopwith Camel to claim an enemy plane...

,
Edward Gribben

Edward Gribben

Captain Edward Gribben was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.Gribben was commissioned in the Royal Irish Rifles on 4 August 1914. On 1 December, he was promoted to captain. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and was posted to 70 Squadron in early 1917. He flew a...

, and
Frederic Laurence

Frederic Laurence

Captain Frederic Hope Laurence was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.Laurence was a flight commander with 70 Squadron when he began his victory list. He was flying a newly arrived Sopwith Camel when he drove down a German two-seater on 28 July 1917 in a victory shared...

.

Inter-war Years

The squadron briefly disbanded in January 1920, reforming nine days later at Heliopolis

Heliopolis

-Placenames:*Heliopolis , the ancient city in Egypt*Heliopolis , a suburb in modern Cairo, Egypt* Heliopolis of Phoenicia, modern Baalbek, Lebanon...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, via the renumbering of No. 58 Squadron

58 Squadron

58 Squadron or 58th Squadron may refer to:* No. 58 Squadron RAF, a unit of the Royal Air Force* 58th Fighter Squadron, a unit of the United States Air Force* 58th Airlift Squadron , a unit of the United States Air Force...

. The squadron was now a bomber-transport unit operating the Vickers Vimy

Vickers Vimy

The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft of the First World War and post-First World War era. It achieved success as both a military and civil aircraft, setting several notable records in long-distance flights in the interwar period, the most celebrated of which was the first non-stop...

 bomber. After transferring to Hinaidi, Iraq in December 1921, the squadron was re-equipped with Vickers Vernon

Vickers Vernon

-See also:...

’s and subsequently by Vickers Victoria

Vickers Victoria

-See also:...

 in 1926. In addition to providing heavy transport facilities to both air and ground units they were used as air ambulances and were responsible for maintaining the Cairo-Baghdad airmail route.

In December 1928, a coup against the Amir of Afghanistan by Habibullah Kalakani supported by Ghilzai

Ghilzai

Ghilzai are the largest Pashtun tribal confederacy found in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They are also known historically as Ghilji, Khilji, Ghalji, Ghilzye, and possibly Gharzai...

 peoples led to the first large scale air evacuation, the Kabul Airlift

Kabul Airlift

The Kabul Airlift was an air evacuation of British and a number of European diplomatic staff and their families conducted by the Royal Air Force from Kabul between December 1928 and February 1929.-Background and the Afghan civil war:...

. Over two months Victoria troop-carriers of 70 squadron played central role in the airlift of 586 British and European officials and civilians flying over mountains at a height of up to 10,000ft (3,048m) often in severe weather.

The Valentia replaced the Victorias in November 1934 and in August 1939, 70 squadron returned to Egypt.

World War II

After Italy entered the war the squadron converted to Wellingtons

Vickers Wellington

The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...

, and on 18 September it began operations over the Western Desert, with targets ranging from shipping and airfields to road convoys and supply dumps

In 1940 A detachment was sent to Tatoi, in support of Allied forces defending Greece and in 1941 the squadron was involved in the campaign to conquer Vichy

Vichy

Vichy is a commune in the department of Allier in Auvergne in central France. It belongs to the historic province of Bourbonnais.It is known as a spa and resort town and was the de facto capital of Vichy France during the World War II Nazi German occupation from 1940 to 1944.The town's inhabitants...

-occupied Syria and the Rashid Ali rebellion in Iraq
.
70 Squadron relocated frequently in support of the 8th Army’s westward advance , first into Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

 then Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

. In November 1943 it relocated to Djedeida

Djedeida

Djedeida is a town and commune in the Manouba Governorate, Tunisia. As of 2004 it had a population of 40,327.-References:...

 20 miles west of Tunis

Tunis

Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

 putting industrial targets in the North of Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, within easy reach.

Between December 1943 and October 1945 the squadron relocated to Foggia

Foggia

Foggia is a city and comune of Apulia, Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the "granary of Italy".-History:...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 where the Wellington's were replaced by the long range Liberators. The squadron was already active over the Balkans, but the Liberator gave it the range to drop mines in the Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

, as well as to continue bombing targets in northern Italy, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 and Southern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

Post World War II

The squadron disbanded in April 1947 and was reformed in May 1948, at Kabrit, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 when No. 215 Squadron

No. 215 Squadron RAF

No. 215 Squadron was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron formed as a night bomber squadron in World War I and again in World War II, becoming a transport squadron near the end of the Second World War.-History:...

 was renumbered No. 70 Squadron. The squadron was equipped with Dakotas until 1950, when it re-equipped with Valettas

Vickers Valetta

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1....

. In 1955, the squadron moved to Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 and re-equipped with the Hastings

Handley Page Hastings

The Handley Page H.P.67 Hastings was a British troop-carrier and freight transport aircraft designed and built by Handley Page Aircraft Company for the Royal Air Force...

. After a brief period operating Argosys

Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy

The Armstrong Whitworth Argosy was a British post-war military transport/cargo aircraft and was the last aircraft produced by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft...

, the squadron began conversion to the Hercules

C-130 Hercules

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...

 in 1970, and moved to RAF Lyneham

RAF Lyneham

RAF Lyneham is a Royal Air Force station in Wiltshire, England. It was the home of all the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft of the Royal Air Force before they were relocated to RAF Brize Norton.The station was also home to No...

 in 1975, after 55 years overseas. After 35 years of operating the Hercules C1/C3 from Lyneham, the squadron disbanded in September 2010. It is expected to reform in 2014 as the first RAF Airbus A400M

Airbus A400M

The Airbus A400M, also known as the Atlas, is a multi-national four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities. The aircraft's maiden flight, originally planned for 2008, took place on 11 December 2009 in...

 squadron.

Battle Honours

Western Front 1916-1918, Somme 1916, Arras, Ypres 1917, Somme 1918, Kurdistan 1922-1924, Iraq 1918-1929, Kurdistan 1930-1931, Northern Kurdistan 1932, North West Frontier 1937, Mediterranean 1940-1943, Egypt and Libya 1940-1943, Greece 1940-1941, Syria 1941, Iraq 1941, El Alamein, North Africa 1942-194, El Hamma, Sicily 1943, Italy 1943-1945, Salerno, Anzio and Nettuno, Gustav Line, Gothic Line, South East Europe 1944-1945, South Atlantic 1982, Gulf 1991.

Aircraft operated

Dates	Aircraft	Variant	Notes
1916–1917	Sopwith 1½ Strutter Sopwith 1½ Strutter The Sopwith 1½ Strutter was a British one or two-seat biplane multi-role aircraft of the First World War. It is significant as the first British-designed two seater tractor fighter, and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronised machine gun...		Single-engined biplane fighter
1917–1919	Sopwith Camel Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...		Single-engined biplane fighter
1919	Sopwith Snipe Sopwith Snipe The Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe was a British single-seat biplane fighter of the Royal Air Force . It was designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War, and came into squadron service a few weeks before the end of that conflict, in late 1918.The Snipe was not a fast aircraft...		Single-engined biplane fighter
1920	Handley Page 0/400		Twin-engined biplane bomber
1920–1922	Vickers Vimy Vickers Vimy The Vickers Vimy was a British heavy bomber aircraft of the First World War and post-First World War era. It achieved success as both a military and civil aircraft, setting several notable records in long-distance flights in the interwar period, the most celebrated of which was the first non-stop...		Twin-engined biplane bomber
1922–1926	Vickers Vernon Vickers Vernon -See also:...		Twin-engined biplane transport
1924-1926 1926-1934 1928-1934 1930-1935 1931-1935	Vickers Victoria Vickers Victoria -See also:...	I III IV V V	Twin-engined biplane transport
1935–1940	Vickers Valentia		Twin-engined biplane transport
1940-1943 1943-1945	Vickers Wellington Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...	III X	Twin-engined medium bomber
1945–1946	Consolidated Liberator B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...	VI	Four-engined bomber
1946–1947	Avro Lancaster Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...	B1(FE)	Four-engined bomber
1948–1950	Douglas Dakota C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...		Twin-engined transport
1950–1956	Vickers Valetta Vickers Valetta |-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1....	C1	Twin-engined transport
1956–1968	Handley Page Hastings Handley Page Hastings The Handley Page H.P.67 Hastings was a British troop-carrier and freight transport aircraft designed and built by Handley Page Aircraft Company for the Royal Air Force...	C1 and C2	Four-engined transport
1967–1975	Armstrong Whitworth Argosy Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy The Armstrong Whitworth Argosy was a British post-war military transport/cargo aircraft and was the last aircraft produced by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft...	C1	Four-engined transport
1970–1980	Lockheed Hercules C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...	C1	Four-engined transport
1980–2010	Lockeed Hercules	C3	Four-engined transport

External links

• "70 Squadron". Royal Air Force.
• http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn066-70.htm