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No. 12 Squadron was formed on 14 February 1915 at Netheravon from a nucleus provided by No. 1 SQN In April 1916, the Squadron moved to St Omer, France equipped with BE2Cs primarily in the long-range reconnaissance role.
By April 1918, No. 12 SQN had added night bombing and strafing to its repertoire. After the Armistice, the Squadron moved to Germany as of the Army of Occupation and by November 1919 was the sole operational squadron in
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Germany until July 1922 when it was disbanded.
The Squadron reformed in April 1923 with DH9As spending a short time at Northolt before moving to Andover where it became engaged in the development of bombing techniques.
In 1926, the Squadron became the sole operator of the Fairey Fox, an aircraft that outpaced many contemporary fighters and revolutionized bomber tactics. |
In 1935, the Squadron moved to Abyssinia with Harts before returning home in 1936 and re-equipping with Hinds. At the start of World War II, No. 12 SQN departed for France as part of the Advanced Air Striking Force equipped with Battles.
In May 1940, Fg Off Garner and Sgt. Gray, his observer, led a flight of aircraft in an attack on a vital bridge over the Albert Canal. All of the aircraft were shot down by fierce enemy ground fire, but one the end of the bridge was destroyed and both Garland and Gray were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the first of the War.
After the British withdrawal from France in June 1940, the Squadron began night attacks on enemy shipping and re-equipped with Wellington's Two years later, Lancaster's were taken on strength and these lasted until August 1946, when Lincoln's replaced them.
During 1952, No. 12 SQN received Canberra jet-bombers, and these were used in support of Operations Firedog (Malaya) and Musketeer (Suez). In July 1961, the Squadron was disbanded but reformed a year later at Coningsby with Vulcan's, but the Squadron once again disbanded in late 1967 before reforming again in October 1969 with Buccaneers. After a period of relative stability, No. 12 moved to Lossiemouth from Honington in 1980, and continued with Buccaneers until 1993 when Tornado GR1Bs replaced them. During December 1998, the Squadron took part in Operation Desert Fox, the four-day air campaign against Iraq. |
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Tornado GR1B in 12 Squadron markings
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Buccaneer SB2 in 12 Squadron markings
Copyright © 2002, DeltaWeb International Ltd
http://www.raf.mod.uk/raflossiemouth/sqn/pages/12his.htm |
The first operational flights consisted of daily photographic reconnaissance patrols along the lines, but these were discontinued at the end of September and the Squadron began intensive flying training in co-operation with L'Armee de L'Air. The bad winter soon cut this down, however and, apart from a practice camp at Perpignan in the South of France in January, little was done until the end of March 1940.
The invasion of France and the Low Countries dealt a devastating blow to the Allies and to12 Squadron in particular. When they took part in the first attack on the German forces, on 10 May 1940, 3 out of the 4 aircraft taking part in the raid were lost. Worse followed on 12 May, when, with the German forces threatening to breakout, the order went out to destroy the Maastricht bridges. Despite the amount of AAA known to be in place at the bridges, the whole Squadron volunteered for the mission. Of the 6 crews chosen for the raid, one had to turn back early due to technical problems and the remaining 5 were all lost. Flying Officer Thomas led Pilot Officer Davy in the attack on the Vroenhaven bridge, damaging but not destroying it. Thomas was taken prisoner and Davy crashed on the way home. Flying Officer Garland led Pilot Officer McIntosh and Sergeant Morland against the Veldwezelt bridge, which was destroyed. McIntosh's aircraft was shot down and he was taken prisoner. Flying officer Garland and Sergeant Morland were shot down near the target. Both crews died in the attack. Flying Officer Garland and his observer Sergeant Gray were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the first Royal Air Force personnel in the Second World War to receive such an honour. The third member of the crew, Leading Aircraftsman L R Reynolds, a wireless operator/air gunner, received no award. |
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A third disastrous raid on 14 May saw another 5 out of 6 aircraft lost, and the withdrawal of the Battle squadrons from the daytime war. The Squadron moved to Echimines, where a few night raids were flown, with mixed success. The squadron was now suffering from a lack of crews and aircraft, and in June 1940 returned to the United Kingdom, to Finningley in Yorkshire.
After a variety of short deployments within the United Kingdom, Binbrook, Thorney Island, Eastchurch and again Binbrook, the Squadron finally settled in Royal Air Force Binbrook in Lincolnshire, during this time, carrying out night operations against Channel ports. In October 1940, 12 Squadron was re-equipped with the Vickers Wellington Mk II and spent the winter training for night bomber attacks. The 10 April 1941 saw the first raid, against Emden, the beginning of sustained operations against German industrial targets. The Squadron, now a part of No 1 Group, flew on a variety of missions from attacks on the great capital ships Gniesenau, Scharnhorst and Prinz Eugen, to raids on Berlin. In November 1941 the Squadron's operations record headed the list for all of 1 Group, and a year later 12(B) Squadron took part in the first 1000-bomber raid where it mustered an impressive 28 aircraft. |
Wellington II, W5379 0-Orange
 After being equipped with the Vickers Wellington Mk III, the Squadron moved to Wickenby in September 1942, which it shared with No 626 Squadron. The Squadron's association with Wickenby and 626 Squadron was to continue after the war with the formation of the Wickenby Association for the benefit of past and present members of both Squadrons.
The introduction of the Avro Lancaster in November 1942 allowed the Squadron to carry a larger bomb load to distant targets, including industrial areas in Italy. By the time the Battle of the Rhur had developed, the Squadron's crews had the full benefit of the latest navigation aids and their attacks on Hamburg and Berlin were devastating
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A 12 Sqn Lancaster over a target in Germany. 
After the summer of 1944, in which they attacked flying bomb sites, provided close support for the Army, attacked German naval targets and carried out mine laying operations, 12 Squadron maintained a constant pounding of targets, such as Karstrke, Essen, Borun, Coblenz and Cologne. The cost in men and machines was high, for instance, in the period March to August 1944 the Squadron lost 40 aircraft. Winter slowed down operations, but they were resumed in 1945, until 25 April, when the Squadron flew its last sortie of the war, paying an unannounced visit to Hitler's hide out at Bertesgarten.
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