Recent Articles

No. 9 Squadron RAF

No. IX Squadron
image caption
Information
Role	Strike / Attack
Aircraft Operated	Tornado GR4
Home Station	RAF Marham
Motto	"Per noctum volamus (We fly by night)"
History
Date Founded	8 December 1914
Badge	A Bat
Notable Battle Honours

No. 9 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was the first in the service to receive the Panavia Tornado, which it now operates from RAF Marham, Norfolk.

History

No. 9 Squadron was formed and disbaned twice during the First World War. The first incarnation was formed in France from a detachement of the RFC HQ; this lasted less than a year. Re-formed at Brooklands a few weeks later as a fighter squadron, No 9 was equipped with an assortment of different types; it was disbanded again after the war, in 1919.

The squadrons life as a bomber unit began on 1 April 1924, reforming at Upavon, later Manston, with the Vickers Vimy. Less than a year later, the sqn re-equipped with Virginia heavy bomber, which it retained until this was replaced by the Heyford in 1936. World War II began with the unit flying Vickers Wellington bombers out of RAF Honington; the Wellingtno gave way to the Avro Lancaster, with which the unit would complete it's most famous sorties.

The Battleship Tirpitz had been moved into a fjord in Northern Norway where she threatened the Arctic convoys and was too far north to be attacked by air from the UK. She had already been damaged by a Royal Navy midget submarine attack and a second attack from carrier born aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm. But both attacks had failed to sink her. The task was given to No. 9 and No.617 Squadrons who operating from a base in Russia attacked the Tirpitz with Tallboy bombs which damaged her so extensively that she was forced to head south to Tromsö fjord to be repaird. This fjord was in range of bombers operating from Scotland. There in October from a base in Scotland she was attacked again. Finally on November 12, 1944, the two squadrons attacked the Tirpitz and she capsized. All three RAF attacks on the Tirpitz were led by Wing Commander JB "Willy" Tait, who had succeeded Wing Commander Cheshire as CO of No. 617 Squadron in July 1944.