|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No.7 Sqn RAF
Founded : 1st May 1914
Country : UK
Fate :
Known Aircraft Codes : MG, LT, XU
Per diem per noctem - By day and by night
No.7 Squadron was formed 1st May 1914 at Farnborough as a Scout squadron, and went to France April 1915, equipped with the Vickers Gunbus. No.7 squadron saw service through the war with BE2c, RE5 and RE8 aircraft. The squadron pioneered the use of R/T (instead of normal W/T), using it operationally for the first time in October 1918. Disbanded at Farnborough on 31st December 1919 it reformed at Bircham Newton on 1st June 1923 equipped with Vickers Vimy bombers. These were replaced by the Vickers Virginia after moving to Worthy Down in April 1927. Between the wars No.7 squadron was equipped with various aircraft including the Handley Page Heyfords, Vickers Wellesleys and Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys and became the leading bomber squadron, winning the Laurence Minot Memorial Bombing Trophy more than any other squadron. At the outbreak of World War II, the squadron was equipped with Handley Page Hampdens, until August 1940, when it equipped with the RAF's first four engined bomber, the Short Stirling Mk I - becoming the first RAF squadron to be equipped with four engined bombers. The first raid by No.7 was 10th February 1941 on Rotterdam. The squadron settled down to a night bombing role, adding mine laying to its duties in 1942. Later with four other squadrons, it formed the nucleus of the new Pathfinder Force, its task to find and accurately mark targets with flares. In May 1943, the Stirling (which was handicapped by a low operational ceiling - it had to fly through flak rather than over it) was gradually replaced by the Avro Lancaster, which No.7 used in Peenemunde in August. From June1944 and until the end of the war, the squadron also undertook a daylight operational role in support of land forces in France and the low countries, and against V-1 and V-2 sites. No.7 squadron flew to Singapore in January 1947, and converted to Avro Lincolns, seeing action against Communist terrorists in Malay, during 'Operation Firedog'. Returning to UK, having won the Laurence Minot Memorial Bombing Trophy outright for the eighth time it was disbanded 1st January 1956. Reforming in November of the same year with the Vickers Valiant 'V' bomber. Disbanded on 30th September 1962, it was reformed in May 1970 at RAF St. Mawgan on target provision duties. Equipped with the English Electric Canberra, the squadron provided targets for the Army and Navy anti aircraft guns. They also provided silent targets for radar station practice. On 12th December 1981 the squadron was again disbanded, reforming soon after as the second operational Boeing Vertol Chinook helicopter Squadron on 2nd September 1982.
No.7 Sqn RAF
No.7 Sqn RAF Artwork Collection |
  Short Stirling MkI R9257 MG - C. by M A Kinnear. |   Avro Lancaster Mk III ND845 MG-C. by M A Kinnear. |   Clipped Signature - Graham Blacklock. |
  The Winged Dagger by Simon Smith. |   Chinook over the Sperrins by David Pentland. |   Operation Barras, 10th September 2000 by David Rowlands. |
  Teamwork by Stuart Brown. |   Stirlings Ready by Keith Woodcock. |  By Day, By Night by Michael Rondot. |
  Mobility Troop Re-Supply by Stuart Brown. |
| Aces for : No.7 Sqn RAF | ||
| A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking the pilots name. | ||
| Name | Victories | Info |
| F W Higginson | 15.00 | The signature of F W Higginson features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| No.7 Sqn RAF Aircraft details |
 Canberra Manufacturer : English Electric | Canberra The English Electric Canberra first flew on Friday 13 May 1949 when its performance created a sensation. Such was the quality of the original design that in May 1951, when the first B2 Canberras entered service with No 101 Squadron at RAF Binbrook they could out manoeuvre all the fighters of the period and fly with impunity more than 10,000 feet above them. Operated by 17 airforces in more than 20 different variants, Canberras have been to war at Suez and in India, in Vietnam and the Falklands campaign, and in 1996 Canberra PR9s were engaged in operational reconnaissance flights over Bosnia and in other regions. It is widely and justifiably regarded as one of the greatest aircraft designs of all time. |
 Lancaster Manufacturer : Avro Built : 7377 | Lancaster The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four engines. The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started operations in March 1942. By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56 squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being No.44 Squadron. During World War Two the Avro Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Lancaster Bomberss took part in the devastating round-the-clock raids on Hamburg during Air Marshall Harris' "Operation Gomorrah" in July 1943. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and the Lancaster was scrapped after the war in 1947. A few Lancasters were converted into tankers and the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The operation was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship. The Lancaster bomber was the basis of the new Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. (Becoming Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively.) Their Lancastrian airliner was also based on the Lancaster but was not very successful. Other developments were the Avro York and the successful Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992. |
 Mosquito Manufacturer : De Havilland Built : 7781 | Mosquito Used as a night fighter, fighter bomber, bomber and Photo-reconnaissance, with a crew of two, Maximum speed was 425 mph, at 30,300 feet, 380mph at 17,000ft. and a ceiling of 36,000feet, maximum range 3,500 miles. the Mosquito was armed with four 20mm Hospano cannon in belly and four .303 inch browning machine guns in nose. Coastal strike aircraft had eight 3-inch Rockets under the wings, and one 57mm shell gun in belly. The Mossie at it was known made its first flight on 25th November 1940, and the mosquito made its first operational flight for the Royal Air Force as a reconnaissance unit based at Benson. In early 1942, a modified version (mark II) operated as a night fighter with 157 and 23 squadron's. In April 1943 the first De Haviland Mosquito saw service in the Far east and in 1944 The Mosquito was used at Coastal Command in its strike wings. Bomber Commands offensive against Germany saw many Mosquitos, used as photo Reconnaissance aircraft, Fighter Escorts, and Path Finders. The Mosquito stayed in service with the Royal Air Force until 1955. and a total of 7781 mosquito's were built. |
 Spitfire Manufacturer : Supermarine Built : 20351 | Spitfire Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954. |
 Stirling Manufacturer : Short Built : 2381 | Stirling The Royal Air Force's first four engined monoplane Bomber, the Short Stirling first flew in May 1939 and entered front line service in August 1940 with no. 7 squadron. Due to its poor operational ceiling the aircraft sustained heavy losses and by mid 1942 the Stirling was beginning to be replaced by the Lancaster. Improved versions of the Short Stirling were built for Glider towing, paratroopers and heavy transport. also from 1943 many of the Stirling's were used for mine laying. A total of 2381 Stirling's were built for the Royal air Force and from this total 641 Stirling bombers were lost to enemy action. Crew 7 or 8: Speed: 260 mph (MK1) 275mph (MKIII) and 280mph (MKV)Service ceiling 17,000 feet Range: 2330 miles. (MK1) 2010 miles (MKIII) and 3,000 miles (MKV) Armament: two .303 Vickers machine guns. in nose turret, two .303 in browning machine guns in dorsal turret , Four .303 Browning machine guns in tail turret. Bomb Load 14,000 Lbs Engines: four 1150 Hp Bristol Hercules II (MK1) four 1650 hp Bristol Hercules XVI (MK111 and MKV) |
 Wellington Manufacturer : Vickers | Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a Bomber aircraft and also used for maritime reconnaissance. and had a normal crew of six except in the MKV and VI where a crew of three was used. Maximum speed was 235 mph (MK1c) 255 mph (MK III, X) and 299 mph (MK IIII), normal operating range of 1805 miles (except MK III which was 1470miles) The Wellington or Wimpy as it was known, was the major bomber of the Royal Air Force between 1939 and 1943. The Royal Air Force received its first Wellingtons in October 1938 to 99 squadron. and by the outbreak of World war two there were 6 squadrons equipped with the Vickers Wellington. Due to heavy losses on daylight raids, the Wellington became a night bomber and from 1940 was also used as a long range bomber in North Africa. and in 1942 also became a long range bomber for the royal Air Force in India. It was well used by Coastal Command as a U-Boat Hunter. The Wellington remained in service with the Royal Air Force until 1953. Probably due to its versatile use, The aircraft was also used for experimental work including the fitting of a pressure cabin for High altitude tests. The Vickers Wellington could sustain major damage and still fly, probably due to its construction of its geodesic structure and practical application of geodesic lines. Designed by Sir Barnes Wallis |
| No.7 Sqn RAF Pilot and aircrew signature details |
Flight Lieutenant Ken Carlton Our estimated value of this signature : £15 | Flight Lieutenant Ken Carlton Flight Engineer, 156, 7 and 635 Squadrons. |
  Flight Lieutenant George Chalmers DFC DFM Our estimated value of this signature : £65 Died : 2002 | Flight Lieutenant George Chalmers DFC DFM George Alexander Chalmers was born on February 12 1921 at Peterhead in Scotland. He was educated at Aberdeen Academy before working briefly at a local Crosse & Blackwell factory and joining the RAF as a boy entrant. After boy's service and qualifying as a wireless operator and air-gunner, Chalmer joined the RAF in 1938. Geogre Chalmers was posted to No 10, a two-engine Whitley bomber squadron at Dishforth, Yorkshire, from where he took part in leaflet-dropping operations over Germany after the outbreak of war. In August 1940 Chalmers transferred to No 7, the RAF's first four-engine Stirling bomber squadron which was operating from Leeming. There followed a spell with No 35, a four-engine Halifax bomber squadron, with which Chalmers was fortunate to survive an attack on the battle cruiser Scharnhorst at La Rochelle - his captain managed to make base despite being severely wounded and piloting a badly-damaged aircraft. When he joined 617 Squadron he was a Flight Sergeant and served as wireless operator on Lancaster AJ-O during the Dambusters raid which was piloted by Bill Townsend. Awarded the DFM for his part in the attack on the Ennepe Dam he was commissioned a few months later and awarded the DFC after 65 operations. In 1946 Chalmers was granted an extended service commission, and served in No 617 and No 12 Squadrons until 1950, when he was posted to No 38, a Lancaster squadron in the Middle East. He was released as a flight lieutenant in 1954, and served in the Reserve until 1961. Meanwhile, he had joined the civil service at Harrogate, where he worked for the Ministry of Defence dealing with the RAF's technical requirements. In this period his advice was much valued in the sphere of flight refuelling. On his retirement from the MoD in 1984, the company Flight Refuelling hosted a farewell party for him at which he was hailed as an expert in specialised spares procurement, especially in relation to a refuelling system of outstanding value used by the RAF in the Falklands conflict. Sadly, George Chalmers passed away in August 2002 aged 81. |
Wing Commander Taffy Higginson Our estimated value of this signature : £55 Died : 2003 | Wing Commander Taffy Higginson Frederick William Higginson was born into a Welsh-speaking family at Gorseinon, near Swansea, where his father was a policeman. He attended Gorseinon Grammar School until beginning his apprenticeship with the RAF. Enlisting in 1929 at the age of 16, Taffy Higginson served as a fitter and air gunner with No.7 Sqn until 1935, when he was accepted for flight training. After qualifying as a pilot, he initially flew with No.19 Sqn before transferring to No.56 Sqn on Hurricanes. By June 1941 he had tallied a score of 12 victories. On June 17th, 1941, he was shot down by anti-aircraft fire over Dunkirk while escorting bombers returning from an operation over Lille. With considerable height in hand, he was able to bale out safely and guide his parachute to land in a wood near a railway. Having a map, he established that he was about 12 miles northwest of Fauquembergues but he had lost one of his boots in ejecting from his Hurricane. Limping along, he was overtaken by two German soldiers on a motorcycle combination sent out to find him. His capture appeared certain but the abrupt appearance of a low-flying Luftwaffe aircraft distracted the soldier driving the motorcycle, enabling Higginson to wrench over the handlebars, crash the machine into a ditch and make off in the confusion. He hid in the wood until after dark and then made his way to a hut on the edge, where he sought assistance from the owner. Confident of his limited French, he ordered a glass of beer, paid for it with money provided by the French farmer and hitched a lift with a lorry driver who took him to a local garage whose owner had contacts with an escape line for British airmen. After a series of adventures, Higginson crossed into Vichy- controlled France and made contact with the MI9 escape line run by the Belgian doctor Albert-Marie Guérisse, alias 'Pat O'Leary'. While attempting to cross into Spain with an Australian escaped prisoner of war, he was stopped and arrested by Vichy French frontier guards and interned in Fort de la Revère near Nice. Thanks to the efforts of Guérisse, he escaped from there and was eventually taken off the French Mediterranean coast by a Polish-manned trawler operating out of Gibraltar under the auspices of the Special Operations Executive. He was landed at Greenock on October 5, 1942, and rejoined No 56 Squadron shortly afterwards. He was awarded the DFC in 1943. After the war he served with Headquarters 11 Group, attended the RAF Staff course at Bracknell and also graduated from the Army Staff College, Camberley. He resigned from the RAF in 1956 to join the Bristol aircraft manufacturers at Filton, where the company was developing the ground-to-air rocket-powered defensive system, Bloodhound. In 1963 he joined the board of Bristol and was appointed OBE for services to industry that year. Sadly Frederick William Higginson passed away on 12th February 2003, aged 89. |
  Group Captain Hamish Mahaddie DSO DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £70 Died : 1997 | Group Captain Hamish Mahaddie DSO DFC Group Captain Thomas Gilbert 'Hamish' Mahaddie. DSO, DFC, AFC.. CzMC. Nos 7, 55, and 77 Squadrons. Born In Keith, Edinburgh, on 19 March 1911. He joined the RAF as a part of the 17th Entry at Halton in 1928 and trained as a metal rigger, after which he was posted to Cranwell on ground servicing duties. In 1933 he boarded a troopship bound for the Middle East where he joined No 4 FTS at Abu Suler for pilot training. He gained his wings in 1935 and his first air crew posting was to No 55 Squadron at Hinaldi flying Westland Wapitis. On his return to England in 1937 he joined No 77 Squadron flying Whitleys from Driffield. During World War II he completed a tour of operations with No 77 Squadron before moving to Klnloss to instruct with No 14 OTU. He completed another tour, this time with No 7 Squadron at Oakington on Stirlings, before joining HQ Staff of No 8 (Pathfinder) Group. Group Captain Mahaddie finished the war as Station Commander at RAF Warboys, home of PFF Navigation Training Unit. In June 1945 he was appointed to command No 111 Wing in Germany followed by a spell at the Staff College, Haifa, In 1947. His postwar duties also included two tours of duty at the Air Ministry, as OC Flying Wing at Binbrook, and also as Station Commander at Sylt and Butzwellerhof in Germany. He finally retired from the RAF in 1958 and has since been involved with the film Industry as an aviation consultant specialising in electronics for all three services. Hamish Mahaddie died 16th January 1997. |
|
Contact Details |
|
Sign Up To Our Newsletter!
This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com
|
 |
