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Aircraft - Locations - Group and Duty - Books
No.115 Squadron was as near as any a typical Bomber Command squadron of the Second World War. It began the war operating the Vickers Wellington from Marham, Norfolk, but active operations did not begin until the German invasion of Norway in April 1940.
The German invasion of France triggered the start of the bombing campaign against Germany, and No.115 Squadron remained part of the main bomber force until the end of the war. It retained its Wellingtons until March 1943, when they were replaced by the Bristol Hercules powered Avro Lancaster II. Merlin-powered Lancaster I and IIIs began to arrive in March 1944, and the last Lancaster II left in May. Although the squadron moved four times during the war, it never strayed more than twenty five miles from its original base at Marham.
Aircraft
April-November 1939: Vickers Wellington I
September 1939-August 1940: Vickers Wellington IA
April 1940-March 1942: Vickers Wellington IC
November 1941-March 1943: Vickers Wellington III
March 1943-May 1944: Avro Lancaster II
March 1944-January 1950: Avro Lancaster I and III
Location
15 June 1937-24 September 1942: Marham (Norfolk)
24 September-8 November 1942: Mildenhall (Suffolk)
8 November 1942-6 August 1943: East Wretham (Norfolk)
6 August-26 November 1943: Little Snoring (Norfolk)
26 November 1943-10 September 1945: Witchford (Cambridge)
Squadron Codes: BK, KO
Group and Duty
26 September 1939: Bomber squadron with No. 3 Group
1939-1945: Bomber Command
Bomber Offensive, Sir Arthur Harris.
The autobiography of Bomber Harris, giving his view of the strategic bombing campaign in its immediate aftermath. Invaluable for the insights it provides into Harris’s approach to the war, what he was trying to achieve and the problems he faced. Harris perhaps overstates his case, not entirely surprisingly given how soon after the end of the war this book was written (Read Full Review)
Wellington in Action, Ron Mackay. A well illustrated guide to the development and service career of this classic British bomber. Mackay looks at the early development of the Wellington and the unusual geodetic frame that gave it great strength, the period when the Wellington was the mainstay of Bomber Command and the many uses found for the aircraft after it was replaced in the main bomber stream.
Lancaster Squadron 1942-43, Jon Lake. This book looks at the early career of the Avro Lancaster. During this period the Lancaster was just one of a number of aircraft used by Bomber Command, important amongst them the Wellington, the Stirling and the Halifax. Only by the end of this period do we see the Lancaster begin to emerge as the most important aircraft in Bomber Command. Lake covers the wide range of activities performed by the Lancaster squadrons during this squadron, including the famous Dam Busters raid. [see more]
Lancaster Squadrons 1944-45, Jon Lake. A well balanced look at the career of the Avro Lancaster in 1944-45, the period most famous for the systematic night bombardment of German cities. This was also the period that saw the Lancaster used to support the invasion of France, and the period that saw 617 Squadron drop Barnes Wallis's huge streamlined bombs with great precision. [see more]
