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No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Force
No 142 Squadron RFC was formed in 1918 at Ismailia, Egypt, as an army co-operation squadron. It provided air reconnaissance during Allenby's final battles with the Turkish forces in Palestine until the Turkish armistice. It remained in Palestine, and was renumbered No. 55 Squadron in 1920.
No 142 was re-formed as a bomber unit at RAF Netheravon on 1st June 1934, and served in the Middle EAst during 1935 and 1936. It was re-equipped with the Fairey Battle and, on the day before war was declared it moved to France as part of the Advanced Air Striking Force. In May 1940 it attacked the Meuse bridges in an attempt to stem the German advance, but during the German invasion of France the Squadron lost nearly all their aircraft. In November 1940 it was re-equipped with Wellingtons and the Squadron then engaged in a strategic night-bombing offensive.
In December 1942, most of No 142 moved to North Africa attached to the US North West African Airforce as their night bomber Wing. The Squadron took part in the Sicilian and Italian campaigns and bombing sorties over the Balkans. It was disbanded in Italy in October 1944.
It was almost immediately re-formed in England and served as a Mosquito light-bomber unit of No 8 Group's Light Night Striking Force. The squadron was disbanded in September 1945.
Airfields No. 142 Squadron flew from:
- From RAF Bicester to AASF Berry-au-Bac, France, on 2nd September 1939 (76 Wing, Battle I)
- AASF Plivot, France, from 12th - 16th September 1939
- AASF Berry-au-Bac, France, from 16th September 1939
- AASF Faux-Villecerf, France from 16th May 1940
- AASF Villiersfaux, France, from 6th June 1940
- RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, from 15th June 1940 (ex-AASF, to 1 Group)
- RAF Binbrook, Lincolnshire, from 3rd July 1940
- RAF Eastchurch, Kent from 12th August 1940
- RAF Binbrook, from 6th September 1940 (Wellington II, IV)
- RAF Grimsby, Lincolnshire, from 26th November 1941
- RAF Thruxton, Wiltshire, from 7th June 1942
- RAF Grimsby, from 7th July 1942 (Wellington III)
- RAF Kirmington, Lincolnshire from 19th December 1942
- Detachment to Blida, Algeria from 19th December 1942
- Squadron HQ relocated to Blida, Algeria from 27th January 1943
- Fontaine Chaude from 5th May 1943
- Kairouan, Tunisia, from 26th May 1943 (attached to the US North West African Airforce)
- Oudna from 15th November 1943
- Cerignola, Italy, from 16th December 1943
- Amendola from 14th February
- Regine from 3 July 1944-5 October 1944 (Disbanded)
- Reformed RAF Gransden Lodge, Huntingdonshire, 25th October 1944 (Mosquito XXV - No. 8 (PFF) Group's Light Night Striking Force).
2nd Sep 1939 On the Move
3rd Sep 1939 Signal
4th Sep 1939 Arrival
5th Sep 1939 Flying
12th Sep 1939 On the Move
16th Sep 1939 On the Move
18th Sep 1939 At Strength
19th Sep 1939 Recconaissance
20th Sep 1939 Recconaissance
21st Sep 1939 Recconaissance
22nd Sep 1939 Enemy Guns
23rd Sep 1939 Recconaissance
24th Sep 1939 Convoy
25th Sep 1939 Recconaissance
26th Sep 1939 Recconaissance
27th Sep 1939 Recconaissance
28th Sep 1939 Recconaissance
29th Sep 1939 Promotion
6th Oct 1939 Promotion
8th Oct 1939 Course
17th Oct 1939 Move
18th Oct 1939 Move
19th Oct 1939 Move
20th Oct 1939 Promotion
21st Oct 1939 Course
23rd Oct 1939 Guns
26th Oct 1939 Change of Billets
28th Oct 1939 Leave
31st Oct 1939 Billets
7th April 1940 Killed in training
10th May 1940 In Action
12th May 1940 Airfield bombed
14th May 1940 Overwhelming losses
14th May 1940 Four Battles lost
15th May 1940 Nght ops
16th May 1940 On the Move: aircraft abandoned
19th May 1940 Three aircraft of 142 Squadron lost
20th May 1940 Five ground crew killed in explosion
22nd May 1940 Foul weather disrupts attacks
24th May 1940 Night bombing success
26th May 1940 Lufwaffe HQ bombed
28th May 1940 Visit by Air Chiefs
1st June 1940 Uneventful ops
2nd June 1940 Essential equipment destroyed
6th June 1940 Successful raid
7th June 1940 Lone bomber
8th June 1940 Aircraft abandoned
9th June 1940 Attack on German encampment
10th June 1940 Two raids on the Seine bridges
11th June 1940 Aircraft Lost
12th June 1940 Attack on railway bridge
13th Jun 1940 142 Squadron Battle lost
13th June 1940 Twelve bombers destroyed
14th June 1940 Two bomber raids
15th June 1940 Final Sortie
3rd July 1940 Replacement aircraft
29th July 1940 Aircraft Lost
4th August 1940 Crashed on night flying exercise
12th August 1940 Move
12th Aug 1940 Move
13th August 1940 Eagle Day
23rd August 1940 Battle failed to return from Boulogne
23rd Aug 1940 Two Battle Aircraft Lost
6th September 1940 Move back to Lincolnshire
6th Sep 1940 Move
13th Oct 1940 Aircraft Lost
16th Oct 1940 Operation Sealion
5th November 1940 Wellingtons arrive
12th January 1941 Crash on take off
27th Jun 1941 Aircraft Lost
30th Jul 1941 Aircraft Lost
12th Aug 1941 Aircraft Lost
19th Sep 1941 Aircraft Lost
29th Sep 1941 Aircraft Lost
21st Oct 1941 Aircraft Lost
22nd October 1941 Wellington missing
7th November 1941 Aircraft Lost
25th November 1941 Crash on training flight from new base
30th Nov 1941 Aircraft Lost
17th Jan 1942 Aircraft Lost
21st January 1942 Shot down into the North Sea
7th February 1942 Missing from Raid on Brest
26th March 1942 Shot down near Rotterdam
26th March 1942 Shot down over Germany
29th March 1942 Two Aicraft lost
7th April 1942 Shot down
31st May 1942 1000 bomber raid
1st June 1942 Crash in Lincolnshire
7th June 1942 Relocated
10th June 1942 Training Crash
7th July 1942 Return to Grimsby
10th July 1942 Minelaying
14th July 1942 Crashed over Diss
22nd July 1942 Lost over Holland
26th July 1942 Shot down
27th July 1942 Three Wellingtons shot down over Hamburg
30th July 1942 142 Squadron Wellington shot down
5th August 1942 Minelaying off French coast
28th August 1942 Five Weellingtons and 20 airmen of 142 Squadron lost
2nd September 1942 Wellington crew survive crash
3rd September 1942 Shot down over Holland
5th September 1942 Attacked by night fighter over the North Sea
9th September 1942 Ditched in the Channel
17th September 1942 Three Wellingtons lost
23rd September 1942 Shot down in the Baltic
6th October 1942 Crashed on Dartmoor
14th October 1942 Captured in Denmark
16th October 1942 DFM awarded for flying crippled Wellington
16th October 1942 Crashed on return to base
25th October 1942 Lost on minelaying operation
25th October 1942 Milan bombed
8th November 1942 Minelaying
9th November 1942 Minelaying
10th November 1942 Aircraft Shot down
16th November 1942 Ditched
21st November 1942 On the Run
19th December 1942 Wellington bomber squadrons relocated
19th January 1943 Gunner missing after baling out
27th January 1943 New Squadron formed
27th January 1943 Move to Algeria
23rd February 1943 Lost over the Med
10th April 1943 Missing over Tunisia
11th April 1943 Shot down
18th April 1943 Shot down off Tunis
30th April 1943 Crashed on take off
5th May 1943 New airbase
7th May 1943 Force-landed on a beach
16th May 1943 Wellington lost
26th May 1943 Operational reorganisation
21st June 1943 Ditched in the Med
4th July 1943 Air Bomber who flew a Wellington killed in crash
5th July 1943 Survivor swam 4 miles to captivity
7th July 1943 Wellington lost off Sicily
14th July 1943 Missing off Sicily
17th July 1943 Crashed in Naples
23rd July 1943 Crashed near Naples
6th August 1943 Wellington missing
7th August 1943 Bombers lost over Sicily
9th August 1943 Wellington abandoned
12th August 1943 Rescued from the sea
17th August 1943 Wellington lost
30th August 1943 Aircraft missing
9th September 1943 Crew Saved
23rd September 1943 Rescue
21st October 1943 Aircraft Destroyed
14th November 1943 Relocated
25th November 1943 Aircraft Lost
2nd December 1943 Mid-air collision
16th December 1943 Bombers move into Italy
2nd Feb 1944 Good Visibility
2nd Feb 1944 Photographs
3rd Feb 1944 Poor Weather
4th Feb 1944 Bad Weather
5th Feb 1944 Bad Weather
6th Feb 1944 Weather Improving
7th Feb 1944 Ops
8th Feb 1944 Bomb Explodes
14th February 1944 On the move
25 February 1944 Three Wellington's lost
16th March 1944 Raid on Sofia
17th April 1944 Three Wellingtons lost
22nd April 1944 Three Wellingtons lost
29th April 1944 Crash landing
5th May 1944 Crashed in training
8th May 1944 Shot down
30th May 1944 Shot down over Austria
9th June 1944 Sea rescue
14th June 1944 Aircraft Shot down
26th June 1944 Aircraft Shot down
3rd July 1944 On the move
14th July 1944 Three Wellingtons
22nd July 1944 Wellington lost
8th August 1944 Aircraft Shot down
8th August 1944 Four bombers lost on raid on Hungary
10th August 1944 Three Wellingtons of 142 Squadron lost
18th August 1944 Aircraft Lost
21st August 1944 Attack on Austria
3rd September 1944 Missing
18th September 1944 Aircraft Lost
5th October 1944 Wellington Squadrons disbanded in Italy
15th Oct 1944 Reorganisation
25th October 1944 Bomber Squadron reformed
29th October 1944 New Squadron operational in four days
5th December 1944 Engine failure over Belgium
9th December 1944 Crash landing
23rd December 1944 Fog
5th January 1945 Crash
4th April 1945 Missing in Action
25th April 1945 Survived two crashes
If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.
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Logbooks
Do you have a WW2 Flying Log Book in your possession?
If so it would be a huge help if you could add logbook entries to our new database. Thank you.
View Logbook entries
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Those known to have served with No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Force during the Second World War 1939-1945. - Avery Nelson. F/O. (d.13th July 1943)
- Barrie Ronald Harry Joseph. Sgt. (d.26th Mar 1942)
- Bosanquet Albert George. Flt.Sgt.
- Clarke DFC. Lindsey James. Flt.Lt
- Foster Ronald Frederick. Sgt.
- Frith Leslie. Sgt.
- Gallagher Reginald Edward. F/Sgt.
- Groves Eric Charles. Sgt. (d.26th March 1942)
- Hassall DSO, DFC & bar. Cyril. Sqn. Ldr.
- Jelly Alfred. Sgt. (d.26th March 1942)
- Langton Leon Meredith. AC1. (d.10th May 1940)
- Laws Frederick Stanley. P/O. (d.10th May 1940)
- Lennox Andrew. F/Sgt. (d.26th March 1942)
- Miller Robert Finlayson. Sgt. (d.10th May 1940)
- Moran DFC. Leonard Edward. F/O.
- Paget Alfred Henry. F/O. (d.28th August 1942)
- Pipher William Melvin. F/Sgt. (d.26th March 1942)
- Pursey Robert. Cpl.
- Sadler William Robert. Act.Grp.Capt.
- Smith DFC Albert. F/O
- White David John. Sgt. (d.26th March 1942)
- Woollard Edwin Cuthbert. Sgt. (d.25th October 1942)
The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed,
please Add a Name to this List
Records of No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Force from other sources.
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Want to know more about No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Force? There are:2189 items tagged No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Force available in our Library
These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War. |
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F/O Albert Smith DFC 109, 427, 142 Squadrons My father, F/O Albert Smith, flew with the 109 Squadron from July 1944 until November 1944. He flew with the 427 Squadron and the 142 Squadron before joining 109. He completed 89 missions before colliding with another Mosquito over Aachen, Germany on the night of 30th November 1944 on the way to Karlsruhe. He bailed out just behind enemy lines but walked into the American sector with the help of local farmers. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. We have his log book, flying jacket, and surprisingly, pieces of the plane which were recovered by a war time archeological group in Aachen.
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F/O. Nelson Avery 142 Squadron (d.13th July 1943) Nelson Avery was a cousin of my grandmother. As a young boy I was always told that he was killed at Arnhem, together with his brother William, and for years I assumed that they were both killed during Operation Market-Garden. I recently learned that, in fact, Nelson was killed in 1943 when his Wellington failed to return from Messina and that William was killed in 1944 during operations in Walcheren, Holland and is buried at Bergen-Op-Zoom War Cemetery, which probably lead to the association with Arnhem.
My Grandmother used to tell me that following the death of both of her sons, her Aunt would open the windows at home whenever she heard aircraft flying over, a sad, yet somewhat amusing result of the effects of war.
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F/O. Alfred Henry Paget 142 Squadron (d.28th August 1942) My cousin, Alfred Paget was the pilot of Wellington bomber Z1338 which took off from RAF Grimsby on 27th of August 1942 to bomb the town of Kassel in Germany. After bombing the target the aircraft was later caught by search lights and shot down in flames crashing in Kalk approximately four miles east of Cologne, at 0129 hours on the 28th August. My cousin and three other crew members were killed.
The Rear Gunner a Sgt. F C Weighill (RCAF) baled out and was captured. He spent the remainder of the war in camp Stalag 344, in Lamsdorf, Poland. He returned to Canada in 1945.
The crew were:
- Sgt. Bellinger.J. RAFVR.
- Sgt.Tupholme.E. RAFVR,
- and Sgt. Weighill.FC. RCAF.
The four airmen that died are buried in Rhineberg Military Cemetery, Germany.
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Sgt. Ronald Frederick Foster 142 Squadron Ron Foster was my father-in-law. He was only 17 when he volunteered for the RAF and joined in June 1942. He served with 142 squadron in Italy and North Africa. He was a rear gunner in Wellingtons, a Tail End Charlie. His plane Wellington X HF537 crashed into a mountain in Castel Nuovo on 24th-25th of February 1944 after bombing the Daimer-Puch factory at Steyr. He was the sole survivor. The rest of the crew are buried at Bari Cemetary in Italy. We cannot find any details about his life after this except he was training air crew in North Africa.
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Sgt. Edwin Cuthbert Woollard 142 Squadron (d.25th October 1942) Sergeant (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) Edwin Woollard was the son of Izaac and Madeline Woollard, husband of Florence Maud Woollard of Coulsdon, Surrey.
He was 29 when he died and is buried in the Monster General Cemetery, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
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P/O. Frederick Stanley Laws 142 Squadron (d.10th May 1940) Pilot Officer (Pilot) Frederick Laws was the son of Derwin and Hilda Laws of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.
He was 22 when his plane was shot down and he is buried in the Petange (Lamadelaine) Communal Cemetery in Luxembourg.
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Sgt. Robert Finlayson Miller 142 Squadron (d.10th May 1940) Sergeant (Observer) Robert Miller was the son of William Nisbet Miller and Helen Finlayson Miller of Stirling.
He was 31 when his plane was shot down and is buried in the Petange (Lamadelaine) Communal Cemetery in Luxembourg.
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AC1. Leon Meredith "Jack" Langton 142 Squadron (d.10th May 1940) Aircraftman 1st Class Leon Langton was the son of Alfred and Elizabeth Langton of Codnor, Derbyshire.
His plane was shot down and he is buried in the Petange (Lamadelaine) Communal Cemetery in Luxembourg.
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Sqn. Ldr. Cyril Hassall DSO, DFC & bar. 142 Squadron Squadron Leader Cyril Hassall, DSO, DFC and BAR flew Mosquitos in 1944 with 139 and 692 Squadrons. He then apparently served as a Navigation Flight Instructor before joining 142 Squadron on Mosquitos. He completed a total of 102 sorties, of which 67 were on Mosquitos.
Any picture of S/L Hassall, DSO, DFC and BAR is welcomed. It seems he started operations in August 1940, but I do not know in which Squadron.
Any information is most welcomed.
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Flt.Sgt. Albert George Bosanquet 142 Sqdn. Dad, Albert Bosanquet was stationed at RAF Binbrook as ground crew, working on Fairey Battles and Vickers Wellingtons. He used to talk of looking after the CO's Wellington, Q for Queenie. I have attached a photo that I believe is from this time and is, perhaps, of Q for Queenie.
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