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

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.

Logbooks

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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:2181 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.

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.

Steve Smith

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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.

Michael Pinkney

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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.

John Paget

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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

s flynn

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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.

S Flynn

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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.

S Flynn

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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.

S Flynn

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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.

Kevin Bosanquet

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No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Force

Logbooks

Those known to have served with
No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Force
during the Second World War 1939-1945.

The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.

Announcements

Want to know more about No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Force?

Recomended Reading.

Links

The Wartime Memories Project - No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Force during the Second World War -

No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Force

Logbooks

Those known to have served with No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Forceduring the Second World War 1939-1945.

The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.

Announcements

Want to know more about No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Force?

Recomended Reading.

Links

The Wartime Memories Project
- No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Force during the Second World War -

Those known to have served with
No. 142 Squadron Royal Air Force
during the Second World War 1939-1945.