No. 51 Squadron RAF facts for kids

Quick facts for kids No. 51 Squadron RAF
Squadron badge
Active	15 May 1916 – 1 April 1918 (RFC) 1 April 1918 – 13 June 1919 (RAF) 5 March 1937 – 30 October 1950 21 August 1958 – present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Type	Flying squadron
Role	Signals intelligence
Size	Three aircraft
Part of	No. 1 Group
Home station	RAF Waddington
Nickname(s)	'York's own squadron'
Motto(s)	Swift and Sure
Aircraft	Boeing RC-135W Airseeker
Battle honours	Home Defence (1916–1918)* Channel and North Sea (1940–1943) Norway (1940)* France and Low Countries (1940) Ruhr (1940–1945)* Fortress Europe (1940–1944) German Ports (1940–1945) Invasion Ports (1940) Biscay Ports (1940–1944) Berlin 1940–1944 Baltic 1940–1944* Biscay 1942 Italy (1943)* France and Germany (1944–1945)* Normandy (1944) Walcheren Rhine South Atlantic 1982 Gulf (1991) Kosovo Iraq (2003–2011) Libya (2011) * Honours marked with an asterisk may be emblazoned on the Squadron Standard
Insignia
Squadron badge heraldry	A goose volant, chosen as a play on the word 'Anson', the aircraft which the squadron was flying when the badge was being designed, as 'Anser' is the Latin word for Goose, and it was felt that a heavy wild fowl was appropriate for a bomber squadron. Approved by King George VI in December 1937.
Squadron codes	UT (Aug 1939 – Sep 1939) MH (Sep 1939 – May 1945) LK (? – Jan 1944) ('C' Flt which became 578 Sqn) C6 (Jan 1944 – May 1945) ('C' Flt) TB (May 1945 – Dec 1949) MH (Dec 1949 – Oct 1950)

No. 51 Squadron is a special team in the Royal Air Force (RAF). Since 2014, they have flown amazing Boeing RC-135W Airseeker planes, also known as the Rivet Joint. Their home base is RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, UK.

Before that, from 1974 to 2011, they used the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod R1. When the Nimrod planes retired, the squadron's pilots and crew trained with the United States Air Force to learn how to fly the new RC-135W Rivet Joint planes. The RAF bought these planes as part of a project called Airseeker.

Squadron History

World War I Missions

No. 51 Squadron started as part of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) during the First World War. They flew planes like the B.E.2 and B.E.12. The squadron began in Thetford, Norfolk, and later moved its main base to what is now RAF Marham.

Their main job was to protect the UK from German Zeppelin airships. They also used the Avro 504K to teach new pilots how to fly at night. The squadron was temporarily stopped in 1919 after the war ended.

Between the World Wars

The squadron was restarted in March 1937. A part of 58 Squadron became 51 Squadron at Driffield. They flew Virginia and Anson planes.

Around this time, they chose their squadron badge. They picked a goose because the squadron flew the Anson, and the Latin word for goose is Anser. It was also thought that a large wild bird was a good symbol for a bomber squadron.

World War II Missions

Loading bombs into a 51 Squadron Halifax at RAF Snaith

No. 51 Squadron was one of the first to act in the Second World War. On the very first night of the war, they dropped leaflets over Germany using their Whitley aircraft.

In February 1942, the squadron took part in a very important mission called Bruneval. Led by the famous Percy Charles Pickard, 51 Squadron used converted Whitley planes to carry 119 paratroopers and an RAF electronics expert to Bruneval, France. The team successfully raided a German radar station. They took parts of a new type of radar, called a Würzburg, back to Britain to study.

After this, the squadron briefly joined Coastal Command. They patrolled the Bay of Biscay to find and fight German U-boats (submarines). In 1942, they switched to flying Halifax planes. For the rest of the war in Europe, 51 Squadron was part of No. 4 Group RAF. They flew many bombing missions against the Nazis from RAF Snaith in East Yorkshire.

51 Squadron Halifax crew returning after a mission over the Ruhr

After the Wars

After the war in Europe ended, the squadron became part of Transport Command. They used Stirling and later York planes. Their job was to transport soldiers and supplies to places like India and the Far East. The squadron was temporarily stopped again in 1950, but not before helping with the Berlin Airlift.

The squadron was reformed on August 21, 1958, taking over from No. 192 Squadron RAF. They were given a special role called 'Special Duties'. This meant they focused on signals intelligence, which is about gathering information by listening to enemy communications and electronic signals.

They first flew de Havilland Comet planes for this role. In 1974, these were replaced by a special version of the Hawker-Siddeley Nimrod. It wasn't until the end of the Cold War that the squadron's secret signals intelligence work was made public.

First British RC-135W (ZZ664) arrives at Waddington in November 2013

One of their three Nimrod planes was retired in 2009. The other two stayed in service until June 2011. These Nimrods were replaced by three Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft. In January 2011, people from 51 Squadron started training in the US to learn how to fly the RC-135. They even flew joint missions with the US Air Force while waiting for their new planes.

The first RC-135W (ZZ664) arrived in the UK on November 12, 2013. It began flying missions in 2014, including Operation Shader against ISIL in Iraq and Syria.

Aircraft Flown by the Squadron

Over the years, No. 51 Squadron has flown many different types of aircraft, including:

See Also

• Other Nimrod squadrons:
  • No. 42 (Reserve) Squadron – Nimrod training unit
  • No. 120 Squadron
  • No. 201 Squadron
  • No. 206 Squadron
• List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
• No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment