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If you enjoy the edited version of the No 23 Squadron history (below) and would like to read the full story of 'The Red Eagles' you will be pleased to know that there is a book available called 'The Red Eagles- A History of No 23 Squadron Royal Air Force 1915-1994' written by Peter Rudd DFC. For further details contact Peter Rudd by email
The Bases of 23 Sqn
The Aircraft of 23 Sqn
On 1st
September 1915, Captain Louis Arbon Strange was posted to Fort Grange, Gosport,
Hampshire to form No 23 Squadron. He arrived from Farnborough in an Avro 504 and
the following day found himself in possession of "an office, a sergeant and
three men, an old 80hp Gnome Bleriot and the bits and pieces of two Henri
Farmans", in addition to the Avro machine.
Owing
to the untimely onset of appendicitis, (the now promoted) Major Strange had
handed over to Major R E T Hogg by March 1916 when the Squadron deployed to the
Western Front, equipped with FE2b aircraft. Initially flying
fighter-reconnaissance patrols, the unit later added ground attack to its
capabilities when, in early 1917, they re-equipped with 18 SPAD VIIs which were
a good match for the enemy's Albatross DIII machines. By 1st April 1918 when the
RFC became the Royal Air Force, 23 Squadron were enjoying considerable success
flying Sopwith Dolphins against such formidable adversaries as the "Richthofen
Circus" commanded by Hauptmann H Goering.
The Squadron
returned to the United Kingdom in March 1919 and was disbanded at Waddington in
December that year. During the period of disarmament which followed the Great
War, the strength of the RAF was reduced by some 90% from 3300 aircraft and 188
squadrons, to a mere 330 aeroplanes by 1922. However, the following year, when
it was realised that even the French Air Force boasted more than 600 aircraft,
the British Government set about forming the Home Defence Air Force, of which 23
became part from its reformation at Henlow with Sopwith Snipe aircraft on 1st
July 1925. Quickly building an enviable reputation for display flying with
Gloster Gamecocks, the Squadron continued to operate single engined aircraft,
including Bristol Bulldogs and Hawker Harts/Demons, throughout the '20s and
'30s. It was during this period that the Form 540 (Squadron official history)
records the posting of a 23 Squadron pilot to Uxbridge as "Supernumerary
Non-Effective Sick" following a flying accident on 14th December 1931.
Pilot Officer D R S Bader, being adept at low-level aerobatics in the Gamecock
aircraft, had been cruelly caught out by the different characteristics of the
recently introduced Bulldog.
In December
1938, the Squadron finally parted with biplanes and took on charge the twin-engined
Bristol Blenheim monoplane in the night-fighter role. In the early years of
WWII, 23 Squadron undertook shipping protection and intruder missions.
It was is the
latter role that the squadron became to forerunner in developing the tactics and
ability to take the battle into the enemy’s own territory. In October 1940,
Douglas Havoc’s began arriving and were supplemented by Boston’s from the
same United States manufacturer, sixteen months later. The Squadron converted to
Mosquito IIs in July 1942 and moved to Luqa, Malta in December of that year,
from whence the long-range intruder missions were flown to targets in Sicily,
Italy, Tunisia and southern France. To further enhance the squadron’s strike
capability, May 1943 saw the arrival of the more versatile Mosquito FBVI. A
welcome return to ‘Blighty’ marked the transfer to the newly formed 100
Group, Bomber Command and a move to Little Snoring, Norfolk in June 1944.
Thereafter, the pattern of bomber escort and night interdiction missions
continued until the end of the War and the Squadron disbanded in September 1945.
Remaining in
East Anglia, No 23 Squadron reformed just one year later with Mosquito NF30s at
Wittering and quickly upgraded to NF36s before moving to Coltishall, a base with
which the Squadron was to enjoy an intermittent, but long association during the
'50s and '60s. In September 1951, piston-engined aircraft gave way to jet
powered types with the introduction of the Vampire and later Venom night
fighters. With the appearance of the Gloster Javelin FAW4, the Squadron became a
high performance, all-weather unit geared to round-the-clock defence. Later the
more powerful Javelin FAW9 enabled the unit to pioneer inflight refueling and,
with new-found mobility, to deploy overseas more frequently. A move to Leuchars
in March 1963 was followed seventeen months later with ‘23’ becoming the
second squadron to receive the English Electric Lightning F3 which was adorned
with the distinctive red eagle on a white fin. Playing its full part throughout
the long Cold War, the Squadron re-equipped with the F6 in May 1967. In October
1975, the Squadron received its third American aircraft type, the McDonnell
Douglas Phantom FGR2, and moved to Coningsby. From February 1976 until March
1983, 23 Squadron enjoyed a period of relative stability at RAF Wattisham where
the burden of Quick Reaction Alert duties was shared with 56 Squadron.
Contributing to the maintenance of the air defence of the Falkland Islands
Protection Zone in the South Atlantic from April 1983 to November 1988, moving
in the process from Stanley to Mount Pleasant before the weight was finally
taken by No 1435 Flight. Re-equipment with Tornado F3s took place at Leeming in
November 1988 and 23 Squadron aircrew participated in Operation Granby (the Gulf
War) in 1990 before the Squadron last disbanded at the end of February 1994.
In 1995, it was
decided to respond to the expansion and increasing importance of the RAF
Airborne Early Warning Force, by forming a second operational Sentry AEW/E-3D
unit to compliment No 8 Squadron, with whom the sole responsibility for the role
had rested since the Avro Shackleton AEW2 entered service in 1972. No 23
Squadron was accordingly selected to reform at RAF Waddington on 1st April 1996.
The 100-strong squadron will eventually comprise four combat-ready crews and a
Training Flight composed of E-3D OCU instructors from the fomer Sentry Training
Squadron. No 23 Squadron shares the seven RAF E-3D aircraft with No 8 Squadron
and plays its full part in the E-3D Component of the NATO AEW Force which has
become synonymous with RAF Waddington since 1990. Members of No 23 Squadron take
the greatest pride in bringing renewed life to an illustrious Squadron Standard
and look forward to ensuring that, in operating this most complex and capable
aircraft in pursuance of national defence and international operations, No 23
Squadron will ever remain "Always Having Attacked".
The Squadron's
founder, Lt. Col. Louis Strange DSO OBE MC DFC, retired from the Service through
ill health in 1921, but subsequently enjoyed an eventful career in civil
aviation, before returning to battle in 1940 as a (50 year old) Pilot Officer in
the Volunteer Reserve. During his "third" career he won a Bar to his
DFC flying a Hurricane, pioneered the parachute training of Britain's airborne
forces and established the Marine Ships Fighter Units for the catapult-launching
of convoy defence Hurricanes. He continued to fly after the War and died in
1966, aged 75 years. In recognition of the high esteem in which he is held and
his important contribution to military aviation, the Squadron Briefing Room, in
the new No 23 Squadron Headquarters building, which was officially opened by the
AOCinC Strike Command on 2nd April 1997, has been named "The Strange
Room".