109 Squadron Pathfinders fact sheet
Title
109 Squadron Pathfinders fact sheet
Description
Gives history of 109 Squadron from reformation on 10 December 1940 until last bombs dropped on 2/3 May 1945. Covers development of blind bombing and Oboe. Moved to RAF Wyton as independent unit of newly formed Pathfinder force. Mentions first Oboe operation 20/21 December 1942. Account of Robert Palmer's operation which resulted in award of Victoria Cross. Includes drawings of squadron badge, Victoria Cross, Mosquito, Robert Palmer, seven squadron commanders, 8 Group and Bomber Command badges. List decorations, total number of operations and casualties.
Spatial Coverage
Language
Type
Format
One page printed document
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Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
SPalmerRAM115772v10035
Transcription
109 PATHFINDERS SQUADRON
[crest of 109 squadron]
‘The First of the Legion’
The black panther indicates night hunting & the attitude of the animal symbolises attack.
[Sketch]
Victoria Cross
No. 109 was first formed May 1918 at Lake Down as a day bomber unit but remained a training unit & was disbanded in July 1918.
In August 1942 a move was made to Wyton as an ‘independent’ unit of the newly formed Pathfinder Force. They began to convert to the Mosquito.
[sketch]
Pathfinder Finder Force Badge
History was made 20/21 December 1942 with the first operational use of Oboe on Lutterande, Holland. The first Target Indicators to mark a target was at Dusseldorf 31st December 1942. Expansion of the Squadron followed success.
Over 1,450 operations were conducted against Germany & Occupied Territories. 1 V.C., 27 D.S.O., 1 Bar to D.S.O., 112 D.F.C., 62 Bars to D.F.C., 1 Second Bar to D.F.C., 1 D.F.M. were awarded. 34 aircrew were Killed in Action.
In the summer of 1943 Flights of 105 & 109 were exchanged at Marham. 105 became the second Oboe Squadron.
[sketch of RAF crest]
The Wireless Intelligence Unit based at Boscombe Down was re-formed as 109 Squadron on 10th December 1940. Flying Ansons & Wellingtons they investigated enemy radio beams & tested RAF radar aids. The work expanded & various sections were dispersed to Tempsford & Upper Heyford for their specialised duties. In January 1942 the Squadron was re-assembled at Stradishall to develop the blind bombing aid of F E Jones & A H Reeves that came to be known as ‘Oboe’. A test of their still primitive equipment came with ‘Operation Trinity’, with the help of 7 Sqdn, an attack on the ‘Scharnhorst’ & ‘Gneisenau’.
The first major success for 109 ‘Oboe’ was Essen 5/6 March 1943
[sketch]
S/Ldr. Robert A M. Palmer V.C, D.F.C and Bar.
On 23rd December 1944, with his Navigator F/L George Russell DFC, & flying 582 Squadron Lancaster & crew, led a daylight formation to Cologne/Gremberg M/Yards. On the Oboe run he lost 2 engines, port tail unit & was on fire in the nose & bomb bay. Even so he made a perfect ‘cops’ before being shot down by fighters Only the rear gunner, Russ Yeulett survived. 6 of the 10 formation we shot down.
[sketch]
Mosquito XVI flown by F/Lt. E. Carpenter & F/O W. Lambert DFM as Reserve to Palmer at Cologne/Gremberg. Flew on 1 engine & on fire to make run-in. Shot down by fighters crashed Juchem market place. Both crew killed.
No. 109 moved to Little Staughton 1 April 1944 with 582 Lancaster Squadron. Both squadrons pioneered daylight formation bombing on Oboe. S/Ldr. Foulsham was killed on early operation.
[sketch]
Mosquito IV
Oboe marking was 4 times more effective than any other method of target marking.
The last bombs dropped on Berlin were by F/O. A E Austin & F/O P Moorhead in Mosquito XVI MM929 at 02.14 21 April 1945.
The Squadron had 100 aircrew on strength by May 1945. 7 had done 90+ operations; 9 had done 100+ operations. Pride of place with 139 operations, 104 on Pathfinder duties, was S/Ldr Ron Curtis DSO DFC
The Squadron marked for the attacks on coastal gun batteries for ‘Operation Overlord’ on D-Day thereby saving many lives on the beach landings.
The last operational mission of WWII was 2/3 May 1945. to Kiel, Husum airfield & to Eggebeck airfield.
The last mission before V.E. Day was 7 May on ‘Manna’ to Valkenburg A/F Ypenburg A/F, Hague racecourse Rotterdam & Gouda.
[sketch of the grim reaper]
The ‘Grim Reaper’ Mosquito DK 333-F
Winged dragon of DK-331 flown by Hal Bufton, & E. Ifould.
[sketch of a winged dragon]
[crest of 8 group headquarters]
[sketch]
S/Ldr. M. Bowman DSO. DFC
‘Hal’ Bufton founder C.O. of 109 Squadron.
[sketch]
G/Cap H.E. Bufton DSO. DFC. AFC. C.O.
[sketch]
G/Cap. G.F. Grant DSO. Bar. DFC. C.O
[sketch]
G/Cap. R.W. Cox DSO. DFC. AFC C.O
[sketch]
S/Ldr. J.B. Burt DSO. DFC. Bar
[sketch]
W/Cdr. R G E Law DSO. DFC C.O
[sketch]
G/Cap. K J Somerville DSO. DFC. AFC
[sketch of Bomber Command crest]
[crest of 109 squadron]
‘The First of the Legion’
The black panther indicates night hunting & the attitude of the animal symbolises attack.
[Sketch]
Victoria Cross
No. 109 was first formed May 1918 at Lake Down as a day bomber unit but remained a training unit & was disbanded in July 1918.
In August 1942 a move was made to Wyton as an ‘independent’ unit of the newly formed Pathfinder Force. They began to convert to the Mosquito.
[sketch]
Pathfinder Finder Force Badge
History was made 20/21 December 1942 with the first operational use of Oboe on Lutterande, Holland. The first Target Indicators to mark a target was at Dusseldorf 31st December 1942. Expansion of the Squadron followed success.
Over 1,450 operations were conducted against Germany & Occupied Territories. 1 V.C., 27 D.S.O., 1 Bar to D.S.O., 112 D.F.C., 62 Bars to D.F.C., 1 Second Bar to D.F.C., 1 D.F.M. were awarded. 34 aircrew were Killed in Action.
In the summer of 1943 Flights of 105 & 109 were exchanged at Marham. 105 became the second Oboe Squadron.
[sketch of RAF crest]
The Wireless Intelligence Unit based at Boscombe Down was re-formed as 109 Squadron on 10th December 1940. Flying Ansons & Wellingtons they investigated enemy radio beams & tested RAF radar aids. The work expanded & various sections were dispersed to Tempsford & Upper Heyford for their specialised duties. In January 1942 the Squadron was re-assembled at Stradishall to develop the blind bombing aid of F E Jones & A H Reeves that came to be known as ‘Oboe’. A test of their still primitive equipment came with ‘Operation Trinity’, with the help of 7 Sqdn, an attack on the ‘Scharnhorst’ & ‘Gneisenau’.
The first major success for 109 ‘Oboe’ was Essen 5/6 March 1943
[sketch]
S/Ldr. Robert A M. Palmer V.C, D.F.C and Bar.
On 23rd December 1944, with his Navigator F/L George Russell DFC, & flying 582 Squadron Lancaster & crew, led a daylight formation to Cologne/Gremberg M/Yards. On the Oboe run he lost 2 engines, port tail unit & was on fire in the nose & bomb bay. Even so he made a perfect ‘cops’ before being shot down by fighters Only the rear gunner, Russ Yeulett survived. 6 of the 10 formation we shot down.
[sketch]
Mosquito XVI flown by F/Lt. E. Carpenter & F/O W. Lambert DFM as Reserve to Palmer at Cologne/Gremberg. Flew on 1 engine & on fire to make run-in. Shot down by fighters crashed Juchem market place. Both crew killed.
No. 109 moved to Little Staughton 1 April 1944 with 582 Lancaster Squadron. Both squadrons pioneered daylight formation bombing on Oboe. S/Ldr. Foulsham was killed on early operation.
[sketch]
Mosquito IV
Oboe marking was 4 times more effective than any other method of target marking.
The last bombs dropped on Berlin were by F/O. A E Austin & F/O P Moorhead in Mosquito XVI MM929 at 02.14 21 April 1945.
The Squadron had 100 aircrew on strength by May 1945. 7 had done 90+ operations; 9 had done 100+ operations. Pride of place with 139 operations, 104 on Pathfinder duties, was S/Ldr Ron Curtis DSO DFC
The Squadron marked for the attacks on coastal gun batteries for ‘Operation Overlord’ on D-Day thereby saving many lives on the beach landings.
The last operational mission of WWII was 2/3 May 1945. to Kiel, Husum airfield & to Eggebeck airfield.
The last mission before V.E. Day was 7 May on ‘Manna’ to Valkenburg A/F Ypenburg A/F, Hague racecourse Rotterdam & Gouda.
[sketch of the grim reaper]
The ‘Grim Reaper’ Mosquito DK 333-F
Winged dragon of DK-331 flown by Hal Bufton, & E. Ifould.
[sketch of a winged dragon]
[crest of 8 group headquarters]
[sketch]
S/Ldr. M. Bowman DSO. DFC
‘Hal’ Bufton founder C.O. of 109 Squadron.
[sketch]
G/Cap H.E. Bufton DSO. DFC. AFC. C.O.
[sketch]
G/Cap. G.F. Grant DSO. Bar. DFC. C.O
[sketch]
G/Cap. R.W. Cox DSO. DFC. AFC C.O
[sketch]
S/Ldr. J.B. Burt DSO. DFC. Bar
[sketch]
W/Cdr. R G E Law DSO. DFC C.O
[sketch]
G/Cap. K J Somerville DSO. DFC. AFC
[sketch of Bomber Command crest]
Collection
Citation
“109 Squadron Pathfinders fact sheet,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed June 14, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/collections/document/38292.