No. 71 Squadron was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

aircraft squadron. The number has been used three times: once by the Royal Flying Corps for an

Australian Flying Corps The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...

squadron; in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

as the first of three

Eagle Squadrons The Eagle Squadrons were three fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force (RAF) formed with volunteer pilots from the United States during the early days of World War II (circa 1940), prior to America's entry into the war in December 1941. Wit ...

; and post-war as a fighter-bomber unit under the command of Royal Air Force Germany.

History

First World War

The first unit known by the British military as "No. 71 Squadron" was No. 4 Squadron,

(AFC), during the First World War. The squadron was formed at

Point Cook, Victoria Point Cook is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Wyndham local government area. Point Cook recorded a population of 66,781 at the 2021 census. Point C ...

, Australia on 16 October 1916, after which it travelled to England. From 27 March 1917, while based at

Castle Bromwich Castle Bromwich () is a large suburban village situated within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English county of the West Midlands. It is bordered by the rest of the borough to the south east; also Sutton Coldfield to the east and ...

, it was designated "No. 71 Squadron" by the Royal Flying Corps, to avoid confusion with No. 4 Squadron, RFC. This name was never officially adopted by the Australian Imperial Force. 4 Sqn AFC arrived in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

on 18 December 1917. With

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the ...

s, it performed fighter sweeps, provided close air support and raided German airfields. In spite of its relatively short service during the First World War, 11 of its pilots became aces, including Captain

Harry Cobby Air Commodore Arthur Henry Cobby, (26 August 1894 – 11 November 1955) was an Australian military aviator. He was the leading fighter ace of the Australian Flying Corps during World War I, with 29 victories, despite seeing active servic ...

, the AFC's leading ace of the war, who was credited with destroying 29 aircraft and 13 observation balloons. Besides Cobby, Elwyn King, Edgar McCloughry (later an

air vice-marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

), Herbert Watson, Thomas Baker,

Leonard Taplin Lieutenant Leonard Thomas Eaton Taplin (16 December 1895 – 8 July 1961) was an Australian World War I flying ace. During his service in Palestine, he helped pioneer the use of aerial photography for cartography. He then transferred to the ...

, Thomas Barkell,

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

(later Chief of the Australian Air Force), Norman Trescowthick, and Garnet Malley served in the unit. On 19 January 1918, British usage of "No. 71 Squadron" for this unit also ceased, and it became No. 4 AFC at every level. The squadron spent some time with the Army of Occupation in Germany after the Armistice and was disbanded there at Bickendorf on 28 February 1919.

American Eagles

The Royal Air Force in Britain during the Second World War CH3923

At the start of the

before the US entered the war, there were a large number of American volunteers offering their services. No. 71 was formed at

RAF Church Fenton Royal Air Force Church Fenton or RAF Church Fenton was a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south east of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England and north west of Selby, North Yorkshire, near the village of Church Fenton. The station wa ...

on 19 September 1940 as the first of the

Eagle Squadron The Eagle Squadrons were three fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force (RAF) formed with volunteer pilots from the United States during the early days of World War II (circa 1940), prior to America's entry into the war in December 1941. Wit ...

s with

Brewster Buffalo The Brewster F2A Buffalo is an American fighter aircraft which saw service early in World War II. Designed and built by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, it was one of the first U.S. monoplanes with an arrestor hook and other modifications ...

s. Appraisal by

acceptance personnel criticised the

on numerous points, including lack of armament and pilot armour, poor high-altitude performance, engine overheating, unreliability and cockpit controls, while it was praised for its handling, roomy cockpit and visibility. The aircraft were deemed unsuitable for European conditions and

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

s replaced them from November 1940. The squadron became operational at RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey on 5 February 1941 and moved in April to RAF Martlesham Heath in Suffolk for operations over Europe. During May, it suffered its first loss when Mike Kolendorski was killed during a fighter sweep over the Netherlands. The intensity of operations stepped up with a move into No 11 Group of

Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War World War II or the Second World War, oft ...

, being based at

RAF North Weald North Weald Airfield is an operational general aviation aerodrome, in the civil parish of North Weald Bassett in Epping Forest, Essex, England. It was an important fighter station during the Battle of Britain, when it was known as the RAF Stat ...

in Essex by June 1941. On 2 July, William I. Hall became the first Eagle Squadron pilot to become a

Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

(POW) when he was shot down during an escort mission. The squadron's first confirmed victory came on 21 July 1941 during a bomber escort mission, when Pilot Officer William R. Dunn destroyed a Messerschmitt Bf 109F over

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the N ...

. In August, the Spitfire Mk II replaced 71 Squadron's Hurricanes, before the squadron quickly re-equipped with the latest Spitfire Mk VB. The unit soon established a high reputation, and numerous air kill claims were made in RAF fighter sweeps over the continent during the summer and autumn of 1941. In December, the Squadron was rested back at Martlesham Heath, before a move to Debden in May 1942.'Aces High', Shores and Williams, 1994 When informed of the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...

, most of the Eagle Squadron pilots wanted to immediately join the fight against Japan. Representatives from 71 and 121 Squadrons went to the American Embassy in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and offered their services to the United States. The pilots from 71 Squadron decided they wanted to go to

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

to fight the Japanese and a proposal was put to

RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Brita ...

, but it was turned down. On 29 September 1942 the squadron, together with the other two Eagle squadrons, was transferred to the

US Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, becoming the

334th Fighter Squadron The 334th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 4th Operations Group and stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. The 334th was constituted on 22 August 1942 as an incorporation of the No ...

of the

4th Fighter Group The 4th Fighter Group was an American element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force during World War II. The group was known as the Debden Eagles because it was created from the three Eagle Squadrons of the Royal Air Force: ...

Into the jet age

On 16 September 1950 a new 71 Squadron was formed at

RAF Gütersloh Royal Air Force Gütersloh, more commonly known as RAF Gütersloh, was a Royal Air Force Germany military airfield, the nearest Royal Air Force airfield to the East/West German border, in the vicinity of the town of Gütersloh. It was const ...

with

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by ...

fighter-bombers, joining the

Second Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces ...

. In October 1953 it became a "day fighter" unit with the North American Sabre. The Sabres were replaced by Hawker Hunters in April 1956. The squadron moved to

RAF Bruggen Royal Air Force Brüggen, more commonly known as RAF Brüggen, in Germany was a major station of the Royal Air Force until 15 June 2001. It was situated next to the village of Elmpt, approximately west of Düsseldorf on the Dutch-German bo ...

in May 1956 and disbanded on 30 April 1957.

Aircraft operated

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Childers, James Saxon. ''War Eagles: The Story of the Eagle Squadron''. Windmill Press, 1943. **Republished by Eagle Publishing in 1983, . Same as the 1943 edition, except it has an epilogue of the members in 1982. * Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. . * Rawlings, John D.R. '' Fighter Squadrons of the R.A.F. and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald an Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1978. .

External links

Nos. 71–75 Squadron Histories

RAF Eagle Squadron
(historic video)
Eagle Squadrons became the USAAF 4th Fighter Group. 4th Fighter Group Association Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:071 Squadron Fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons Eagle Squadrons Military units and formations established in 1917 1917 establishments in the United Kingdom