No. 514 Squadron RAF explained

Unit Name:	No. 514 Squadron RAF
Dates:	1 September 1943 – 22 August 1945
Country:	United Kingdom
Type:	Flying squadron
Role:	Bomber Squadron
Command Structure:	No. 3 Group RAF, Bomber Command
Motto:	Latin Nil Obstare Potest (Translation: "Nothing can withstand")
Identification Symbol:	A cloud pierced by a sword The design indicates the function of the squadron, i.e. its role of a GH-equipped blind-bombing squadron
Identification Symbol Label:	Squadron Badge heraldry
Identification Symbol 2:	JI (Sep 1943 – Aug 1945) A2 (Dec 1943 – Aug 1945, 'C' Flt only)
Identification Symbol 2 Label:	Squadron Codes
Aircraft Bomber:	Avro Lancaster

No. 514 Squadron RAF (514 Sqn) was a bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

History

Members of 514 Sqn were awarded 1 DSO, 84 DFCs, one Bar to the DFC and 26 DFMs.

514 Squadron was part of 3 Group, RAF Bomber Command. It operated between September 1943 and August 1945, initially from RAF Foulsham, and then, from December 1943 onward, from RAF Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire. 437 aircrew were killed flying with the Squadron.^[1]

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 514 Squadron RAF, data from! From !! To !! Aircraft !! Version

September 1943	July 1944		Mk.II
June 1944	August 1945	Avro Lancaster	Mks.I and III

Squadron bases

Bases and airfields used by no. 514 squadron RAF, data from! From !! To !! Base

1 September 1943	23 November 1943	RAF Foulsham, Norfolk
23 November 1943	22 August 1945	RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire

Reunions

From 1988 to 2012, the Squadron held an annual reunion in June at Waterbeach Barracks hosted by the Royal Engineers. A service of remembrance was held in the parish church, and the BBMF Lancaster made a flypast over the former RAF airfield.^[2]

In 2013, following the barracks' closure, a reunion was held in the village on 15 June with the Lancaster flypast over the Recreation Ground.^[3]

In 2015, a reunion was again held in Waterbeach Barracks in a new community building.^[4]

Museum

The 514 Squadron Association and the Army established a museum in Waterbeach Barracks in 1985. This museum closed in September 2012, as the barracks closed permanently in March 2013, although the contents have been saved.^[5] It expected that the new Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum will return to its building at the Barracks, and re-open in early summer 2016.^[6]

See also

• List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons

References

Bibliography

• Book: Bowyer, Michael J.F. . John D.R. . Rawlings . Squadron Codes, 1937–56 . Cambridge, UK . Patrick Stephens Ltd. . 1979 . 0-85059-364-6 .
• Book: Delve, Ken . The Source Book of the RAF . Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK . Airlife Publishing . 1994 . 1-85310-451-5.
• Book: Dison, Harry . Some of the story of 514 Squadron: Lancasters at Waterbeach . Mention The War! Publications . 2015. (available from the Museum)
• Book: Falconer, Jonathan . Bomber Command Handbook, 1939–1945 . Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK . Sutton Publishing . 2003 . 0-7509-3171-X.
• Book: Flintham . Vic . Andrew . Thomas . Combat Codes: A Full Explanation and Listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied Air Force Unit Codes since 1938 . Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK . Airlife Publishing Ltd. . 2003 . 1-84037-281-8.
• Book: Halley, James J. . The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988 . 1988 . Tonbridge, Kent, UK . Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd.. 0-85130-164-9 .
• Book: Hamlin, John F. . Oliver J. . Merrington . At the 'Beach: the story of Royal Air Force Waterbeach and Waterbeach Barracks . Peterborough . GMS Enterprises . 2011 . 1-904514-63-4.
• Book: Hepworth, Simon . Porrelli . Andrew . Striking Through Clouds, The War Diary of No. 514 Squadron, RAF . Zug, Switzerland . Mention The War! Publications . 2014 . 1495440486.
• Book: Jefford, C.G. . RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912 . 2001 . 2nd . Airlife Publishing Ltd. . Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK . 1-85310-053-6 .
• Book: Moyes, Philip J.R. . Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft . London . Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd. . 1976 . 0-354-01027-1 .

External links

• 514 Squadron RAF website - commemorates all who served in the Squadron
• 514 Squadron Facebook page
• Squadron history, on RAF website
• No. 514 Squadron RAF movement and equipment history
• The Wartime Memories Project - 514 Sqn
• Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum
• Squadron histories for nos. 500–520 squadron on RAFweb's Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation
• Former Air Gunner tells his story - William MacDonald
• Video about the last flight of 514 Squadron Lancaster A2-C, lost 28 July 1944

Notes and References

1. Simon Hepworth, Andrew Porrelli, and Roger Guernon. Stephen Kingham (Editor). The Beach Boys: The Men Who Flew With 514 Squadron RAF. Mention the War Ltd. May 2019 .
2. Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum, unpublished archives.
3. Web site: 514 Squadron RAF Waterbeach. Flickr, Rob68. 14 March 2010.
4. Web site: Waterbeach Barracks and Airfield, 514 Squadron Reunion at Waterbeach Barracks. Urban&Civic. 7 February 2016.
5. Web site: Museum's collection is saved. 21 December 2012.
6. Web site: Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum. 16 April 2016.