Number 9 Squadron (also known as No. IX (Bomber) Squadron or No. IX (B) Squadron) is the oldest dedicated bomber squadron of the Royal Air Force. Formed in December 1914, it saw service throughout the First World War, including at the Somme and Passchendaele. During the Second World War, No. IX (B) Squadron was one of two Avro Lancaster units specialising in heavy precision bombing (the other was No. 617 Squadron) and sank the battleship Tirpitz on 12 November 1944 in Operation Catechism. Between 1962 and April 1982, the squadron flew the Avro Vulcan B.2 as part of the V-Force. In June 1982, it became the first front-line squadron in the world to operate the Panavia Tornado GR1. In May 1998, No. IX (B) Squadron received the RAF's first Tornado GR4, which it operated until re-equipping with the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 at its present home station of RAF Lossiemouth on 1 April 2019 as an Aggressor Squadron. On 3 July 2024, while deployed on NATO operations in the Black Sea region, IX (B) Squadron were officially certified as a Multi-Role Combat Ready Squadron.
History
First World War (1914–1919)
No. IX (B) Squadron was formed on 8 December 1914 at Saint-Omer in France, the first outside of the UK, from a detachment of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) Headquarters Wireless Flight. Known as No. 9 (Wireless) Squadron, it was tasked with developing the use of radio for reconnaissance missions through artillery spotting. This lasted until 22 March 1915 when the squadron was disbanded and had its equipment dispersed amongst No. 2 Squadron, No. 5 Squadron, No. 6 Squadron and No. 16 Squadron..
The squadron reformed at Brooklands in Surrey on 1 April 1915, under the command of Major Hugh Dowding (later commander of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain) as a radio-training squadron, flying the Farman MF.7, Blériot XI and Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2. The squadron moved to Dover in Kent on 23 July, re-equipping with the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.8a, Avro 504 and a single Martinsyde S.1, before returning to Saint-Omer on 12 December as an army co-operation squadron. Moving to Bertangles on 24 December, No. 9 Squadron commenced bombing missions on 17 January 1916 with the B.E.2c. It flew reconnaissance and artillery spotting missions during the Battle of the Somme in 1916, assisting the British Army's XIII Corps on the first day. It later operated during the Second Battle of Arras in 1917.
It re-equipped with the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 in May 1917, using them for artillery spotting and contact patrols during the Battle of Passchendaele, during which it suffered 57 casualties, and carrying out short range tactical bombing operations in response to the German spring offensive in March 1918. While it started to receive Bristol Fighters in July 1918, it did not completely discard the R.E.8 until after the end of the war. No. 9 Squadron returned to the UK in August 1919, arriving at Castle Bromwich where it remained until disbanding on 31 December 1919.
Between the wars (1919–1938) The squadron's life as a bomber unit began on 1 April 1924, reforming at RAF Upavon in Wiltshire, quickly moving to RAF Manston in Kent, flying the Vickers Vimy. Less than a year later, the squadron re-equipped with the Vickers Virginia heavy bomber, occasionally supplemented by Vickers Victoria transports, which it retained until this was replaced by the Handley Page Heyford in 1936.
On 31 January 1939, No. IX (B) Squadron became the third RAF squadron to receive the modern Vickers Wellington monoplane, when their first Wellington arrived at RAF Stradishall in Suffolk – reaching full strength by April.
Second World War (1938–1945) 1939–1943
The Second World War began with the unit being one of the few equipped with modern aircraft, the Vickers Wellington bomber, flying out of RAF Honington in Suffolk; the Wellington later gave way to the Avro Lancaster in September 1942 upon the squadron's move to RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, with which the unit would complete its most famous sorties.
On 4 September 1939, the squadron's Wellington aircraft and crews were the first to hit the enemy; the first to get into a dogfight; possibly the first to shoot down an enemy aircraft; the first to be shot down by one; and towards the end of the war, the first to hit the German battleship Tirpitz with the Tallboy 12,000-pound bomb, an achievement by the crew of an Avro Lancaster on her 102nd operation with the squadron.
No. IX (B) Squadron fought with RAF Bomber Command in Europe throughout the Second World War; took part in all the major raids and large battles; and pioneered and proved new tactics and equipment. It also produced several of the leading figures in The Great Escape, such as Les 'Cookie' Long, as well as Colditz inmates – including the legendary 'Medium Sized Man' Flight Lieutenant Dominic Bruce originator of the famous 'tea chest' escape. They became one of the two specialised squadrons attacking precision targets with the Tallboy bomb, and led the final main force raid, on Berchtesgaden in Germany on 25 April 1945.
The sinking of Tirpitz (1944)
The battleship had been moved into a fjord in Northern Norway where she threatened the Arctic convoys and was too far north to be attacked by air from the UK. She had already been damaged by a Royal Navy midget submarine attack and a second attack from carrier born aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm. Both attacks however had failed to sink her. The task was given to No. IX (B) Squadron and No. 617 Squadrons who, operating from a base in Russia, attacked Tirpitz with Tallboy bombs which damaged her so extensively that she was sent to Tromsø to be used as a floating battery. This fjord was in range of bombers operating from Scotland. There in October from a base in Scotland she was attacked again. Finally on 12 November 1944, the two squadrons attacked Tirpitz. The first bombs missed their target, but following aircraft scored three direct hits in quick succession causing the ship to capsize. All three RAF attacks on Tirpitz were led by Wing Commander J. B. "Willy" Tait. Both squadrons claim that it was their bombs that actually sank Tirpitz, however it was the Tallboy bomb dropped from No. IX (B) Squadron Lancaster WS-Y (LM220) piloted by Flying Officer Dougie Tweddle to which the sinking of the warship is attributed. Tweddle was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his part in the operations against Tirpitz.
Due to the sinking of Tirpitz having been attributed to the squadron, an intense rivalry developed between No. 617 (the junior squadron in terms of RAF squadron seniority) and No. IX (B) Squadron after the sinking of the warship. The Tirpitz bulkhead that was presented to Bomber Command by the Royal Norwegian Air Force, in commemoration of friendship and co-operation during the Second World War was of particular interest with both squadrons "owning" the bulkhead at various times until 2002, when the bulkhead was presented to the RAF Museum at Hendon.
1945 On 25 April 1945, No. IX (B) Squadron flew their last operational mission of the war when they, along with No. 617 Squadron, attacked Obersalzberg – targeting the Berghof, Eagle's Nest (residences of Adolf Hitler) and the local SS barracks. Seventeen Lancasters of No. IX (B) Squadron participated, with eleven bombing the primary target and one bombing a local bridge. With the end of the war in Europe, No. IX (B) Squadron was assigned to the 'Tiger Force', which was composed of multiple Bomber Command squadrons, with the intention of striking the Japanese Empire. However, due to the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, the war was brought to an end before this could be carried out, although No. IX Squadron was deployed to India to carry out aerial survey work until April 1946.
Post–War
After the War, the Lancaster was replaced by the Avro Lincoln until 1952, when the squadron re-equipped with English Electric Canberra B.2 jet-bombers. They were used during three months of operations in Malaya in 1956 and during the Suez Crisis. No. IX (B) Squadron was disbanded on 13 July 1961.
Reforming on 1 March 1962 at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, No. IX (B) Squadron converted to the Avro Vulcan B.2 and became part of the V-Force of RAF Bomber Command. Their Vulcans were equipped in late 1966 with WE.177 nuclear bombs at RAF Cottesmore in the low-level penetration role and assigned to NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), before spending six years in the same role 1969–74 at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, as part of the Near East Air Force Wing where the squadron formed part of the UK's commitment to Central Treaty Organization. Between 1975 and 1982 the squadron was based at RAF Waddington, again assigned to SACEUR, and still equipped with WE.177 in the low-level penetration role, before disbanding in April 1982.
Tornado (1982–2019) 1982–1990 (Honington to Brüggen) No. IX (B) Squadron began to form at RAF Honington in Suffolk in early 1982 under Wing Commander P. J. Gooding, with the squadron receiving its first Panavia Tornado GR1 on 6 January. The first IX (B) Squadron Tornado sortie was made from Honington on 6 April. The squadron was officially reformed on 1 June, becoming the world's first operational Tornado squadron. The squadron was again equipped with WE.177, handed down from the Vulcan force. The squadron was officially declared combat ready to SACEUR in January 1983. No. IX (B) Squadron suffered the RAF's first Tornado loss on 27 September 1983, when Tornado GR1 ZA586 suffered complete electrical failure causing the pilot Squadron Leader. M. Stephens to order ejection. The navigator, Flight Lieutenant N. Nickles, safely ejected from the aircraft however Stephens failed to eject and was lost in the crash.
During their time at RAF Honington, the squadron featured in the RAF recruitment film Tornado, produced in 1985 by the Central Office of Information. The film features a training exercise in which Tornado crews prepare and execute a strike on a coastal surface-to-air missile site. On 1 October 1986, No. IX (B) Squadron moved to RAF Brüggen as part of RAF Germany, becoming the fourth Tornado squadron to be based there.
Gulf War and Yugoslavia (1991–2000)
In the build up to the First Gulf War in 1990, personnel of No. IX (B) Squadron were deployed to Tabuk Air Base and Dhahran Airfield in Saudi Arabia, as well as Muharraq Airfield in Bahrain. As part of Operation Granby, crews from these bases flew their first sorties on 17 January 1991 to gain air superiority over Iraqi airspace. Initial bombing raids were focused on Iraqi air bases with the Tornado using unguided 1000lb bombs and JP233 submunition delivery systems to knock out runways. On 20 January, the squadron lost Tornado GR1 ZD893 near Tabuk when its control column failed to respond properly shortly after takeoff. After jettisoning their external stores, the crew attempted two landings to no avail, forcing the crew to eject. Over the course of the campaign, No. IX (B) Squadron flew two-hundred sorties dropping three-hundred 1000lb bombs. The squadron suffered no loses in combat throughout the conflict, only losing ZD893 outside of combat.
In the aftermath of Operation Granby, no-fly zones were set up over Iraq, with Operation Warden beginning in 1991 in the north and Operation Jural in the south in 1992. No. IX (B) Squadron along with other RAF Brüggen-based squadrons, each conducted four month long tours of duty as part of Operation Jural. Returning home to RAF Brüggen after Operation Granby, No. IX (B) Squadron continued to maintain their nuclear delivery role until 1994.
On 11 May 1998, the first Tornado GR4 was delivered to No. IX (B) Squadron at RAF Brüggen. As a result of the Strategic Defence Review in 1998 it was planned decided that in 2001, No. IX (B) Squadron and No. 31 Squadron, would relocate from RAF Brüggen to RAF Marham, Norfolk.