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.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 .

Aircraft operated +Aircraft operated by no. 514 Squadron RAF, data from From To Aircraft Version September 1943 July 1944 Avro Lancaster 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parish church, and the BBMF Lancaster made a flypast over the former RAF airfield.Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum, unpublished archives.

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

In 2015, a reunion was again held in Waterbeach Barracks in a new community building.

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. It expected that the new Waterbeach Military Heritage Museum will return to its building at the Barracks, and re-open in early summer 2016.

See also List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons

References

Notes

Bibliography

(available from the Museum)

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