page_title: No. 14 Squadron RAF
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: No. 14 Squadron RAF / History / World War II
caption_attribution_description: English: Martin Marauder Mk I of No. 14 Squadron RAF based at Fayid, Egypt, 1942. Marauder Mark I, FK375 ‘D’ “Dominion Revenge”, of No. 14 Squadron RAF based at Fayid, Egypt, in flight. This aircraft was lost during a torpedo attack off Aghios Giorgios Island on 3 January 1943.
context_page_description: No. 14 Squadron of the Royal Air Force currently operates the Beechcraft Shadow R1 in the Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance role from RAF Waddington.
context_section_description: When World War II broke out the squadron was transferred to Egypt but soon returned to Amman. In May 1940, with the likelihood of war between Britain and Italy increasing rapidly, 14 Squadron was ordered to move to Port Sudan to reinforce the weak RAF forces in East Africa facing Italian forces in Ethiopia and Eritrea. On 10 June, Italy declared war on Britain and France, and on the night of 11/12 June 14 Squadron flew its first offensive mission of the Second World War, when nine Wellesleys bombed fuel storage tanks and the airfield at Massawa.  It lost its first Wellesley to Italian defences on 14 June during a second raid against Massawa. The squadron received a single Supermarine Walrus from 47 Squadron which was used for patrols over the Red Sea in July 1940, while the squadron's Wellesleys continued bombing missions against Italian targets. The Squadron started to receive twin-engined Bristol Blenheims in September that year, flying its first Blenheim mission on 20 September, and flying its final Wellesley sortie on 20 November. In March 1941 it carried out bombing raids in support of the assault on Keren.
  In April 1941, following the liberation of Addis Ababa, the squadron was sent to Egypt for operations over the Western Desert. The squadron was deployed in support of Operation Brevity on 15–16 May 1941, an unsuccessful British offensive, and carried out attacks on German and Italian motor transport, with five Blenheims being shot down by Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters of III Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 27 while carrying out strafing attacks along the Tobruk–Capuzzo road on 21 May. The squadron flew attacks against Maleme Airfield on 25 and 27 May during the Battle of Crete, and in June, flew in support of Operation Battleaxe, another unsuccessful British offensive in the Western Desert. On 7 July 1941, the squadron withdrew from the Western Desert, being based in Palestine and Iraq until it returned to Egypt in November 1941.
  On 17 August 1942, 14 Squadron was withdrawn from operations to convert to the Martin Marauder, the first RAF Squadron to operate this American bomber. The squadron flew its first operational mission with the Marauder, a maritime reconnaissance mission on 26 October 1942. The squadron used its Marauders for long-range maritime reconnaissance missions, minelaying and anti-shipping attack with torpedoes. The squadron's Marauders sank a Tanker with torpedoes on 19 January 1943 and two more merchant ships on 21 February. In March 1943, it started performing anti-submarine missions out of Algeria. In May 1943 the squadron supplemented its Marauders by six ex-USAAF P-51A Mustangs on loan, which equipped an additional flight for offensive operations, but these were returned to the USAAF in July, the squadron continuing to operate the Marauder. It operated detachments in Italy and Sardinia, moving completely to Alghero in Sardinia in June 1944. The Squadron flew its last Marauder mission on 21 September that year, leaving its equipment behind when it transferred back to the UK.
  On its return to the UK, the squadron was based at RAF Chivenor and carried out anti-submarine mission over the Western Approaches and the Bay of Biscay using Vickers Wellington Mk.XIVs. The squadron was again disbanded on 1 June 1945 but was reborn the same day, when 143 Squadron at Banff, equipped with the De Havilland Mosquito Mk.VI in the anti-shipping strike role, was renumbered. This incarnation of the squadron was short lived, being disbanded on 31 March 1946.
caption: A Martin Marauder of No. 14 Squadron in 1942
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