page_title: No. 41 Squadron RAF
section_title: Between the wars, 1923–1939
hierarchical_section_title: No. 41 Squadron RAF / History / Between the wars, 1923–1939
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of the wreckage of the R101 airship which was probably taken not long after the crash on 4 October 1930 in Allonne, Picardie (France). Français&#160;: Photographie de l'épave du dirigeable britannique R101, photo prise sans doute peu de temps après le crash le 4 otcobre 1930 à Allonne en Picardie.
context_page_description: No. 41 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is the RAF's Test and Evaluation Squadron, based at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire. Its official title is "41 TES". The squadron was formed in 1916 during First World War as part of the Royal Flying Corps and served on the Western Front as a ground attack and fighter squadron. Disbanded in 1919 as part of the post-war draw down, No. 41 Squadron was re-formed as an RAF squadron in 1923 and remained on home service until 1935 when it was deployed to Aden during the Abyssinian crisis.
  During the Second World War, the squadron flew Supermarine Spitfire fighters and saw action over Dunkirk and the during the Battle of Britain in the early years of the war. Combat operations were flown from Britain over German-occupied Europe during 1941–1944, before the squadron moved to the continent after the Normandy landings. During 1944–45, the squadron supported the Allied advance into Germany and it remained there until mid-1946 as part of the occupation force following the end of hostilities. In the post war years, the squadron was disbanded and re-formed several times, operating a variety of jet aircraft in the fighter, reconnaissance and interceptor roles.
context_section_description: The squadron reformed at RAF Northolt on 1 April 1923, equipped with the Sopwith Snipe. In 1924, it began receiving the first Armstrong Whitworth Siskin III biplanes. On 27 July 1929, eleven aircraft from 41 Squadron flew to Calais to rendezvous with French aviation pioneer Louis Blériot and escort him back to Dover in a re-enactment of the first crossing of the English Channel 20 years earlier. On 9 October 1930, Following the R101 Airship disaster in Beauvais, France, 41 Squadron pilots and ground crew formed a part of the Guard of Honour for the Lying-in-State of the 48 victims in the Palace of Westminster. Amongst the dead were the Secretary of State for Air, Brig. Gen. Lord Christopher Thomson PC CBE DSO, and the Director of Civil Aviation, Air Vice-Marshal Sir Sefton Brancker KCB AFC. Thousands filed past to pay their last respects.
  During the 1930s, displays, sports, competitions, tactical exercises and flying practice were a part of regular activity. In the summer of 1934, 41 Squadron even performed a flying display for South Bucks Mothers' Union. On 1 July 1935, 41 Squadron escorted an Imperial Airways aircraft to Brussels, with their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of York on board, where they attend functions for British Week at the International Exhibition. During this period, 41 Squadron was also visited by a number of British and foreign government and military dignitaries. One of the first was Japanese General Matsui Iwane who, after World War II, was held accountable and executed for the 1937 'Rape of Nanjing', in which his armies murdered an estimated 300,000 Chinese civilians. British dignitaries included Prime Minister, Ramsay MacDonald, the Chief of Air Services, Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Trenchard GCB DSO, the Air Officer Commanding in Chief Air Defence of Great Britain, Air Marshal Sir Edward Ellington KCB CMG CBE, and the Air Officer Commanding Fighting Area, Air Defence of Great Britain, Air Vice-Marshal Hugh Dowding, CB CMG.
  In October 1935, the squadron was sent to the Aden Protectorate, to help provide a presence in the region during the Abyssinian crisis of 1935–36, and returned to the United Kingdom in August 1936. They were then based at RAF Catterick, Yorkshire, from September 1936, where they remained until May 1940. 
  In April 1937, 41 Squadron's badge and motto, "Seek and Destroy", are unveiled for the first time and presented to the squadron by the AOC in C, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding KCB CMG. The badge takes the form of a red double-armed cross on a white background, adapted from the arms of the French town of St. Omer, the location of the squadron's first operational overseas posting, in October 1916. 
  On 30 December 1938, 41 Squadron was issued with the Supermarine Spitfire, becoming the third RAF squadron to receive them. By early February 1939, the squadron had received a full complement of 20 Mark I Spitfires, at the cost of £129,130.
  Around 200 pilots served with 41 Squadron between 1 April 1923 and 2 September 1939. During this period, no battle honours were granted, nor any decorations awarded, but the era produced ten Air Commodores, nine Air Vice-Marshals, two Air Marshals and two Air Chief Marshals. During these same years, eleven men were killed and three injured in flying accidents, and three injured in aircrew accidents on the ground.
caption: R101 disaster:41 Squadron pilots and ground crew formed a part of the Guard of Honour for the Lying-in-State of the 48 victims in the Palace of Westminster on 9 October 1930.
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