No. 41 Squadron Royal Air Force is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF), currently operating as the Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES) for the RAF's Typhoon, presently based at RAF Coningsby in the English county of Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom. Its current official abbreviated title is 41 TES. The squadron was originally formed in , during First World War as part of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), 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 1941âÂÂ1944, before the squadron moved to the continent after the Normandy landings. During 1944âÂÂ1945, 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. In 2006, the squadron was re-roled as the Fast Jet & Weapons Operational Evaluation Unit. It remained in this role until 2010, when it became the Test and Evaluation Squadron of the Royal Air Force.
No. 41 Squadron Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed at Fort Rowner, Gosport, in early April 1916, with a nucleus of men from No. 28 Squadron RFC. However, on 22 May 1916, the squadron was disbanded again when it was re-numbered 'No. 27 Reserve Squadron RFC'.
No. 41 Squadron was re-formed on 14 July 1916 with a nucleus of men from No. 27 Reserve Squadron, and equipped with the Vickers F.B.5 Gun Bus and Airco D.H.2 Scout. These were replaced in early September 1916 with the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.8, and it was these aircraft which the squadron took on their deployment to France on 15 October 1916. Eighteen aircraft departed Gosport for the flight to Saint-Omer, but only twelve actually made it, the others landing elsewhere with technical problems. The twelve pilots spent a week at Saint-Omer before moving to Abeele, where the ground crews reached them by road, and the remaining six pilots by rail, minus their aircraft.
The F.E.8 was already obsolete as a pure fighter, and the squadron used theirs mainly for ground attack. On 24 January 1917, the squadron claimed its first victories. These fell to Sergeant Pilot Cecil Tooms, who himself was killed in action only four hours later. While equipped with the F.E.8, the squadron participated in the Battle of Arras (AprilâÂÂMay 1917) and the Battle of Messines (June 1917). By this time, the unit had become the last 'pusher' fighter squadron in the RFC. In July 1917, the squadron was re-equipped with the Airco DH.5 fighter, which proved disappointing; in October 1917, the squadron finally received the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a fighter, with which they were equipped for the duration of the war.
The squadron provided distinguished service in the Battle of Cambrai (November 1917), and subsequently in the German spring offensive (March 1918), and the Battle of Amiens (August 1918). The squadron claimed its final victory of the war two days prior to the cessation of hostilities. In the aftermath, the unit was reduced to a cadre of just sixteen men on 7 February 1919, and returned to the United Kingdom. Their new base was RAF Tangmere, West Sussex, but they were moved to RAF Croydon, Surrey, in early October, and formally disbanded on 31 December 1919.
The squadron's pilots and ground crews were awarded four Distinguished Service Orders, six Military Crosses, nine Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Military Medals, and four Mentions in Dispatches. The pilots were credited with destroying 111 aircraft and 14 balloons, sending down 112 aircraft out of control, and driving down 25 aircraft and five balloons. Thirty-nine men were killed or died on active service, 48 were wounded or injured, and 20 pilots became prisoners of war, including Australian Captain Norman Bruce Hair.
No. 41 Squadron reformed at RAF Northolt, Greater London, 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 the 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 twenty years earlier. On 9 October 1930, following the R101 airship disaster in Beauvais, France, No. 41 Squadron pilots and ground crew formed a part of the Guard of Honour for the Lying-in-State of the forty-eight victims in the Palace of Westminster. Amongst the dead were the Secretary of State for Air, Brigadier General Lord Christopher Thomson, and the Director of Civil Aviation, Air Vice-Marshal Sir Sefton Brancker. 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, the squadron even performed a flying display for South Bucks Mothers' Union. On 1 July 1935, the squadron escorted an Imperial Airways aircraft to Brussels, with the Duke and Duchess of York on board, where they attend functions for British Week at the International Exhibition. During this period, No. 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 the Second World War, 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 RAF Hugh Trenchard; the Air Officer Commanding in Chief Air Defence of Great Britain, Air Marshal Sir Edward Ellington; and the Air Officer Commanding Fighting Area, Air Defence of Great Britain, Air Vice-Marshal Hugh Dowding.
In October 1935, the squadron was sent to the Aden Province with No. 12 Squadron and No. 203 Squadron, to help provide a deterrent to Italy in the region during the Abyssinian crisis of 1935âÂÂ36, and to protect Aden in case of an airborne or seaborne attack by Italian forces. Although No. 41 Squadron visited British Somaliland once, which bordered Abyssinia, the unit was otherwise not involved in the crisis, and spent much of their time in flying training and periodic mail runs to Perim Island and Kamaran Island. On occasion, they assisted the resident unit, No. 8 Squadron, with air policing duties, 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.
On 30 December 1938, No. 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 twenty Mk.I Spitfires, at the cost of ã129,130.
Around 200 pilots served with No. 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.
Following the declaration of war on 3 September 1939, No. 41 Squadron spent the first several months on monotonous routine patrols in the north of England. At the end of May 1940, the squadron flew south to RAF Hornchurch in Essex to participate in the evacuation of Dunkirk. Twelve days later, they returned to RAF Catterick, claiming six Axis aircraft destroyed and one probable, but also left behind two pilots, the squadron's first pilot killed in action, and their first lost as a prisoner of war. After resting for a few weeks, the squadron headed south again on 26 July 1940, to participate in the first phase of the Battle of Britain. In its two-week tour, the squadron claimed ten Axis aircraft destroyed, four probables and three damaged, for the loss of one pilot killed and a second wounded.Again, No. 41 Squadron returned north to Catterick for a few weeks rest, but returned to Hornchurch on 3 September 1940, where they remained until the end of February 1941. They were now in the thick of the Battle of Britain. The price was high, but so was the damage they inflicted on the Luftwaffe. On 5 September, the squadron experienced one of its blackest days. The commanding officer and officer commanding B Flight, were killed in action, and three other pilots were shot down and two were wounded in action; one of these was hospitalised for six months.
On 31 October 1940, the Battle of Britain was considered officially over. Forty-nine pilots flew with the squadron between 10 July and 31 October 1940. Of these, forty-two were British, two Canadian, two Irish, and two New Zealanders. Ten were killed and twelve wounded in action (44% casualties). The squadron claimed over a hundred victories from July 1940 to the end of that year.
On 23 February 1941, the squadron returned to Catterick for a well-earned break. Only four pilots remained from the original eighteen who landed in Hornchurch on 3 September 1940. However, in reality it is much worse: sixteen pilots had been killed, five wounded and hospitalised (who did not return) and fifteen otherwise posted away, in effect a 200% turnover since the unit's deployment to Hornchurch in early September. The squadron also now has its third commanding officer since then, and its fourth within ten months.
Following five months rest in Catterick, during which the last Battle of Britain hardened pilots departed and new recruits joined from the British Commonwealth Air Training Programme, the squadron headed south to RAF Merston, Sussex, on 28 July 1941, to join the Tangmere Wing, where the wing leader was Douglas Bader. There followed an intensive period of offensive activity over France.
On 12 February 1942, No. 41 Squadron took part in the attack on the German Kriegsmarine's , , and after they escaped from Brest and made a dash up the Channel to the safety of their home ports. During these actions, No. 41 Squadron claimed three German aircraft destroyed and one damaged, but lost one pilot who failed to return.
The squadron also supported the ill-fated Canadian landings at Dieppe (Operation Jubilee) on 19 August 1942, completing three squadron-strength missions over the beaches. The pilots returned from the third without the Officer Commanding, Sqn Ldr Geoffrey Hyde, who was hit by flak and killed; he was the squadron's only casualty that day.
Tired, after a busy summer on the south coast fending off Messerschmitt Bf 109s and Focke-Wulf Fw 190s fulfilling the Luftwaffe's 'hit and run' strategy, the squadron was taken off operations until February 1943 and sent to RAF Llanbedr, Wales, for an extended period of rest. This heralded the start of an intensive period of turnover in the unit's ranks, as men were rested and fresh pilots brought in.
In February 1943, the unit became the first of only two squadrons to receive the new Griffon-engine Spitfire Mk.XII. Having rested, re-equipped and trained on the new aircraft, the squadron was sent back onto operations in April 1943, and claimed their first definitive victory in over ten months on 17 April. This was also the first by the RAF in the Mk.XII Spitfire.
From late June 1943, large scale bomber escorts to targets in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, became a daily event, and Ramrod escorts to formations of between 50 and 150 Boeing Flying Fortresses and Martin B-26 Marauders became routine.
No. 41 Squadron provided air support in the lead-up to, and throughout the D-Day landings. On D-Day itself, 6 June 1944, three pilots were hit by flak over the bridgehead and one was killed. On 19 June, however, the squadron was pulled off air-support for the bridgehead in France, and was deployed solely in the destruction of Germany's newest weapon, the V-1 flying bomb. On 28 August 1944, the squadron claimed its last of fifty-three V-1s destroyed during the war. Several pilots succeeded in bringing them down after expending all their ammunition, by flying alongside them and placing their own wingtips underneath that of the V-1. The wind movement between both wingtips was sufficient to upset the V-1's gyroscope and send crashing it to the ground.
The squadron was re-equipped with the Spitfire Mk.XIV in September 1944, and during the ensuing three months, participated in 'Big Ben' operations against V-2 rocket launch sites, in Operation Market Garden at Arnhem and Nijmegen, in operations in the Walcheren campaign, and in the Allied Oil Campaign over Germany.
The squadron moved to the continent in early December 1944, making its base at Diest in Belgium. Ground targets were the squadron's chief prey as a member of No. 125 Expeditionary Wing, and the unit attacked anything moving on road, rail, or canal in Germany. Operating so close to the ground, flak also took its toll on pilots and aircraft. One pilot was killed, three wounded, and two shot down and taken prisoner.
In April 1945, the squadron moved forward with the advancing front, and made its first base in Germany, just south-west of the town of Celle, due west of Berlin, and only a short distance south-east of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. During April and early May 1945, German resistance crumbled. No. 41 Squadron claimed thirty-three enemy aircraft destroyed, two probably destroyed, and three damaged in the air, and twenty-one damaged on the ground, in the twenty-three days preceding 3 May 1945 (the date of the squadron's final claim). Their own casualties for the same period were no pilots killed or wounded in action, and no aircraft lost to enemy action, although some did sustain combat damage.
After the cessation of hostilities, the squadron was based a short time at Kastrup in the suburbs of Copenhagen, but returned to Germany, where it became a part of the Allied occupying forces, known as British Air Forces of Occupation. By the end of the war, No. 41 Squadron had claimed two-hundred aircraft destroyed, sixty-one probably destroyed, 109 damaged, and fifty-three V-1s destroyed. On 31 March 1946, still based on the continent, No. 41 Squadron was disbanded by re-numbering to No. 26 Squadron.
The squadron had two mascots during the war: 'Wimpy', a Bull Terrier with the tip of one ear missing, at RAF Catterick in 1939âÂÂ40, and 'Perkin', a large black French Poodle, in 1943âÂÂ44. The squadron's 325 Second World War pilots were men from Britain, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palestine, Poland, White Russia, Rhodesia, South Africa, Trinidad, Uruguay, the United States, and Zululand.
No. 41 Squadron's pilots were awarded three Distinguished Service Orders, twenty-one Distinguished Flying Crosses, one Defence Medal, and one Mention in Dispatches, for their service during the Second World War with the unit. Sixty four were killed in action or died on active service, fifty-eight were wounded in action or injured in accidents, three were shot down but evaded capture and returned to the United Kingdom, and twenty-one pilots were shot down and became prisoners of war. The average age of a man who died in service with the squadron during the war was aged 23ý.
On 1 April 1946, only a day after being disbanded in Germany, No. 41 Squadron was re-formed at RAF Dalcross in Scotland as a fighter squadron, by re-numbering from No. 122 Squadron, and reverted to the Supermarine Spitfire, this time the Mk. F.21 variant.
The squadron flew its Spitfires for the last time on 18 August 1947, and became No. 41 Instrument Flying Rating Squadron, equipped with the Airspeed Oxford and North American Harvard. However, in June the following year, the squadron reverted to fighter defence and was re-equipped with the de Havilland Hornet F.1, followed later by the F.3 variant.
No. 41 Squadron became a day fighter unit again in January 1951 and entered the jet age, receiving its first jet-powered aircraft, the Gloster Meteor F.4 In April 1951 these were replaced by the Gloster Meteor F.8, and four years later the squadron received the Hawker Hunter F.5. On 14 July 1957, the squadron was presented with a standard displaying the unit's battle honours by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sir Theodore McEvoy, who had served three years with No. 41 Squadron as a young officer, following his graduation from RAF College, Cranwell in 1925.
However, no amount of nostalgia would save the unit from the government's budgetary axe. On 31 January 1958, as a part of a scheme to reduce the size of RAF Fighter Command, No. 41 Squadron fell to the same fate as No. 600 Squadron and No. 615 Squadron had before it, and was also disbanded. With the departure of No. 41 Squadron, its home station of RAF Biggin Hill ceased to be a Fighter Command airfield, its infrastructure deemed out-of-date for the requirements of modern warfare. The runways had become too short for the RAF's newest generation of aircraft and, as a result of encroaching development and civil air paths which now passed above, the base was no longer in a practical location. Fighter Command officially departed from the airfield on 1 March 1958. This gave No. 41 Squadron the curious distinction of being the last fighter squadron ever to be based at Biggin Hill. The departure of the unit marked the end of an era for the station, as thereafter it was relegated to non-operational status, and only used by the London University Air Squadron.
On 1 February 1958, just a day after being disbanded, No, 141 Squadron, based at RAF Coltishall, Norfolk, dropped the '1' at the beginning of its number and was thus reborn as No. 41 Squadron. In doing so, they automatically absorbed No. 141 Squadron's all-weather Gloster Javelin FAW.4 fighters and personnel.
No. 41 Squadron's standard, originally presented only six months previously, was handed over to No. 141 Squadron on 16 January 1958, just ahead of their renumbering, in a short ceremony attended by Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Fighter Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Thomas Pike, and by No. 11 Group's Air Officer Commanding, Air Vice-Marshal Victor Bowling, himself a veteran No. 41 Squadron pilot from 1935.
Only remaining at Coltishall six months, the squadron moved to RAF Wattisham, Suffolk, on 5 July 1958, where the Gloster Javelins were replaced by FAW.8 variants in January 1960. By this time, No. 56 Squadron had also relocated to Wattisham. Whilst there, they hosted French Air Force Dassault Super Mystère fighters during French President Charles de Gaulle's state visit in April 1960. No. 41 Squadron remained at Wattisham for approximately five-and-a-half years, before the unit was disbanded again, on 31 December 1963.On 1 September 1965, after a twenty-month break, No. 41 Squadron was re-formed at RAF West Raynham, Norfolk, but this time as a completely different structure. The unit remained firmly on the ground as a missile defence squadron, armed with Bloodhound Mk.II surface-to-air-missile (SAM). Changes to the SAM programme, however, saw No. 41 Squadron disbanded yet again just five years later, on 18 September 1970. The squadron standard was moved to the Church of St. Michael and St. George at RAF West Raynham, for safe-keeping.
On 1 April 1972, at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, the squadron was reborn as a tactical fighter reconnaissance and ground attack unit within No. 38 Group Air Support Command. To support them in their reconnaissance role, a 'Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre' or 'RIC' was formed. The RIC is composed of a number of Air Transportable Reconnaissance Exploitation Laboratories (ATREL), which enable the rapid developing of photographic images and their subsequent analysis. The ATRELs can be transported by air or road, and can be deployed with the squadron to forward operating bases.
In this role, they were equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom FGR.2, but these were soon deemed to be unsuitable for the unit. Over the ensuing years, a strategic decision was made to change the role of the RAF's Phantoms from a fighter to an interceptor. This amendment, however, created consternation within some circles, as it was felt the squadron should maintain its role as a fighter and ground attack unit. Consequently, it was resolved to disband No. 41 Squadron and re-form it elsewhere to enable it to do so.
In preparation for this change, 'No. 41 Designate Squadron' was formed at RAF Coltishall, on 1 July 1976, and commenced training as a reconnaissance unit with SEPECAT Jaguar GR1 aircraft. The two squadrons operated independently of one another until 31 March 1977, when No. 41 Squadron was disbanded at Coningsby. This allowed the Coltishall-based No. 41 Designate Squadron to drop 'Designate' from their name, take possession of the standard, adopt the squadron badge, and become the new combat-ready No. 41 Squadron at RAF Coltishall a day later.
No. 41 Squadron's role changed to low-level reconnaissance and, in early 1978, it became part of NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Strategic Reserve. In 1980, the unit was assigned to the Allied Command Europe Mobile Force, and was subsequently involved in exercises at Bardufoss in Norway and Decimomannu in Sardinia.
In support of its reconnaissance role, the unit formed a RIC at Coltishall to process and interpret the photographs made by pilots, using sensors located in a large external pod. The photographic film was taken to the MAREL's (Mobile Aerial Reconnaissance Exploitation Laboratories) for processing and interpretation. Ideally, a mission report would have been generated within 45 minutes of 'engines off'. Smaller 'air-portable' RICs were also used during off-base deployments. As a result of this ability, the squadron has been involved in a number of conflicts over two decades during the 1990s and 2000s. In early 1991, during the Gulf War (Operation Granby) the squadron's Jaguar GR1 and GR1A aircraft flew a large number of reconnaissance and bombing missions against Iraqi forces as a part of the coalition forces.
In its aftermath, the squadron was deployed to Incirlik Air Base, in south-west Turkey, where it participated in the defence of Iraq's Kurdish minority within the boundaries of the country's northern no-fly zone (Operations 'Warden' and 'Resinate North') until April 1993. It was during this period that the large external photographic pods were replaced with smaller, more versatile, medium level pods.
Four months later, the squadron was deployed to southern Italy, where it flew policing duties over Bosnia in support of Operation Deny Flight until August 1995. It was during this time that one of the squadron's Jaguars became the first RAF aircraft to drop a bomb in anger over Europe since the end of the Second World War. The target was a Bosnian-Serb tank.
The squadron returned to Coltishall in August 1995. Despite the vital work they had performed in Iraq and Bosnia, the squadron found their photographic systems were inhibited by the use of photographic film, which required special handling and processing before any results could be viewed and analysed. This drawback was compounded by the inherent difficulties of moving hardcopy prints around the battlefield, particularly with the distances involved in modern warfare. To overcome these issues, the Jaguar Replacement Reconnaissance Pod (JRRP) was introduced in August 2000. The new system provided for the recording of a digital images by three cameras onto VHS-C super videotapes with electro optical sensors for day operations and infra-red sensors for night operations. Digital images were then analysed in the ATRELs through a Windows-based application, named 'Ground Imagery Exploitation System' (GIES). The GIES allowed image analysts to edit images and send them electronically.
This system was taken into battle on the Squadron's last operational deployment, during the Iraq War (Operation Telic) between March and April 2003. During the operation, they were based at Incirlik, once again, equipped with the more up-to-date Jaguar GR3.
In July 2004, the Defence Secretary announced that as a part of a re-organisation of the Defence Forces following a Government spending review, No. 41 Squadron would disband once again, on 31 March 2006. The defence white paper, Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities, foresaw the retirement of the RAF's Jaguar aircraft two years early and the closure of RAF Coltishall. Advances in technology, it reasoned, would mean air defence could be maintained with fewer aircraft, thus allowing older equipment to be withdrawn from service earlier than originally intended. The authors planned that the RAF's future air combat force would be based around the multi-role Eurofighter Typhoon and Joint Combat Aircraft, in co-operation with the Panavia Tornado GR4 and British Aerospace Harrier GR7/GR9. Furthermore, the paper intended to reduce RAF trained manned strength from 48,500 to 41,000 by 1 April 2008.
As a result of these decisions, all of RAF Coltishall's squadrons would be directly affected. No. 16 (R) Squadron (the Jaguar operational conversion unit) and No. 54 (F) Squadron, would be disbanded by 1 April 2005 and their aircraft disposed of, and No. 41 Squadron by 1 April 2006. No. 6 Squadron, with the last of the RAF's Jaguars, would be moved to RAF Coningsby on 1 April 2006, itself disbanded by 31 October 2007. RAF Coltishall itself would be finally closed in December 2006, thus ending an over 66 year history.
The first of these draw-downs took place on 11 March 2005, when No. 16 Squadron and No. 54 Squadron held a combined passing-out parade. However, their disbandment had little immediate effect on the activity at Coltishall, as most Jaguar airframes and personnel were absorbed into No. 6 Squadron and No. 41 Squadron. However, with the departure of these latter squadrons in 2006, and the subsequent closure of the station in December, the close-knit RAF community was dispersed to other locations, and a quiet returned to the area, which has not existed since May 1940.
The following senior leaders of the RAF all served with No. 41 Squadron at some time in their career during the Jaguar period: Sir Stephen Dalton, Sir Richard Garwood, Sir Chris Harper, Sir Jock Stirrup, Sir Charles John Thomson, and Sir Glenn Torpy.
However, despite the Government's intention to disband No. 41 Squadron, and plans drawn up for final ceremonies to take place on the first weekend in April 2006, the unit was given a new lease on life only a short while before taking effect. Approval was received to move No. 41 Squadron to Coningsby with No. 6 Squadron on 1 April 2006, and to assume the role of the Fast Jet and Weapons Operational Evaluation Unit.
The Fast Jet and Weapons Operational Evaluation Unit (FJWOEU) was formed was created on 1 April 2004 from the merger of the Strike Attack Operational Evaluation Unit; the Panavia Tornado F3 Operational Evaluation Unit; and the Air Guided Weapons Operational Evaluation Unit. The FJWOEU took over No. 41 Squadron's number plate on 1 April 2006, rescuing No. 41 Squadron from disbandment that would have otherwise resulted from the retirement of the RAF's Jaguar fleet. The squadron's fleet consisted of Panavia Tornado GR4, Panavia Tornado F3 and BAe Harrier GR9. In 2006 the squadron also celebrated its 90th anniversary. It remained in the role of FJWOEU until 2010, during that time testing numerous weapons and defence systems that were subsequently deployed by British forces on the front line, including Afghanistan.
On 1 April 2010, the Fast Jet Test Squadron (FJTS), then based at MOD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, was amalgamated into No. 41 (Reserve) Squadron to create a new entity, No. 41 Squadron Test and Evaluation Squadron, in which form it continues today.
In September 2010, the squadron celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, holding an event at RAF Coningsby attended by families of pilots of the Second World War era. The squadron applied war-era 'EB' codes to the tail fins of its current aircraft, recognising various war-time pilots and their aircraft. Originally, some of these codes were applied to the squadron's Harriers, but when these were retired, the codes were then applied to the squadron's Tornados, and subsequently Typhoons, that replaced them. They commemorated the following Second World War aircraft:
â¡ â rank indicated is final rank achieved upon leaving RAF service Commencing the draw-down of the RAF's Harrier force as a result of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010, No. 41 Squadron's three Harrier GR9 were transferred to No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron at RAF Cottesmore on 4 November 2010. No. 41 Squadron subsequently increased its fleet of Tornado GR4 to compensate the loss of the Harriers, and only operated the GR4 until April 2013.
On 29 April 2011, two of the squadron's Tornado GR4 flew with two Eurofighter Typhoons from RAF Coningsby in a flypast down over Central London for the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. One of the Tornados was flown by the squadron's then Officer Commanding, Wing Commander Rich Davies. In 2012, to mark the London 2012 Olympic Games, No. 41 Squadron unveiled special tail markings on Tornado GR4, ZA614, EB-Z, to commemorate the squadron's link with the Olympic Games. Group Captain Donald O. Finlay, who commanded the squadron from September 1940 to August 1941, had won bronze in the men's hurdles at the 1932 Los Angeles Games, won silver in the same event at the 1936 Berlin Games, and read the Olympic Oath at the commencement of 1948 London Games.
The first published history book of No. 41 Squadron, Blood, Sweat, and Valour, was launched at the Royal Air Force Club in London in December 2012, and recounts the unit's wartime activity during the war years August 1942 to May 1945. A second volume, entitled Blood, Sweat and Courage was launched at the RAF Club in December 2014, and covers the preceding war years, September 1939 to July 1942. Another major change took place on 22 April 2013, when No. 41 Squadron took over the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 of fellow RAF Coningsby based No. 17 (R) Test and Evaluation Squadron, which was began preparing for the introduction of the F-35B Lightning into RAF and Royal Navy service.
No. 41 Squadron's Second World War-era EB codes were carried over onto three of their new Typhoon aircraft. An additional Typhoon aircraft also joined the squadron, prompting the need for an eighth code, and the opportunity to honour another of the squadron's pilots. After having initially been coded EB-G for Flt Lt Eric S. 'Lockie' Lock the honour went to Gp Capt Derek S. V. Rake (1945) and Typhoon was coded EB-H.No. 41 Squadron celebrated its centenary in July 2016, by holding a parade and gala dinner at RAF Coningsby on 14 July, and a Friends and Families Open Day on 22 July. The No. 41 Squadron Association was also formed to coincide with the centenary.
The squadron's Panavia Tornados were phased out in late 2017, and the last flight in this aircraft type took place on Friday 13 October 2017. No. 41 Squadron retains the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4.
All Second World War era EB codes have now been removed from the squadron's tailfins, but one Tornado has been preserved as a gate guardian at MOD Sealand, marked EB-X, which includes the squadron badge and centenary tail art.
The squadron's badge features a red double-armed cross on a white background, originating from the squadron's association with Saint-Omer, France which was its first overseas base in 1916 during the First World War. The cross is part of the town's arms. The badge was approved by King George VI in February 1937.
The squadron's motto is seek and destroy.
No. 41 Squadron has received the following battle honours. Those marked with an asterisk (*) may be emblazoned on the squadron standard.