| No. IX (B) Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 8 December 1914 – 22 March 1915 (RFC) 1 April 1915 – 1 April 1918 (RFC) 1 April 1918 – 31 December 1919 (RAF) 1 April 1924 – 13 July 1961 1 March 1962 – 29 April 1982 1 June 1982 – 14 March 2019 1 April 2019[1] – present |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Role | Air defence, Aggressor |
| Part of | No. 1 Group (Air Combat) |
| Home station | RAF Lossiemouth |
| Motto(s) | Per noctem volamus (Latin for 'We fly through the night')[2] |
| Equipment | Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 |
| Battle honours |
|
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Wing Commander Richard Leask |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron badge | A green bat with wings extended. |
| Squadron badge heraldry | Approved by King Edward VIII in November 1936 as an authorised version of a badge highlighting the squadron's night-bombing role.[4] |
| Squadron roundel |  |
| Squadron codes | KA (Feb 1939 – Sep 1939) WS (Sep 1939 – Apr 1951) AA–AZ (Aug 1986 – Mar 2019) WS (May 2019 – present) |
Number 9 Squadron (otherwise known as No. IX (Bomber) Squadron or No. IX (B) Squadron) is the oldest dedicated Bomber Squadron of the Royal Air Force.[6] 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.[7] 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 GR.1. In May 1998, No. IX (B) Squadron received the RAF's first Tornado GR.4, which it operated until reequipping with the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 at its present home base of RAF Lossiemouth on 1 April 2019.[8]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
RAFIXwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 172. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
2017honourswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "IX (B) SQUADRON". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ "IX (B) Squadron Battle Honours". raf.mod.uk. Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
- ^ "History". IX (B) Squadron Association. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ Halliday, Hugh A. (28 November 2012). "The Men Who Sank The Tirpitz: Air Force, Part 54". legionmagazine.com. Legion Magazine. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
- ^ Royal Air Force (1 April 2019). "IX(B) Sqn Pennant". Facebook. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).