No. 74 Squadron, also known as 'Tiger Squadron' from its tiger-head motif, was a squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It operated fighter aircraft from 1917 to the 1990s, and then trainer aircraft until its disbandment in 2000. It was the Royal Air Force's member of the NATO Tiger Association from 1961 until the squadron's disbandment, it has since been replaced by No. 230 Squadron.

Forming in 1917 as No. 74 (Training Depot) Squadron, the unit began life as a training squadron. Sent to the Western Front in 1918 as No. 74 (Fighter) Squadron, the unit quickly developed a fierce reputation during the First World War due to its pilots having an aggressive 'Tiger'-like spirit.

From October 1984 onwards, 'The Tigers' operated from RAF Wattisham, Suffolk, flying the unique McDonnell Douglas F-4J(UK) Phantom. These were kept up until January 1991, when they were exchanged for the Spey–powered Phantom FGR.2s. Under the Options for Change defence review in 1990, it was decided to retire the remaining Phantom squadrons (No. 74 (F) Squadron and No. 56 (F) Squadron), with this coming to fruition by October 1992. No. 74 (R) Squadron disbanded for the last time on 22 September 2000.

On 20 March 1918, the squadron received its first operational fighters, the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a. On 30 March, the squadron was sent over to the RFC headquarters in Saint-Omer, France. No. 74 (F) Squadron saw its first action on 12 April when it engaged in a dogfight near Merville against the German Luftstreitkräfte, with Mannock scoring 'the Tigers' first kill: an Albatros Scout. Within 70 days of being on the continent, No. 74 (F) Squadron had notched 100 enemy kills to just one loss. The squadron served in France from April until February 1919, when it returned home to RAF Lopcombe Corner, Hampshire, where it was disbanded on 3 July 1919.

During its 7-month-long wartime service, it was credited with 140 enemy planes destroyed and 85 driven down out of control, for 225 victories. Seventeen aces had served in the squadron, including Victoria Cross winner Major Edward 'Mick' Mannock, Ira 'Taffy' Jones, Benjamin Roxburgh-Smith, future Air Commodore Keith Caldwell, Andrew Kiddie, Frederick Stanley Gordon, Sydney Carlin, Frederick Hunt, Clive Glynn, George Hicks, Wilfred Ernest Young, Henry Dolan, Harris Clements, George Gauld, and

Frederick Luff.

Interwar years

In response to the ongoing Abyssinia Crisis of 1935, the squadron was reformed in unusual circumstances on 3 September.

In the following July, the squadron and its Demons, were shipped back to England, with the squadron arriving at RAF Hornchurch in September 1936. In February 1937, after years of unofficial use, No. 74 (F) Squadron had its squadron badge design; a tiger's face, officially approved by King George VI. The Gauntlets were kept up until February 1939, when the squadron began converting to the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I.

The squadron, as part of No. 12 Group, first saw combat in May 1940 during the evacuation from Dunkirk, in battles which exacted a heavy toll on both pilots and aircraft. Thereafter No. 74 (F) Squadron served successfully through the Battle of Britain, being heavily involved throughout June and July. On 11 August, the squadron flew four sorties, and by the end of the day, had claimed 24 victories and 14 damaged.

With the Battle of Britain won, the squadron were posted to RAF Manston, Kent, in February 1941. The ship carrying their aircraft they had been due to fly had been sunk leaving 'the Tigers' without anything to fly. During this time, they attacked Axis railway yards and escorted Allied bombing raids on V-1 flying bomb launch sites in occupied France as part of D-Day preparations. On 3 July, the squadron left RAF Lympe for RAF Tangmere, as part of No. 134 Wing, before leaving for Sommervieu, Normandy in August 1944 and joining No. 145 Wing. From here, they supported the Allied advance through France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, in a fighter-bomber role. No. 74 (F) Squadron operated from aerodromes in Lille, Courtrai, Duerne, and Schijndel during this time. 'The Tigers' had a brief stay at RAF Lübeck between July and August 1947. From December 1947, onward, the squadron began to re-equip with Meteor F.4s, completing conversion by March 1948. In October 1950, the squadron received the much improved Meteor F.8. From 1954 onward, the squadron's Meteors began to be camouflaged in dark green and dark sea grey, this coincidentally marked the return of 'tiger stripe' markings on the squadron's aircraft; something not seen since the Gloster Gauntlets. 'The Tigers' upgraded to Lightning F.6s in November 1966, with the last Lightning F.3s remaining up until January 1967.

The squadron moved to RAF Tengah in Singapore in June 1967, where it operated alongside No. 20 Squadron, which flew Hunters, and No. 81 Squadron, which flew Canberra PR.9s. In June 1969, while based in Singapore, four Lightning F.6s flew a distance of 2,000 miles from RAF Tengah to Darwin, Northern Territory in Australia, setting the longest non-stop flight made by a Lightning.

Phantoms, Hawks, and final disbandment

300px|thumb|left|No. 74 (F) Squadron McDonnell Douglas F-4J(UK) Phantoms about to refuel from a [[No. 101 Squadron RAF|No. 101 Squadron Vickers VC10 K.2 while on delivery to RAF Wattisham, 1984.|alt=]]

After a dormancy of 13 years, No. 74 (Fighter) Squadron was reformed at RAF Wattisham, Suffolk, on 19 October 1984, with ex-US Navy McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom IIs (designated as the F-4J(UK) in RAF service). The F-4J(UK)s were then ferried across the Atlantic in three different batches supported by Vickers VC10s, with the last group arriving on 5 January 1985. July 1985 saw a deployment out to RAF Akrotiri to undergo an Armament Practice Camp (APC); which also saw them carry out dissimilar air combat training (DACT) with Grumman F-14A Tomcats of VF-41 and VF-84 (from USS Nimitz). The squadron's operational capability was declared on 31 December 1985.

No. 74 (F) Squadron's first intercept of the Phantom era was made on 7 April 1986, when a Tupolev Tu-142 Bear-F was intercepted. October 1986 saw a squadron exchange with 350th Squadron of the Belgian Air Force, seeing four SABCA F-16 Fighting Falcons arriving at Wattisham and four F-4J(UK)s going to Beauvechain Air Base. The squadron underwent another APC between February and March 1987, once again carrying out DACT with U.S. Navy Tomcats. On 1 July 1987, 'the Tigers' celebrated their 70th anniversary by attempting to break the London-to-Edinburgh speed record, succeeding in doing so with a time of 27 minutes and 3 seconds. On 26 August 1987, No. 74 (F) Squadron lost F-4J(UK) Phantom ZE358 in a fatal accident near Aberystwyth, Wales. Both crew members, Flt. Lt. Euan Holm Murdoch and Fg. Off. Jeremy Lindsey Ogg were killed.

thumb|right|No. 74 (F) Squadron McDonnell Douglas FGR.2 at [[Enschede Airport Twente|Twente Air Base, 1992|alt=]]

'The Tigers' operated their unique F-4J(UK)s up until January 1991, when they converted over to surplus Phantom FGR.2s, which were available due to other squadrons converting to the Panavia Tornado F.3. Plans had originally been for the RAF to retain two Phantom squadrons, 'the Tigers' and her sister No. 56 (F) Squadron ('the Firebirds'), at RAF Wattisham, but with the end of the Cold War, these plans were shelved. The disbanding of No. 228 OCU at RAF Leuchars led to 'the Tigers' operating the Phantom Training Flight between 1 February 1991 and 31 December 1991.

No. 74 (F) Squadron participated in their penultimate Tiger Meet as a fighter squadron at Los Llanos Air Base, Spain between 14 and 22 May 1992. Both Phantom squadrons carried out their final APC at RAF Akrotiri in early June, marking a draw down in operations. On 13 June 1992, both No. 56 (F) Squadron and No. 74 (F) Squadron participated in Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday flypast over Buckingham Palace with a 16-ship diamond formation (eight Phantoms from each squadron), one of the last acts by the Phantom fleet. Throughout its last year, No. 74 (F) Squadron flew an aerobatic display around the country, sporting colours of both 'the Tigers' and 'the Firebirds'. The Phantom FGR.2 XT914 was flown by Squadron Leader Archie Liggat and Flt. Lt. Mark 'Manners' Manwaring. 'The Tigers' held a mini Tiger Meet at RAF Wattisham between 14 and 17 September to mark the Phantom's retirement, inviting the Dutch, French, Portuguese, and the USAF among others, British Aerospace Hawk T.1s from No. 4 FTS, which No. 74 (F) Squadron would soon operate, also participated. One of No. 74 (F) Squadron's last acts was to flyover RAF Wattisham in a 'diamond nine' formation, before finally disbanding on 1 October 1992. Although disbanded, 'the Tigers' made their last Phantom flight on 1 November 1992 with a pair of Phantoms departing Wattisham; with one (XV474) going to the Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire.

On 5 October 1992, No. 74 (Reserve) Squadron stood up with the Hawk T.1 as part of No. 4 Flying Training School (4 FTS) at RAF Valley in the weapon instruction role. With the rationalisation of No. 4 FTS to just two squadrons, No. 74 (R) Squadron was disbanded for the last time on 22 September 2000.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated included:

  • Avro 504K (Jul 1917 – Mar 1918)
  • Sopwith Pup (Jan 1918 – Mar 1918)
  • Sopwith Scout (Jan 1918 – Mar 1918)
  • Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a (Mar 1918 – Feb 1919)
  • Hawker Demon Mk.I (Sep 1935 – Apr 1937)
  • Gloster Gladiator Mk.I (Mar 1937)
  • Gloster Gauntlet Mk.II (Mar 1937 – Feb 1939)
  • Miles Magister Mk.I (1938–1944)
  • Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I/Ia (Feb 1939 – Sep 1940)
  • Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IIa/IIb (Jun 1940 – Dec 1941)
  • Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb (May 1941 – Mar 1942)
  • Hawker Hurricane Mk.I/IIb/IIc (Dec 1942 – Sep 1943)
  • Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vb (Sep 1943 – Apr 1944)
  • Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vc (Sep 1943 – Apr 1944)
  • Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX (Oct 1943 – Apr 1944)
  • Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire LF.IXe (Apr 1944 – Mar 1945)
  • Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire LF.XVIe (Mar 1945 – May 1945)
  • Gloster Meteor F.3 (May 1945 – Mar 1948)
  • Gloster Meteor F.4 (Dec 1947 – Oct 1950)
  • Gloster Meteor T.7 (1950–1957)
  • Gloster Meteor F.8 (Oct 1950 – Mar 1957)
  • Hawker Hunter F.4 (Mar 1957 – Jan 1958)
  • Hawker Hunter F.6 (Nov 1957–1960)
  • Hawker Hunter T.7 (1958–1966)
  • English Electric Lightning F.1/F.1a (Jun 1960 – Apr 1964)
  • English Electric Lightning F.3 (Apr 1964 – Sep 1967)
  • English Electric Lightning T.4 (1961–1966)
  • English Electric Lightning T.5 (Jun 1967 – Aug 1971)
  • English Electric Lightning F.6 (Jun 1966 – Aug 1971)
  • McDonnell Douglas F-4J(UK) Phantom (Aug 1984 – Jan 1991)
  • McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR.2 (Jan 1991 – Oct 1992)
  • British Aerospace Hawk T.1/T.1A (Oct 1992 – Sep 2000)

Association

The 74 (F) Tiger Squadron Association brings together former Tigers from all generations for a yearly reunion dinner. Pending raising the necessary funds, plans are in place to create a museum dedicated to the squadron's history at their former RAF base of Horsham St. Faith, now Norwich Airport. Since then, plans have been made to create a special section at the City of Norwich Aviation Museum dedicated to the 'Tiger Squadron'. In 2019, the association, along with the British Phantom Aviation Group, acquired F-4J(UK) Phantom ZE360 at the Manston Fire School, with plans to restore it and display it at Cotswold Airport.

See also

  • List of RAF squadrons

References

Notes

Bibliography

  • 74 Squadron Association
  • Official history of No. 74 Squadron (archived)
  • Article about the Battle of Barking Creek — from North Weald Airfield History
  • H.M Stephen talks of 74 Squadron air operations — 1940 audio recording