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{{Short description|Defunct flying squadron of the Royal Air Force}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox military unit|
|unit_name= No. 133 (Eagle) Squadron RAF
|image= [[File:133 squadronEagle crest.png|133 squadronSquadron crestCrest.png]]
|caption= Official badge of No. 133 squadron RAF
|dates= 1 March 1918 - 4 July 1918<br> 1 August 1941 -– 29 September 1942
|country= {{flagicon|UK}} [[United Kingdom]]
|allegiance= {{flagicon|UK}} [[United Kingdom]] <br>{{USA}} (September 1942)
|branch= [[File:Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg|23px]] [[Royal Air Force]]
|type= Inactive
|role= Fighter
|size=
|command_structure=
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|march=
|mascot=
|equipment=
|equipment= [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricanes]], [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfires]]
|equipment_label= Aircraft
|battles=
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|notable_commanders=
<!-- Insignia -->
|identification_symbol= On a hurt a semée of [[Mullet (heraldry)|mullets]] argent, an eagle deployeddisplayed Or<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rafht.co.uk/index.php/2016/06/08/133-eagle-sqn/ |title= 133 (Eagle) Sqn |website= RAF Heraldry Trust |access-date=20 September 2019}}</ref>
|identification_symbol_label= [[Heraldic badges of the Royal Air Force|Squadron Badge heraldry]]
|identification_symbol_2= '''MD''' (July 1941 - September 1942)
|identification_symbol_2_label= Squadron Codes
}}
'''133 Squadron RAF''' was one of the famous [[Eagle squadronSquadrons]]s formed from American volunteers serving with the [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] (RAF) during the [[World War II|Second World War]].
 
==History==
133 Squadron was first formed in 1918 at [[RAF Ternhill]]. It was a training unit for the [[Handley Page O/400]], flying the [[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2]], that was expected to move to France, but was disbanded on 4 July 1918. Various attempts to reform as both a bomber and fighter squadron were all abandoned as the end of the [[World War I|First World War]] approached.
 
It was reformed at [[RAF Coltishall]] in July 1941 as the third of the [[Eagle squadronsSquadron]]s, equipped with [[Hawker Hurricane#Mk. II|Hawker Hurricane IIB]] fighters. It transferred to [[Duxford|RAF Duxford]] in August, and by October was at [[RAF Eglinton]], [[County Londonderry]] in [[Northern Ireland]], where it was equipped with [[Supermarine Spitfire (early Merlin powered variants)#Mk II (Type 329)|Supermarine Spitfire IIAs]]. It then transferred back to the south-east England including time at [[RAF Biggin Hill]]. The squadron ran fighter sweeps over France until September 1942 when it was transferred to the [[United States Army Air Forces|USAAF]] and became the [[336th Fighter Squadron]] of the [[4th Fighter Group]].
 
On an escort mission to [[Morlaix]] on 26 September 1942 the squadron was held up by strong headwinds, leading it to mistake [[Brest, France|Brest]] for the British coast. They lost 11 out of 12 of their new Spitfire Mk IXs, four pilots being killed, six captured (one of whom was later [[Stalag Luft III murders|murdered]] by the Germans after taking part in the escape from [[Stalag Luft III]]) and one evading. The squadron was transferred to the USAAF three days later, but this was part of a previously planned transfer of all three Eagle Squadrons to US command, and not a reaction to the Morlaix disaster.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Morlaix disaster - 26th September 1942 {{!}} RAF Memorial Flight Club|url=https://www.memorialflightclub.com/blog/morlaix-disaster-26th-september-1942|access-date=2021-10-11|website=www.memorialflightclub.com}}</ref>
== Roland Wolfe's crash in Inishowen ==
 
In November 1941, [[Roland 'Bud' Wolfe]] crash landed in [[Inishowen]], [[Co. Donegal]]. His plane's coolant overheated during a patrol mission just north of the Inishowen peninsula. Trying to return to RAF Eglinton, he had no choice but to bail out of his Spitfire, as he was losing altitude. His plane crashed in the heather covered area of Moneydarragh, Gleneely. He was arrested and sent to Curragh detention prison, where he spent two years. He was then released and went on to serve the 'Eagles' once again. His Spitfire was recovered on the 28, June 2011 by aviation historian Johnny McNee, along with others. The recovery was filmed, and will be made into a documentary for the [[BBC]].
 
[[File:Helmet.JPG|thumb|right|200px|page=13|'Bud' Wolfe's helmet recovered from the wreckage in Inishowen]]▼
=== 1941 Spitfire crash in the Republic of Ireland ===
In November 1941, while the squadron was based in [[Northern Ireland]] (see above), one of its pilots – Pilot Officer [[Bud Wolfe|Roland "Bud" Wolfe]] of Nebraska – crashed in the [[Republic of Ireland]]. Because the republic was officially neutral throughout the war, Wolfe was [[intern]]ed.
 
While he was on patrol near the [[Inishowen]] peninsula, the engine of Wolfe's Spitfire suddenly overheated and began to lose power and altitude. As he was unable to land safely, Wolfe decided to abandon his aircraft. After bailing out, he landed in [[County Donegal]]. His Spitfire crashed in a heather-covered area of [[Gleneely|Moneydarragh, Gleneely]].
 
After being arrested, Wolfe was sent to [[Curragh Camp]], where Allied military aviators were interned by the Irish government during the war. Wolfe spent two years in the camp, before he was able to return to active service as a fighter pilot (by which time both he and his squadron had been officially transferred to the [[United States Army Air Forces]]).
 
On 28 June 2011, Wolfe's Spitfire was recovered by a team led by aviation historian Johnny McNee. The recovery was filmed for documentary purposes by the [[BBC]].
 
▲<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Helmet 1.JPG|thumb|right|200px|page=13|'Bud' Wolfe's helmet recovered from the wreckage in Inishowen]] -->
 
==Aircraft operated==
* 1918 - [[Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2|Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2b]]
* 1941 - [[Hawker Hurricane|Hawker HurricanceHurricane IIB]]
* 1941 - [[Supermarine Spitfire|Supermarine Spitfire IIB]]
* 1942 - [[Supermarine Spitfire|Supermarine Spitfire VA and VB]]
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==Fiction==
In the 2005 episode of ''[[Doctor Who]],'' "[[The Empty Child]]", [[Jack Harkness]], from the 51st century, is posingposes as a volunteer in the squadron during 1941.
 
==References==
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===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* Caine, Philip D. ''American Pilots in the RAF: The WWII Eagle Squadrons''. Brassey's, 1993. {{ISBN |0-02-881070-8}}.
* Childers, James Saxon. ''War Eagles: The Story of the Eagle Squadron''. Windmill Press, 1943.
**Republished by Eagle Publishing in 1983, {{ISBN |0-941624-71-4}}. Same as the 1943 edition, except it has an epilogue of the members in 1982.
* Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918-1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. {{ISBN |0-85130-164-9}}.
* Haughland, Vern. ''The Eagle Squadrons: Yanks in the RAF, 1940-1942''. Ziff-Davis Flying Books, 1979.
**Republished by TAB Books in 1992, {{ISBN |0-8306-2146-6}}, with all the photos different from the 1st edition.
* Haughland, Vern. ''The Eagles' War: The Saga of the Eagle Squadron Pilots, 1940-1945''. Jason Aronson, Inc., 1982. {{ISBN |0-87668-495-9}}.
**Republished by TAB Books in 1992, {{ISBN |0-8306-2145-8}}, with all the photos different from the 1st edition.
* Holmes, Tony. ''American Eagles: American Volunteers in the R.A.F., 1937-1943''. Classic Publications, 2001. {{ISBN |1-903223-16-4}}.
* Jefford, Wing Commander C.G. MBE, BA, RAF (Retd.). ''RAF Squadrons, A Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1998 (Second edition 2001). {{ISBN |978-1-84037-141-3}}.
* Rawlings, John D.R. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (new edition 1976, reprinted 1978). {{ISBN |0-354-01028-X}}.
{{refend}}
 
==External links==
* [http://www.fourthfightergroup.com/eagles/133.html 133 Squadron history]
* [httphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z2fVNnI6ms RAF Eagle Squadron] (historic video)
*[http://www.4thfightergroupassociation.org ''4th Fighter Group WWII'' Official WWII Association Website]
 
{{RAF squadrons}}
{{Royal Air Force}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 133 Squadron Raf}}
[[Category:Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons|133]]
[[Category:Royal Flying Corps squadrons]]
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1918]]
[[Category:1918 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Eagle Squadrons]]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._133_Squadron_RAF"