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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 0093.PDF
FLIGHT, 21 January 1955 93 No. 27 SQUADRON History of a Famous Bomber Unit THE presentation, on January 7th,of a Squadron Standardto No. 27 Squadron at Scampton, provided an oppor-tunity to study the history of this remarkable unit. Since its formation at Hounslow on November 5th, 1915, No. 27 has operated in a wide variety of roles, including reconnaissance, fighting, bombing and transport—few units have been more versatile. In an exciting career it has been wiped out once, disbanded three times and re-formed four tim°s. The squadron first went to France on active service in March 1916 and was, in fact, only the second unit flying single-seat aircraft to go to France specifically for air fighting duties. It didnot remain as such. The aircraft were Martinsyde Scouts, nicknamed "Elephants,"but the origin of this soubriquet is not clear. The machine was larger than contemporary single-seat types, and this may havebeen the reason, or it may have been considered that there was something elephantine in its outlines. Comparison of performance with the squadron's 500 m.p.h.-plusCanberras is interesting. The Martinsyde had a 160 h.p. Beard- more engine and a maximum speed of 102 m.p.h.; rate of climbat 10,000ft was 450 ft/min and service ceiling 16,000ft; fully loaded it weighed 2,458 lb. Offensive armament comprised one 0.303 S/L. P. W. Helmore, D.F.C., A.F.C., the present Commanding Officer. "Flight" photographs Comparative photographs of No. 27 Squadron's present-day silver painted Canberras at Scampton and their olive-green D.H.4 bombers at Serny Aerodrome in France in the latter part of the 1914-18 war.
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