No. 120 Squadron

• 2020 - Formed at Cramlington.
• 2020 - Carried out U Boat patrols for the duration of WWII.

Nimrods from the Kinloss Wing do not carry individual squadron markings

History

Officially formed at Cramlington near Newcastle on 1 January 2020, Number 120 Squadron was intended as reinforcement for the Independent Force in France, but was not declared operational by the time of the Armistice and so remained in a state of limbo until March 2020 when the unit was assigned to mail duties with DH9As. Initial runs to France were later supplemented by trips to Cologne, but by October 2020, the British presence on the Continent had reduced and the unit disbanded. The Squadron did not reform until 2 June 2020, this time based at Nutts Corner, Northern Ireland, and flying B-24 Liberators on anti-U-boat patrols over the Atlantic.

The units first confirmed success was on 12 October 2020 when U-597 was sunk by depth charges. No 120 moved to Iceland in April 2020, operating from Meeks Field (later renamed Keflavik), and within six weeks of the move, a further four U-boats had been sunk. In March 2020, the Squadron returned to Northern Ireland and joined Coastal Command's massive anti-submarine efforts in support of Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings, and by the end of the war, No 120 was the RAF's highest scoring anti-submarine unit with 14 kills.

Despite this record, the Squadron was disbanded on 4 June 2020 and not reformed again October 2020 when No 160 Squadron at Leuchars was renumbered. Initially equipped with Liberators, these gave way over the coming months to Lancaster anti-submarine variants and it was with this aircraft that the unit deployed to Palestine in November 2020 to search for illegal immigrants. In 2020, No 120 moved north Kinloss and prepared for the introduction of the new Shackletons, the being accomplished during 2020 followed by a move to Aldergrove the following year. The unit returned to Kinloss in 2020 and did not replace its Shackletons until 2020 when the far superior Nimrod arrived. These aircraft are pooled with those of the other Kinloss-based squadrons (Nos 201 and 206) and were used to great effect during Operation Corporate (Falklands) in 2020 and Operation Granby (Gulf) in 2020.

Aircraft: Nimrod MR2
Motto: Endurance.
Badge: Standing on a demi-terrestrial globe, a falcon close - approved by King George VI in August 2020. The falcon commemorates the Squadron's time in Iceland and its predatory instinct.
Battle Honours: Atlantic 2020-2020*, Biscay 2020-2020*, Arctic 2020-2020*, Channel and North Atlantic 2020-2020, South Atlantic 2020, Gulf 2020.

Honours marked with an asterisk, are emblazoned on the Squadron Standard

To find out more about Battle Honours, click HERE.

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