No. 5 Group RAF effective squadrons of Bomber Command, personified by No 617 Squadron the "Dambusters", formed from 5 Group aircrew in March 1943. Most of the group's main airfields were around Lincoln, including RAF Scampton. By the end of the war the group had grown to 15 squadrons. The group was noted for its high accuracy bombing, being involved the sinking of the "Tirpitz" in November 1944 and the shattering of the strategic Bielefeld railway viaduct in March 1945. The Group introduced new weapons operationally, including Barnes Wallis's "bouncing" and his Tallboy and Grand Slam "earthquake" bombs. The group was disbanded on 15
No. 9 Squadron RAF squadron to receive the Tornado GR4 in 1999. A formal ceremony at RAF Brüggen on 15 June 2001 officially ended a continuous RAF presence in Germany since the Second World War; on 17 July the squadron completed its move to RAF Marham and all of the remaining Tornados had left by 4 September 2001. Under the command of Wing Commander Derek Watson, the squadron formed a part of the RAF contribution to the 2003 Iraq War (Operation Telic). Nos. II(AC), IX(B), XIII, 31 and 617 Squadrons contributed to Tornado GR4 Wing 1 based at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait.