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| No. 224 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1 April 1918 - May 1919 1 February 1937 – 31 October 1966 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Size | Squadron |
| Motto(s) | Fedele all'amico (Italian: Faithful to a friend) [1] |
No. 224 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron that saw service in both the First and Second World Wars.
It was formed on 1 April 1918, at Alimini, Italy from part of No. 6 Wing RNAS, equipped with the de Havilland DH.4. In June 1918 it re-equipped with the de Havilland DH.9. [2] [3] It carried out attacks against Austro-Hungarian targets in Montenegro and Albania, [4] and on 2 October 1918, took part in an aerial bombardment of Durazzo, Albania in support of a naval attack on that port. [5] The squadron disbanded at Taranto on 15 May 1919. [6]
On 1 February 1937, the squadron reformed at Manston as a General Reconnaissance squadron, [lower-alpha 1] with personnel from No. 48 Squadron. It then moved to Boscombe Down where it received Avro Anson aircraft. [4] [8] The squadron moved to RAF Thornaby in Yorkshire in July 1937. [4] [8] In August 1938 the squadron moved to Leuchars in Scotland, and from May 1939 began re-equipping with the Lockheed Hudson, becoming the first RAF squadron to operate the American reconnaissance bomber, becoming operational in August that year. [8] [9]
On the outbreak of the Second World War, the squadron deployed its Hudsons on patrols over the North Sea and reconnaissance missions over German ports, losing three aircraft by the end of September 1939. On 8 October 1939 three of its Hudsons shot down a German Dornier Do 18 flying boat, the first enemy aircraft claimed shot down by the RAF in the Second World War. [10] The German invasion of Norway in April 1940 saw the squadron's Hudsons carry out bombing operations against harbours and shipping, with operations off the coast of Norway continuing after the Norway's occupation. [8] On 27 December 1940, one of the squadron's Hudsons sank the merchant ship Arnfinn Jarl off Egersund, [11] and on 4 January 1941, had another anti-shipping success, sinking the merchant ship Snyg south east of Haugesund. [12] [13] [14]
The squadron moved to Limavady in April 1941, and St Eval in December 1941. In February 1942 it returned to Limavady and moved to Tiree in April 1942 where it converted to Consolidated Liberators. In September 1942 the squadron moved; first to Beaulieu, then St Eval in April 1943, and Milltown, Scotland in September 1944. 224 Squadron was a successful anti-submarine unit, accounting for ten [15] U-boats destroyed during the Second World War. [16] Its wartime commanders included New Zealanders A. E. Clouston and Mick Ensor. The squadron returned to St Eval in July 1945 where it converted to Avro Lancasters in October 1946. The squadron disbanded on 10 November 1947.
The squadron reformed on 1 March 1948 at RAF Aldergrove, equipped with the Handley Page Halifax. In 1951 it re-equipped with the Avro Shackleton, which it operated from RAF Gibraltar from August 1951, [17] until disbanding on 31 October 1966. During this period its main tasks were NATO maritime surveillance as well as search and rescue duties within the Gibraltar Maritime Area. This area covered a large part of the eastern Atlantic as well as the western Mediterranean. [18]
No. 206 Squadron is a Test and Evaluation Squadron of the Royal Air Force. Until 2005 it was employed in the maritime patrol role with the Nimrod MR.2 at RAF Kinloss, Moray. It was announced in December 2004 that 206 Squadron would disband on 1 April 2005, with half of its crews being redistributed to Nos. 120 and 201 Squadrons, also stationed at Kinloss. This was a part of the UK Defence Review called Delivering Security in a Changing World; the Nimrod MR.2 fleet was reduced in number from 21 to 16 as a consequence.
Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove, also known as simply JHC FS Aldergrove, is a British military base located 4.4 miles (7.1 km) south of Antrim, Northern Ireland and 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Belfast, and adjoins Belfast International Airport. It is sometimes referred to simply as Aldergrove which is the name of a nearby hamlet.
Number 8 Squadron of the Royal Air Force last operated the Boeing E-3D Sentry AEW1 (AWACS) from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. As of 2020, the RAF AWACS fleet was made up of three Sentry AEW1s, down from seven originally ordered in the late 1980s. Pursuant to the 2021 defence review, the E-3D Sentry aircraft made its final flight in U.K. service in August 2021.
Number 120 Squadron or No. CXX Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force which was established as a Royal Flying Corps unit late in World War I, disbanded a year after the end of the war, then re-established as a RAF Coastal Command squadron during World War II. Although disbanded again a month after Victory in Europe Day, during and after World War II it operated almost continuously, with maritime patrol aircraft; most recently with the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod, based at RAF Kinloss in Scotland until the type's withdrawal in March 2010. The squadron was disbanded again the following year. No. 120 Squadron stood up again in April 2018 at RAF Lossiemouth and became the first squadron to be equipped with the Boeing Poseidon MRA1 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft on 31 October 2019.
No. 24 Squadron (also known as No. XXIV Squadron) of the Royal Air Force is the Air Mobility Operational Conversion Unit (AM OCU). Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 24 Squadron is responsible for aircrew training on A400M Atlas and C-17 Globemaster. The squadron also delivers or oversees engineer training for these aircraft.
No. 220 Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) was founded in 1918 and disbanded in 1963 after four separate periods of service. The squadron saw service in both the First and Second World Wars, as a maritime patrol unit, and finally as part of Britain's strategic nuclear deterrent.
No. 200 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operated during the First and Second World War. The squadron was first formed in mid-1917 and during the First World War, it undertook a training role, before being disbanded in mid-1919. It was re-formed in 1941, and operated maritime patrol aircraft firstly from the United Kingdom, and then west Africa until early 1944 when it moved to India. In April 1945, the squadron was disbanded, having been renumbered No. 8 Squadron RAF.
Royal Air Force Bircham Newton or more simply RAF Bircham Newton is a former Royal Air Force station located 2.1 miles (3.4 km) south east of Docking, Norfolk and 13.4 miles (21.6 km) north east of King's Lynn, Norfolk, England.
No. 53 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron that saw service in both the First and Second World Wars.
No. 160 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force unit during the Second World War, when it flew for four years in a number of roles including heavy bomber, minelaying, reconnaissance, special operations and transport unit in the Middle East and South-East Asian theatre of World War II.
Royal Air Force Thornaby, or more simply RAF Thornaby, is a former Royal Air Force Station located in the town of Thornaby-on-Tees, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England. Fighter Command, Bomber Command and Coastal Command all operated from the base over its history, but its stint under Coastal Command is what the base was notable for, particularly in the air-sea rescue environment and the development of the Thornaby Bag. This was an emergency bag dropped to downed aircrew at sea and contained food, cigarettes and drink.
No. 104 Squadron RAF is a former squadron of the British Royal Air Force.
No. 228 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force active at various times between 1918 and 1964. It spent the greatest part of its existence flying over water, doing so in the First, and Second World Wars and beyond, performing anti-submarine, reconnaissance and air-sea rescue tasks.
No. 204 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit first formed in March 1915 as No.4 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service.
No. 269 Squadron RAF was a maritime patrol unit of the Royal Air Force that saw service in World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.
No. 231 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force between 1918 and 1946, active in both World War I and World War II in various roles.
No. 15 Group was a group of the Royal Air Force, which disbanded in 1945. It was operational in the last year of, and just after, the First World War, a reformation saw it active throughout the Second World War.
No. 16 Group RAF was a group of the Royal Air Force. It existed over two periods in two different roles. No. 16 Group was initially a training group, from 1918 to 1920, that had been transferred from the Royal Flying Corps. It reformed as a reconnaissance group under RAF Coastal Command, in 1936.
No. 19 Group was a group of the Royal Air Force, active during 1918, and then from 1941-1969.
RAF Iceland is a former Royal Air Force command which controlled RAF units within Iceland. The command was operational between July 1941 and July 1945 during the Second World War, the unit was previously No. 30 Wing RAF.
