No. 59 Squadron | |
---|---|
Active | 1 August 1916 (RFC) to 4 August 1919 28 June 1937 - 15 June 1946 1 December 1947 - 31 October 1950 1 September 1956 - 4 January 1961 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Motto(s) | Latin: Ab uno disce omnes ("From one teach all") [1] |
Insignia | |
Squadron badge heraldry | A broken wheel. |
Squadron codes | PJ Sep 1938 - Sep 1939 TR Sep 1939 - Oct 1942 1 Aug 1943 - Jul 1944 WE Jul 1944 - Oct 1945 BY Oct 1945 - Jun 1946, Dec 1947 - Oct 1950 |
No. 59 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, based in Norfolk, England.
No.59 Squadron was formed at Narborough Airfield in Norfolk on 1 August 1916 as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps. [2] On 13 February 1917, the Squadron crossed the English Channel, deploying to Saint-Omer in northern France to operate in the army co-operation role, equipped with Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8s. [3]
During the Second World War it was attached to RAF Fighter Command (1937–1940), Bomber Command (taking part in the Millennium II raid on Bremen) and Coastal Command (1940–1945). After the war, No 59 Squadron was attached to Transport Command, flying troops to India from September 1945 until 15 June 1946, when the squadron was disbanded. On 1 December 1947 whilst at RAF Waterbeach, half the crew of No 51 Squadron were designated to reform as No 59 Squadron. At 0800 the move from RAF Waterbeach to RAF Abingdon commenced whereupon the arrival of their commanding officer, Squadron Leader E.V Best A.F.C at 1000, the squadron officially reformed, as a Long Range Transport Unit flying Avro Yorks. A detached flight would later take part in the Berlin Airlift (1948–49). The squadron disbanded again on 31 October 1950, then reformed at RAF Gutersloh, Germany in August 1956, when No. 102 Squadron was re-numbered No 59 Sqn flying English Electric Canberra B.2s and B(I).8s. No 59 Squadron was last disbanded in 1961, when it was re-numbered to No.3 Squadron. [4]
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.
Number 1 Squadron, also known as No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to fly a VTOL aircraft. It currently operates Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth.
No. 7 Squadron is a special operations support squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing Chinook HC6 from RAF Odiham, Hampshire.
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. 21 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1915 and was disbanded for the last time in 1979.
No 36 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Cramlington in 1916 and was disbanded for the last time in 1975.
No. 40 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1916 at Gosport as No. 40 Squadron Royal Flying Corps and was disbanded for the last time in 1957. The squadron also included many non-British members, including volunteers from the Royal Australian Air Force and Royal Canadian Air Force.
No. 102 Squadron was a Royal Air Force night bomber squadron in the First World War and a heavy bomber squadron in the Second World War. After the war it flew briefly as a transport squadron before being reformed a light bomber unit with the Second Tactical Air Force within RAF Germany. Its last existence was as a Thor strategic missile unit.
No. 52 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron that saw service in both World War I and World War II.
No. 53 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron that saw service in both the First and Second World Wars.
No. 141 Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Air Force. It was first formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps in January 1918 as a fighter squadron, serving on home defence duties for the rest of the First World War., before being disbanded in 1920. The Second World War resulted in the squadron being reformed in 1939, serving as a night fighter and night intruder squadron until being disbanded in September 1945. it was reformed again in 1946, flying night fighters until 1958, while from 1959 until 1964 operated surface-to-air missiles.
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. 235 Squadron RAF was an anti-submarine warfare squadron of the Royal Air Force which disbanded during July 1945. It was active in both the First World War, forming during August 1918 and disbanding in February 1919, and in the Second World War, reforming at the end of October 1939, and served as a squadron in RAF Coastal Command.
No. 62 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was originally established as a Royal Flying Corps squadron in 1916 and operated the Bristol F2B fighter in France during the last year of the First World War. After the war the squadron was disbanded and it was re-established in 1937 as part of the buildup of the RAF in the late 1930s. During the Second World War the Squadron was deployed to the Far East, operating the Bristol Blenheim from Singapore and Malaya. In 1942 No. 62 Squadron was re-equipped with the Lockheed Hudson and it moved to Sumatra, then Burma and then India. After the close of World War II the squadron disbanded for the second time. It was briefly re-established from 1946 to 1947 as a Dakota squadron and operated out of Burma and India. It final incarnation was as a Bristol Bloodhound missile unit in the early 1960s.
No. 105 Squadron was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force, active for three periods between 1917 and 1969. It was originally established during the First World War as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps and disbanded after the war. Reactivated shortly before the Second World War, it was inactive again after the conflict. During its second existence it was a bomber unit and had the distinction to be the first to operate the de Havilland Mosquito light bomber. During the 1960s it was reactivated again for six years to provide transport support for the British Army in the Aden Protectorate and the Far East.
No. 204 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit first formed in March 1915 as No.4 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service.
Number 58 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force.
No. 608 Squadron was an Auxiliary Air Force squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. It flew during its existence as a bomber, fighter and reconnaissance unit and was the only RAF squadron to be equipped with the unsuccessful Blackburn Botha torpedo bomber.
No. 98 Squadron was a Royal Air Force bomber squadron during World War I and World War II. It flew fighter-bombers post-war, and converted to fighters in 1955. Reformed as a ballistic missile unit between 1959 and 1963, its final incarnation was as a radar calibration unit. It was disbanded in 1976.
No. 114 Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Air Force. It was first formed in India during the First World War, serving as a light bomber squadron during the Second World War and as a transport squadron post-war. It was last disbanded in 1971.