No. 250 Squadron RAF
| No. 250 (Sudan) Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1 May 1918 - 15 May 1919 1 April 1941 - 2 January 1947 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Type | Flying squadron |
| Role | Anti-submarine warfare Air defence |
| Nickname(s) | Sudan |
No. 250 (Sudan) Squadron RAF was a
Second World War
, in April 1941.
History
No. 250 Squadron was formed on 10 May 1918 at Padstow from Nos.494, 500, 501, 502 and 503 Flights for coastal reconnaissance duties over the Bristol Channel and its approaches. Equipped with a mixture of D.H.6s and D.H.9s, it flew anti-submarine patrols until the Armistice and disbanded on 31 May 1919.[1][2]
On 1 April 1941, No.250 reformed at
Kittyhawks, it returned to the desert in April as a fighter bomber unit and provided support for the 8th Army, advancing with it through Libya into Tunisia to end the North African campaign. In July 1943, the squadron flew to Malta to support the landings in Sicily moving there a few days afterwards.[5] By mid-September it had occupied airfields in Italy where it spent the rest of the war flying fighter bomber missions. In August 1945, No.260 Squadron disbanded and transferred its Mustangs to No.250 which then flew them until disbanded on 30 December 1946 at Treviso, in Italy.[6]
Squadron badge
The squadron's badge was adorned with a River Eagle, a bird native to Sudan, and the motto Close to the sun. The squadron was donated by the British community in Sudan when it was reformed in 1941.[7][8]
References
- ^ Philpott 2013, p. 256.
- ^ Delve 2006, p. 317.
- ^ Fairbarn 1991, p. 18.
- ^ BBC 2014.
- ^ Fairbarn 1991, pp. 32, 88.
- ^ Lake 1999, p. 248.
- ^ Pine 1983, p. 34.
- ^ Smith 1947, p. 355.
Sources
- "BBC - WW2 People's War - RAF: 250 Sudan Squadron". www.bbc.co.uk. 15 October 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
- Delve, Ken (2006). South-Western England : Channel Islands, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire. Marlborough: Crowood. p. 317. ISBN 1-86126-810-6.
- Fairbarn, Tony (1991). Action Stations Overseas. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens. ISBN 1-85260-319-4.
- Lake, Alan (1999). Flying units of the RAF: The Ancestry, Formation and Disbandment of all Flying Units from 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.
- Pine, L. G. (1983). A Dictionary of Mottoes. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
- Philpott, I M (2013). The birth of the Royal Air Force. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1-78159-333-2.
- Smith, Geoffrey (17 April 1947). "Service Aviation News". Flight International. 51 (1, 999). ISSN 0015-3710.
External links
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