No. 254 Squadron RAF

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

No. 254 Squadron RAF
Active25 July 1918 - 22 February 1919
30 October 1939 - 1 October 1946
1 December 1959 - 23 August 1963 (as 254(SM) Sqn.)
Country 
IRBM
(Cold War)

No. 254 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was the designation of a number of units formed throughout the 20th century.

History

World War One

No. 254 Squadron first formed in 1918 as a coastal reconnaissance squadron operating from Prawle Point. The squadron was divided into flights with 492 (Light Bomber) Flight operating the DH.9s and 515 and 516 (Special Duties) Flights the DH.6s.[1] After the cessation of hostilities it was disbanded in February 1919. It operated the DH.6 and DH.9.

World War Two

254 was reformed shortly after the outbreak of the

Coastal Command
. Its duties consisted of patrolling the North Sea Fishing fleet, convoy escort work, and reconnaissance.

The unit operated Bristol Blenheims until 1942, before re-equipping with the Bristol Beaufighter. In 1941 the unit introduced torpedoes and primarily operated in an anti-shipping role for the rest of the war, with a focus on anti-U-boat work from early 1945.

In October 1946 they re-numbered as No. 42 Squadron RAF.[2]

Cold War

The squadron was reformed again in 1959 as one of 20 Strategic Missile (SM) squadrons associated with

Intermediate range ballistic missiles. and based at RAF Melton Mowbray.[3]

In October 1962, during the

USSR
. The squadron was disbanded with the termination of the Thor Program in Britain, in 1963.

See also

References

  1. ISBN 0-85130-191-6
    .
  2. ^ "No.254 Squadron | Squadrons | Research | National Cold War Exhibition". www.nationalcoldwarexhibition.org.
  3. ^ "Thor Missile Deployment in the UK | Harrington Museum". Harrington Aviation Museum | CarpetBagger.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to No. 254 Squadron RAF.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=No._254_Squadron_RAF&oldid=1180786938"