No. 248 Squadron RAF

No. 248 Squadron RAF
Active	August 1918 - 6 March 1919 30 October 1939 - 30 September 1946
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Motto	French: Il faut en finir ("It is necessary to make an end of it")
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry	A demi-sword in bend partly withdrawn from the scabbard.[1]
Squadron Codes	WR (Oct 1939 - Oct 1943) DM (Oct 1943 - 1945)

No. 248 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force, active immediately after World War I, and again during World War II.

Service history

Post-World War I

The squadron was first formed in August 1918 from No's 404, 405 and 453 Flights at Hornsea Mere, it operated Short 184s and Sopwith Babys on anti-submarine patrols along the East Yorkshire coast. It disbanded on 6 March 1919.

World War II

The squadron reformed at RAF Hendon on 30 October 1939 as a Blenheim night fighter unit, but it was December before any aircraft were received. At that time the resources for successful night fighting (airborne radar) were in very short supply and as a result it was transferred to Coastal Command in February 1940. Initially based at North Coates, it moved to Thorney Island in Essex in April and Gosport a week later. In May a move to Scotland brought it back to Fighter Command for patrols over the North Sea, but in June it was again transferred to Coastal Command.

Still based in Scotland, it now began anti-shipping attacks along the Norwegian coast as well as escort patrols and reconnaissance missions. In June 1941 a move to RAF Bircham Newton occurred and a month later its Blenheims were replaced by Beaufighters. For three months at the end of the year it operated a detachment in Cornwall carrying-out similar operations over the English Channel and Western Approaches. It continued in its anti-shipping role from Bircham Newton until February 1942, when it returned to RAF Dyce in Scotland. Here it carried out long range patrols over the North Sea. In August it was sent to Malta, where it conducted similar operations over the Mediterranean.

In September 1942 it left its aeroplanes in Malta and returned to the UK, where it collected new aircraft and resumed operations from RAF Talbenny in Pembrokeshire. In December 1943 the Beaufighters were replaced by Mosquito VIs, its main task now was fighter reconnaissance over the Channel and along the French coast in preparation for Operation Overlord. Following the invasion, the squadron was moved to Banff in Scotland to join the Banff Strike Wing. It operated as part of this wing until the end of war and from January 1945 it operated Mosquito XVIIIs, equipped with a Molins 6-pounder gun in the nose. After the war it moved to RAF Chivenor, where it was disbanded by being renumbered No.36 Squadron on 30 September 1946.^[2]

References

Notes;

1. ^ http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/248squadron.cfm
2. ^ "A History of RAF Organisation : No 246 - 250 Squadron Histories". www.rafweb.org. http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn246-250.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-10. 

Bibliography

• Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918-1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
• Jefford, Wing Commander C.G., MBE,BA,RAF (Retd). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
• Rawlings, John D.R. Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (new edition 1976, reprinted 1978). ISBN 0-354-01028-X.
• Robinson, Anthony. RAF Fighter Squadrons in the Battle of Britain. London: Arms and Armour Press Ltd., 1987 (Reprinted in 1999 by Brockhampton Press, ISBN 1-86019-907-0.)

External links

• Squadron history
• Squadron Histories of Nos. 246-250