No. 16 Squadron is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

. It formed in 1915 at Saint-Omer

Saint-Omer

Saint-Omer , a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais. The town is named after Saint Audomar, who brought Christianity to the area....

 to carry out a mixture of offensive patrolling and reconnaissance and was disbanded in 1919 with the end of the First World War. The squadron reformed on 1st April 1924 and again took on a reconnaissance role which it continued throughout the Second World War.

Post-war, the squadron was disbanded and reformed several times and was converted to a bomber squadron.