No. 220 Squadron RAF
Encyclopedia
| No. 220 Squadron | ||
|---|---|---|
| Information | ||
| Role | Reconnaissance Reconnaissance Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment.... and Anti-Shipping |
|
| Aircraft Operated | non currently extant | |
| Home Station | non currently extant | |
| Motto | "We Observe Unseen" | |
| History | ||
| Date Founded | September 1918 | |
| Badge | On a pellet between two eight-pointed stars, a torch inflamed | |
| Notable Battle Honours | ||
No. 220 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...
was originally 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 naval patrol unit, and finally as part of Britain's strategic nuclear deterrent.
First World War
The squadron was initially founded in September 1918 by merging No. 475, 476 and 477 Flights, and operated on fighter and reconnaissance duties as part of No. 62 Wing. It flew Sopwith Camels during this period. Following the end of hostilities, the squadron was disbanded in December 1918.Second World War
During the buildup to the Second World War, No. 220 Squadron reformed at RAF Bircham NewtonRAF Bircham Newton
RAF Bircham Newton was a Royal Air Force airfield in the west of the county of Norfolk in the United Kingdom, eight miles west of Fakenham.-History:...
in 1936 as a reconnaissance squadron flying Ansons
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
. With the outbreak of war it flew patrols from RAF Thornaby
RAF Thornaby
RAF Thornaby was a former RAF Station located at the Teesside town of Thornaby-on-Tees, North Yorkshire. The station was created in the mid 1920s and came under the control of No. 18 Group, RAF Coastal Command in 1939. Being used mostly for reconnaissance work, anti shipping strikes, and attacks on...
as part of No. 18 Group
No. 18 Group RAF
No. 18 Group of the Royal Air Force was a group active from 1918 to 1919, and from 1938 to 1996.- 1918 - 1919 :The Group was initially formed on 1 April 1918 in No 4 Area. It was transferred to North-Eastern Area, 8 May 1918...
, transitioning to Hudsons
Lockheed Hudson
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
in November; it flew anti-shipping missions with these in the North Sea from May 1940 onwards. In April 1941, still in the anti-shipping role, it moved to RAF Wick to fly strikes against Norwegian coastal traffic, and began to operate the Fortress in November. In February 1942 it moved to RAF Nutts Corner
RAF Nutts Corner
RAF Nutts Corner was a Royal Air Force station in County Antrim near Belfast. It was originally a civil airfield, then it became a military airfield and subsequently Northern Ireland's main civil airport until the 1960s.-Civil operations:...
under No. 15 Group, then to RAF Ballykelly in June; in March 1943 it transferred to RAF Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides. Detachments operated from RAF Bircham Newton
RAF Bircham Newton
RAF Bircham Newton was a Royal Air Force airfield in the west of the county of Norfolk in the United Kingdom, eight miles west of Fakenham.-History:...
, RAF St Eval
RAF St Eval
RAF St Eval was a strategic airbase for the RAF Coastal Command in the Second World War . St Eval's primary role was to provided anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols off the south west coast of England...
and RAF Detling
RAF Detling
RAF Detling was a station of the Royal Naval Air Service in World War I and the Royal Air Force in World War II. Situated 600 feet above sea level, it is located near Detling, a village about three miles north-east of Maidstone, in Kent....
in 1940, and from RAF Shallufa in Egypt in early 1942.
In October 1943 the squadron was moved to RAF Lagens, in the Azores Islands, where it came under No. 247 Group and, in December 1944, was re-equipped with Liberators
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
. From 1943 until the end of the war the squadron flew anti-submarine patrols across the South Atlantic.
In June 1945 the squadron returned to the UK as part of Transport Command, and flew troop flights to India from October 1945 to April 1946. After this final service, the squadron was disbanded in May 1946.
Cold War
In September 1951, the squadron was reformed as part of Coastal Command, based at RAF St Mawgan, equipped with ShackletonAvro Shackleton
The Avro Shackleton was a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft for use by the Royal Air Force. It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber with a new fuselage...
aircraft and operating in the maritime reconnaissance role. In 1953 the Squadron aircraft flew in formation in the flypast
Flypast
Flypast is a term used in the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and other countries to denote ceremonial or honorific flights by groups of aircraft and, rarely, by a single aircraft...
on the occasion of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
. At that time the Shackleton was fitted with a mid upper gun turret, the last RAF operational aircraft so equipped. This Bristol turret with twin 20 mm Hispano cannon was later removed. The squadron was redesignated as No. 201 Squadron
No. 201 Squadron RAF
No. 201 Squadron of the Royal Air Force, until March 2010, operated the Nimrod MR2, based at RAF Kinloss, Moray. It is the only squadron affiliated with Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. This affiliation started in 1935 and is commemorated in the museum on Castle Cornet. Its history goes even...
in October 1958.
The squadron was again reformed as No. 220 (SM) Squadron RAF in July 1959, equipped with three Thor ballistic missiles
PGM-17 Thor
Thor was the first operational ballistic missile of the U.S. Air Force . Named after the Norse god of thunder, it was deployed in the United Kingdom between 1959 and September 1963 as an intermediate range ballistic missile with thermonuclear warheads. Thor was in height and in diameter. It was...
, carrying a 1.4 megaton W-49 nuclear warhead
W49
The W49 was an American thermonuclear warhead, used on the Thor, Atlas, Jupiter, and Titan I ballistic missile systems. W49 warheads were manufactured starting in 1958 and were in service until 1963, with a few warheads being retained until 1975....
, as part of the UK-US strategic deterrent, Project Emily
Project Emily
Project Emily was the deployment of American-built PGM-17 Thor Intermediate-range ballistic missiles in the United Kingdom between 1959 and 1963....
. It was based at RAF North Pickenham
RAF North Pickenham
RAF North Pickenham is a former Royal Air Force base near North Pickenham, in Norfolk. It was originally opened in 1944 and finally closed in 1965.-USAAF use:...
in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
until it was disbanded, along with the other Thor squadrons, in 1963.
Air Training Corps
220 squadron is also the local ATCATC
- Military :* Air Training Command, the predecessor to Air Education and Training Command in the United States Air Force* New Zealand Air Training Corps* Air Training Corps, United Kingdom...
squadron in St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
. They are renowned for their drill prowess. As of June 2010, they have won the wing
Wing
A wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...
drill competition 9 years running. They are furtherly renowned for their unsimiling appearance in team photographs, part of the 'hardcore' facade.