No. 187 Squadron RAF was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Squadron that was a transport unit towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History

Formation in World War I

The squadron formed on 1 April 1918 as a night training unit and disbanded in 1919 without acquiring its own aircraft.

Formation in World War II

The squadron reformed on 1 February 1945 at RAF Merryfield and equipped with Halifax transport aircraft. It then equipped with

Dakotas The Dakotas is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geography, fauna, sociology, econom ...

for trooping flights to

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and then destinations in Europe including

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

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. The squadron disbanded in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

on 1 November 1946 upon renumbering as

No. 53 Squadron RAF No. 53 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron that saw service in both the First and Second World Wars. History No. 53 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Catterick on 15 May 1916. Originally intended to be a training squadr ...

Postwar period

On 7 February 1952 No. 2 Home Ferry Unit was established at

Aston Down Aston Down is in Gloucestershire, South West England, east of Minchinhampton, southeast of Stroud and west of Cirencester. The nearest settlement is the large village of Chalford, 1 mile (1.6 km) to the northwest. The airfield was used ...

. On 1 February 1953 the unit was renamed No. 187 Squadron. The squadron ferried aircraft in the UK and to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

before it was finally disbanded on 2 September 1957.

Aircraft operated

References

External links

History of No.'s 186–190 Squadrons at RAF Web

187 Squadron history on the official RAF website
{{Royal Air Force 187 Military units and formations established in 1918 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom Squadron 187