No. 228 Squadron RAF was a

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

of the

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 ...

active at various times between 1918 and 1964. It spent the greatest part of its existence flying over water, doing so in

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, and

Second World Wars 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 opposing ...

and beyond, performing anti-submarine, reconnaissance and air-sea rescue tasks.

History

Formation and the First World War

The squadron formed on 20 August 1918 at

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

during the re-organisation of the former

RNAS The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

stations of Nos. 324, 325 and 326 Flights. The squadron was initially equipped with both Felixstowe F.2A and

Curtiss H.16 The Curtiss Model H was a family of classes of early long-range flying boats, the first two of which were developed directly on commission in the United States in response to the £10,000 prize challenge issued in 1913 by the London newspaper, t ...

aircraft and was involved in anti-submarine patrols. The last patrol was flown on 24 October 1918 and the squadron disbanded on 30 June 1919 at

RNAS Killingholme The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

Reformation

The squadron reformed on 15 December 1936 at

RAF Pembroke Dock Royal Air Force Pembroke Dock or more simply RAF Pembroke Dock was a Royal Air Force Seaplane and Flying Boat station located at Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The Royal Navy contingent left in 1926 with the Royal Air Force occupying the ...

, and was initially equipped with a variety of aircraft including

Short Singapore The Short Singapore was a British multi-engined biplane flying boat built after the First World War. The design was developed into two four-engined versions: the prototype Singapore II and production Singapore III. The latter became the Royal ...

s, a

Supermarine Scapa The Supermarine Scapa was a British general reconnaissance flying boat built by Supermarine that was used by the Royal Air Force between 1935 and 1939. It was developed from the Southampton and formed the basis of the later Stranraer flying boat ...

, a

Saro London The Saunders Roe A.27 London was a British military biplane flying boat built by the Saunders Roe company. Only 31 were built, entering service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1936. Although due for replacement by the outbreak of World War I ...

and a

Supermarine Stranraer The Supermarine Stranraer is a flying boat designed and built by the British Supermarine Aviation Works company at Woolston, Southampton. It was developed during the 1930s on behalf of its principal operator, the Royal Air Force (RAF). It wa ...

. However, by September 1938 the squadron was just operating Stranraers.Halley 1988, pp. 294-295.Jefford 2001, p. 76. In November 1938 the squadron received its first

Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East ...

, and by April 1939 the squadron was completely re-equipped with Sunderlands. Short Sunderland

Second World War

When the

Second World War 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 ...

began the squadron was at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. The squadron immediately returned to Pembroke Dock and sent detachments to

RAF Invergordon Royal Air Force Alness or more simply RAF Alness is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of Alness, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland and north of Inverness, Inverness-shire. History RAF Alness was previously called RAF Invergordon ...

and

RAF Sullom Voe Royal Air Force Sullom Voe or more simply RAF Sullom Voe is a former Royal Air Force station near the village of Brae, in the Shetland Isles of Scotland. It was a Flying boat base and was closely associated with the adjacent airfield of RAF ...

. In June 1940 the squadron returned to Egypt following

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

's declaration of war on Britain. In June 1941 the squadron moved to

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

, returning in August 1941 to Pembroke Dock and then

RAF Stranraer Royal Air Force Wig Bay or more simply RAF Wig Bay is a former Royal Air Force station near Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary coun ...

to be re-equipped. In March 1942 at

RAF Oban RAF Oban is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) flying boat base located at the northern end of the island of Kerrera, in Ardantrive Bay west of Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland during the Second World War. History Oban was surveyed by the RAF in th ...

, the squadron became operational again, moving to

RAF Lough Erne Royal Air Force Castle Archdale or more simply RAF Castle Archdale, also known for a while as RAF Lough Erne is a former Royal Air Force station used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force station in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. His ...

in December 1942 and then back to Pembroke Dock in May 1943, where it remained until disbanding on 4 June 1945. KN751Hendonsmall

On Liberators

On 1 June 1946 the squadron reformed at

RAF St Eval Royal Air Force St. Eval or RAF St. Eval was a Royal Air Force station for the RAF Coastal Command, southwest of Padstow in Cornwall, England, UK. St Eval's primary role was to provide anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols off the south wes ...

when No. 224Y Squadron was renumbered. The squadron was equipped with Consolidated Liberators GR.6 and GR.8s and performed passenger and freight services with the Liberators to Ireland, Gibraltar, the Azores and Morocco, but also had reconnaissance, air-sea rescue and meteorological tasks. It disbanded on 30 September 1946 at

Avro Shackleton with Saunders-Roe airborne lifeboat

On Shackletons

The squadron reformed again on 1 July 1954 at St Eval, equipped with the

Avro Shackleton The Avro Shackleton is a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber, which itself had been a devel ...

as a maritime reconnaissance unit, moving in November 1956 to

RAF St Mawgan Royal Air Force St Mawgan or more simply RAF St Mawgan is a Royal Air Force station near St Mawgan and Newquay in Cornwall, England. In 2008 the runway part of the site was handed over to Newquay Airport. The remainder of the station continues to ...

and in January 1958 back to St Eval, where is disbanded on 1 April 1959.

On Helicopters

In September 1959 the squadron reformed again via the renumbering of No. 275 Squadron at

RAF Leconfield Royal Air Force Leconfield or more simply RAF Leconfield is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leconfield (near Beverley), East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The site is now used by the MoD Defence School of Transport Leconfield or D ...

. The squadron was now a helicopter search and rescue unit, flying

Bristol Sycamore The Bristol Type 171 Sycamore was an early helicopter developed and built by the helicopter division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. The name refers to the seeds of the sycamore tree, '' Acer pseudoplatanus'', which fall with a rotating moti ...

s -passing them on to 118 sqn- and

Westland Whirlwind Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila, ...

s. On 28 August 1964 the squadron was disbanded at Leconfield, when it was renumbered to No. 202 Squadron.

Aircraft operated

Squadron airfields

Notes

References

* Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. ''Squadron Codes, 1937-56''. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. . * Evans, John. ''Help from the Heavens: A History of No. 228 Squadron RAF''. Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, UK: Paterchurch Publications, 1998. . * Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. ''Combat Codes: A full explanation and listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied air force unit codes since 1938''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. . * Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918-1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. . * Jefford, C.G. ''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. . * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. .

External links

Squadron history on RAF website

{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 228 Squadron Raf Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II 228 Squadron Maritime patrol aircraft units and formations Rescue aviation units and formations Military units and formations established in 1918 Military units and formations disestablished in 1964 1917 establishments in England