No. 260 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) an ...

squadron formed as a reconnaissance and anti–submarine unit in

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and a fighter unit in

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History

Formation and World War I

No. 260 Squadron

was formed on 25 July 1918 and operated DH.6s from

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on anti-submarine patrols and disbanded on 5 March 1919.

Reformation in World War II

The squadron reformed on 22 November 1940 at

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and operated

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...

s. It then moved to

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and operated Curtiss Kittyhawk fighter bombers over the western desert. The squadron then advanced with the Eighth Army into

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. With the North African Campaign over it then moved to

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following

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. As the allied forces advanced into

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it converted to the

North American P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

and it disbanded at Lavariano on 19 August 1945. Among notable squadron personnel was the future actor Christopher Lee, who served as an intelligence officer.

Aircraft operated

Crashed Kittyhawk I 260 Sqn in NAfrica 1942

2012 aircraft recovery in Egypt

In May 2012,

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reported a

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oil company worker in Egypt discovered a crash-landed 260 Sqn P-40 aircraft presumably piloted by Flt Sgt Dennis Copping, who went missing on 28 June 1942 and was never heard from again. Copping was part of a two plane formation flying defective aircraft from the landing ground at Biur el Baheira to 53RSU, a Recovery & Service Unit at Wadi Natruna. Copping became disorientated while ferrying the P-40 and flew in the wrong direction; evidence at the crash site indicates Copping survived the landing. Since no remains were evident near the Kittyhawk, it seems likely that Copping wandered off into the desert in a desperate and ultimately futile attempt to reach help. British authorities hoped to bring the remarkably well-preserved plane back to the

RAF Museum The Royal Air Force Museum is a museum dedicated to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. The museum is a non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Defence and is a registered charity. The museum is split into two separate sites: * Ro ...

in London, but these plans fell through. Instead the plane was given a cosmetic restoration and displayed at the El Alamein Military Museum.

References

External links

History of No.'s 256–260 Squadrons at RAF Web

260 Squadron history on the official RAF website
{{Royal Air Force

260 __NOTOC__ Year 260 ( CCLX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Saecularis and Donatus (or, less frequently, year 1013 ''Ab ...

Military units and formations established in 1918 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations in Mandatory Palestine in World War II