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No. 274 Squadron RAF existed briefly in 1918 and 1919 as a patrol and bomber squadron, and served in World War II as a fighter squadron.
It was back in action by 1940, equipped with
274 Squadron Official history
Air of Authority {{Royal Air Force Military units and formations established in 1918 274 Squadron 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom
History
The squadron began to form as a patrol squadron, intended to fly Vickers Vimys, atSeaton Carew
Seaton Carew is a seaside resort and civil parish in the Borough of Hartlepool in County Durham, England. It had an estimated population of 6,018. The area is named after a Norman French family called Carou who owned lands in the area and sett ...
in November 1918 a few days before the end of World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. The squadron formation was then cancelled.
No. 5 (Communication) Squadron formed at Bircham Newton, in 1919, but then became No. 274 Squadron on 15 June 1919. It was a bomber squadron, flying Handley Page V/1500s, but then disbanded after six months, on 30 January 1920.
It was back in action by 1940, equipped with 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. For Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...
(the Allied invasion of Normandy) it was equipped with the Spitfire IX F operating from RAF Detling
Royal Air Force Detling or more simply RAF Detling is a former Royal Air Force station situated above sea level, located near Detling, a village about miles north-east of Maidstone, Kent.
It was a station of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS ...
in Air Defence of Great Britain
The Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) was a RAF command comprising substantial army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles. It lasted from 1925, following recommendations that the RAF take control of homeland air ...
, though under the operational control of RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, ...
.Delve, p. 137.
See also
* List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadronsReferences
Notes
Bibliography
* Ken Delve, ''D-Day: The Air Battle'', London: Arms & Armour Press, 1994, . * 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. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1969 (second edition 1976). .External links
274 Squadron Official history
Air of Authority {{Royal Air Force Military units and formations established in 1918 274 Squadron 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom