No. 190 Squadron 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 with a relatively short existence, but a very broad career. It served as a trainer squadron during the first World War and as convoy escort, airborne support and transport squadron during World War II.

History

Formation in World War I

No 190 Squadron was formed at Rochford, England on 24 October 1917 as a night training squadron operating amongst others the Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2e and the

Airco DH.6 The Airco DH.6 was a British military trainer biplane used by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. Known by various nicknames, including the "Clutching hand" and "Skyhook", many survived to be used as a civil light aircraft in the p ...

. The squadron moved to

RAF Newmarket RAF Newmarket was a Royal Air Force station located near Newmarket, Suffolk, England, near the border with Cambridgeshire. It was opened in 1939 and closed in 1945. History The RAF station was actually a grass-strip on Newmarket's Rowley Mil ...

, Suffolk on 14 March 1918 and was disbanded a year later at

RAF Upwood Royal Air Force Upwood or more simply RAF Upwood is a former Royal Air Force station adjacent to the village of Upwood, Cambridgeshire, England, in the United Kingdom. It was a non-flying station which was under the control of the United St ...

in April 1919.

Reformation with Coastal Command

The squadron was re-formed on 1 March 1943 at Sullom Voe,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The squadron operated the

Consolidated Catalina The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served wit ...

to patrol the North Atlantic. The first

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

was sunk in the first month of operations. The main role of the squadron was protecting the convoys to and from Russia ("Operation Locomotive"). The squadron disbanded on 31 December 1943, when it was re-numbered to 210 Squadron.

Airborne Forces squadron

The squadron was re-formed again five days later, on 5 January 1944 at

RAF Leicester East Royal Air Force Leicester East, more commonly known as RAF Leicester East , is a former Royal Air Force station, near the village of Stoughton, east southeast of Leicester, Leicestershire, England. It was constructed in 1942 and formally ...

as an airborne support unit flying the Short Stirling. It became part of 38 Group on 6 November 1943. On 6 June 1944 the squadron first carried 426 paratroopers to Caen, France. The squadron then returned and the next night towed 18 Airspeed Horsa gliders into France. It moved to

RAF Fairford Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, England which is currently a standby airfield and therefore not in everyday use. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an ...

and carried out supply-dropping missions to the advancing troops and SOE operatives. The squadron involvement in supply drops at

Battle of Arnhem The Battle of Arnhem was a battle of the Second World War at the vanguard of the Allied Operation Market Garden. It was fought in and around the Dutch city of Arnhem, the town of Oosterbeek, the villages Wolfheze and Driel and the vicinity f ...

caused 11 aircraft losses in 3 days. The next move was to

RAF Great Dunmow Royal Air Force Great Dunmow or more simply RAF Great Dunmow is a former Royal Air Force Royal Air Force station, station in the parish of Little Easton, Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately mi west of Great Dunmow, north ...

where it towed gliders for the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

crossing and paratroopers into the Netherlands to disrupt the German retreat.

On Halifaxes as Transport Squadron

As the war ended the squadron re-equipped with the

Handley Page Halifax The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its orig ...

which it used as a freighter for

Transport Command RAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 1967. ...

until the end of 1945. It was disbanded at Great Dunmow on 21 January 1946 by being renumbered to 295 Squadron.

Aircraft operated

Squadron stations

Commanding officers

References

Notes

Bibliography

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External links

No 190 Squadron (RAF): Second World War

World War II 38 Group Squadrons

{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 190 Squadron Raf 190 Squadron Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II Military units and formations established in 1917 1917 establishments in England Military units and formations disestablished in 1946