No. 212 Squadron RAF is an inactive squadron of the British Royal Air Force.

First World War

The squadron was first formed as No. 12 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service, a training unit of No. 1 Wing, founded at

Hondschoote Hondschoote (; from Dutch; ''Hondschote'' in the modern Dutch spelling) is a commune of the Nord ''département'', in northern France. Heraldry Geography Hondschoote borders Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. It lies 12 km f ...

on 8 June 1917. However, unlike other RNAS units it was not absorbed into the RAF as No. 212 Squadron, and was disbanded on 1 April 1918. On 20 August 1918 Flights 490, 557 and 558 of the former RNAS base at Great Yarmouth were formed into No. 212 Squadron RAF. Flying the DH4, DH9 and DH9A, it carried out anti-submarine patrols over the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

until the end of the war. In March 1919 it moved to Swingate Down near Dover, and was disbanded on 9 February 1920.

Second World War

In early 1940 a detachment from the Photographic Development Unit was sent to France, and was designated No. 212 Squadron on 10 February 1940. Operating the Spitfire and Blenheim it flew strategic reconnaissance sorties over Germany until being evacuated to Britain following the fall of France. It was disbanded on 18 June. The squadron was reformed on 22 October 1942 to operate the

Catalina Catalina may refer to: Arts and media * ''The Catalina'', a 2012 American reality television show * ''Catalina'' (novel), a 1948 novel by W. Somerset Maugham * Catalina (''My Name Is Earl''), character from the NBC sitcom ''My Name Is Earl'' ...

in the

air-sea rescue Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people ...

and

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

role over the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea, and along the coasts of India and Burma. It was based at

Korangi Creek Korangi Creek Cantonment or Korangi Cantonment ( ur, کورنگی کریک چھاؤنی ) is a cantonment town of the city of Karachi, in Sindh, Pakistan. It serves as a military base and residential establishment. It was established by the B ...

near

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, with detachments at Umm Rasays,

Masirah Masirah Island ( ar, جَزِيْرَة مَصِيْرَة, Jazīrat Maṣīrah), also referred to as Mazeira Island or ''Wilāyat Maṣīrah'' ( ar, وِلَايَة مَصِيْرَة), is an island off the east coast of mainland Oman in the ...

, in

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

, and

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

East India East India is a region of India consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The region roughly corresponds to the historical region of Magadh ...

. It finally moved to Madras in May 1945, where it was re-numbered No. 240 Squadron on 1 July 1945.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * {{RAF squadrons 1917 establishments in France Military units and formations established in 1917 212 Squadron 12 Squadron 1945 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1945 disestablishments in India