No. 222 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 ...

fighter unit.

History

In World War I

The squadron was formally formed at

Thasos Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate r ...

on 1 April 1918 from "A" Squadron of the former No. 2 Wing, RNAS when the

was formed. At this time, Richard Peirse became

Officer Commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, t ...

222 Squadron. Later, on 6 April 1918, former "Z" Squadron of No. 2 Wing, RNAS was added to the strength. Renumbered No. 62 Wing and consisting of Nos. 478, 479 and 480 Flights, the squadron was given the task of maintaining raids on Turkish targets in Macedonia and

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, operating from islands in the Northern Aegean, officially adopting the 222 Squadron number plate on 14 September 1918.Jefford 2001, p. 75. The squadron continued to carry out raids on Turkish targets in the Balkans until the end of the war, eventually disbanding on 27 February 1919.Halley 1988, p. 288.

In World War II

On 5 October 1939 No. 222 Squadron was reformed at RAF Duxford flying Blenheim Mk.If's in the shipping protection role, but in March of the following year it re-equipped with

Spitfires The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Gri ...

and became a day-fighter unit. It fought during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...

, being based at RAF Hornchurch on 15 September 1940, under Squadron Leader "Johnnie" Hill. It later took part in Operation Jubilee, the 1942

Dieppe Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...

raid. In December 1944 the squadron converted to Tempests, which it flew until the squadron was recalled to the UK to re-equip with Meteors.

Entering the jet age

From October 1945 the squadron flew various marks of Meteors for nine years and later, after December 1954 Hunters, being part of Scotland's defence,Rawlings 1978, p. 331. but on 1 November 1957 No. 222 was disbanded.

On Rockets

In its last incarnation on 1 May 1960, No. 222 became a

Bristol Bloodhound The Bristol Bloodhound is a British ramjet powered surface-to-air missile developed during the 1950s. It served as the UK's main air defence weapon into the 1990s and was in large-scale service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the forces of ...

SAM unit at RAF Woodhall Spa, but after four years service in this role it disbanded on 30 June 1964.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Burton, E. ''Go straight ahead: Battle of Britain diary of 222 Squadron RAF''. London: Square One, 1996. * Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1981-1988''. 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. . * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1978. . * Robinson, Anthony. ''RAF Squadrons in the Battle of Britain''. London: Arms and Armour Press Ltd., 1987 (republished 1999 by Brockhampton Press, .).

External links

Official history of No. 222 Squadron

{{Royal Air Force 222 Squadron Military units and formations established in 1918 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom