No. 225 Squadron RAF is a former

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.

History

World War One

No. 225 Squadron RAF was formed on 1 April 1918 at Alimini,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

from part of No. 6 Wing

RNAS The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

, and was equipped with

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the ...

s. The squadron disbanded on 18 December 1918.

World War Two

Westland Lysander III R9125 LX-L ABIN 15

On 11 October 1939 the squadron was reformed at

Odiham Odiham () is a large historic village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The 2011 population was 4,406. The parish in 1851 had an area of 7,354 acres w ...

, equipped with

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's ...

s, from No. 614A Squadron which had been formed on 3 October 1939 from 'B' Flight 614 Squadron. In 1942 the squadron re-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 and

North American 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 ...

s. After participating in the allied invasion of Tunisia " Operation Torch", the squadron began converting to Supermarine Spitfires in January 1943. In September 1944 the squadron returned to

after the invasion of Southern France ( Operation Dragoon), where it remained until disbanding on 7 January 1947.

Post War

It was reformed on 1 January 1960, from the Joint Experimental Helicopter Unit, equipped with

Bristol Sycamore The Bristol Type 171 Sycamore was an early helicopter developed and built by the helicopter division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. The name refers to the seeds of the sycamore tree, ''Acer pseudoplatanus'', which fall with a rotating motio ...

s and

Westland Whirlwind Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila, ...

s. The squadron was based at

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andove ...

until moving to Odiham in May 1960, and then

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

in November 1963. The squadron disbanded on 1 November 1965.

Aircraft operated

* 1918 Sopwith 1½ Strutter * 1918 Hamble Baby Convert * 1918

* 1939-1940 Westland Lysander Mk.II * 1940-1942 Westland Lysander Mk.III * 1942 Hawker Hurricane Mk.II * 1942 Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIC * 1942 North American Mustang Mk.I * 1942-1943 Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIB * 1943 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VB * 1943 North American Mustang Mk.II * 1943-1945 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VC * 1944-1946 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX * 1960-1962 Bristol Sycamore HC.14 * 1960-1962 Westland Whirlwind HC.2 * 1961-1965 Westland Whirlwind HC.10

Squadron Codes

225 Squadron aircraft wore two different squadron codes during the period 1939-1947. Code LX was allocated in April 1939 and worn until April 1942. Code WU was used from April - July 1942, then February 1943 - January 1947.

Notable members

* Leonard E.H. Williams,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, DFC, (1919–2007). *

Bob Rogers (SAAF officer) Robert Harry Doherty Rogers, & Bar (7 November 1921 – 3 June 2000) was a Chief of the South African Air Force. He joined the South African Air Force (SAAF) in 1940, and served in the Second World War and the Korean War. He subsequently rose thr ...

SSA SM MMM DSO DFC & bar (1921-2000) * Stanley Waldman * Air Commodore Geoffrey Millington, Commanding Officer, 225 Squadron and author of `The Unseen Eye'.

Surviving aircraft

Four aircraft that were operated by 225 Squadron during World War II are known to survive. They are: * Westland Lysander Mk.III R9125 coded LX-L, RAF Museum, Hendon, London link: http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/collections/westland-lysander-iii/ This aircraft was used by the Squadron for reconnaissance patrols along the south coast of England between September 1940 and April 1941. * Westland Lysander V9312 is currently (May 2015) under restoration by the Aircraft Restoration Company (ARC) at Duxford, Cambridgeshire (UK). Built in 1940, it served with 225 Sqn some time between January 1941 and April 1942. Following damage in an accident (whilst being used by 4 Sqn), it was repaired and converted to target tug status before being sent to Canada. It last flew in December 1944. Link: http://www.arc-duxford.co.uk/restorations/ * Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX EN 199, operated by 225 Squadron in

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, was restored in the 1990s and is now on static display at the

Malta Aviation Museum Malta Aviation Museum is an aircraft museum situated on the site of the former Royal Air Force airfield in the village of Ta'Qali, on the island of Malta. The museum, based in three hangars, covers the history of aviation on the island with exhi ...

. Link: https://web.archive.org/web/20140902005253/http://www.maltaviationmuseum.com/spitfire.asp This Spitfire was photographed at Florence, Italy wearing the code WU-S. * Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc PV270 was flown on Army Co-operation missions by 225 Squadron during March–April 1945. It was restored to flying condition over 8 years by a team led by Brendon Deere (nephew of the well-known Alan Deere) in New Zealand. The first post-restoration flight was on 18 March 2009. This aircraft currently resides at RNZAF Ohakea airbase and may be seen flying at displays in New Zealand.

_External_links

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References

Citations

Bibliography

* Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1980. . * Jefford, C.G. ''RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shrewsbury, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 1998 (second edition 2001). . * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (Second edition 1976). . * Millington, G., Air Commodore, RAF, "The Unseen Eye", London, 1961. *

External links

{{Authority control Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons">225 __NOTOC__ Year 225 ( CCXXV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fuscus and Domitius (or, less frequently, year 978 '' ...