No. 236 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force aircraft squadron, which served during the First World War in the anti-submarine role, and for most of Second World War employed on anti-shipping operations.

History

The squadron was formed on 20 August 1918 from No's 493, 515 & 516 Flights at

Mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

, in Cornwall. Equipped with DH6s, it carried out anti-submarine patrols along the coast until the end of the war, disbanding on 15 May 1919. Reformed as a fighter squadron at

RAF Stradishall Royal Air Force Stradishall or more simply RAF Stradishall is a former Royal Air Force station located north east of Haverhill, Suffolk and south west of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. Part of the site remains in use as Stradishall Traini ...

on 31 October 1939, the squadron was equipped with Blenheims. It took them to Bircham Newton in February 1940, where the unit was transferred to

Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

. In April it moved to

Speke Speke () is a suburb of Liverpool. It is southeast of the city centre. Located near the widest part of the River Mersey, it is bordered by the suburbs of Garston and Hunts Cross, and nearby to Halewood, Hale Village, and Widnes. The rural are ...

, rejoining

Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War World War II or the Second World War, oft ...

and the following month moved to

RAF Filton Royal Air Force Filton or more simply RAF Filton is a former Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Air Force (RAF) station located north of the city centre of Bristol, England. Throughout its existence, RAF Filton shared the airfield with the Bri ...

to fly defensive patrols over the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

; in July a move to Thorney Island saw it back in Coastal Command, where it stayed for the rest of the war. From August 1940 it operated from bases in the south-west of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, carrying out anti-shipping patrols over the Channel, and

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

, having re-equipped with Beaufighters in October 1941. On 12 June, a Beaufighter flown by a volunteer crew of Flight Lieutenant A. K. Gatward and Sergeant G. Fern made a solo sortie to Paris intending to disrupt a noon parade of German troops down the Champs-Elysees. On arrival it was seen that there was no parade but dropped a French ''tricolore'' over the empty avenue and shot up the secondary target of the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

headquarters in the Ministry of Marine on the

Place de la Concorde The Place de la Concorde () is one of the major public squares in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées. ...

before returning. It was transferred to RAF Wattisham in February 1942 and reduced to a cadre. It received new Beaufighters in March and resumed its previous duties, although these were now flown 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 ...

, with detachments in the south-west who undertook similar duties over the Bay of Biscay. In September 1942 the squadron moved to

North Coates North Cotes or North Coates is a village and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated close to the coast, to the east, and north-east from the town of Louth. The Grade II* listed church is dedicated ...

and in April 1943 became a part of the strike wing formed there, operating as such until the end of the war. The squadron disbanded on 25 May 1945.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* 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 (new edition 1976, reprinted 1978). . * Robinson, Anthony. ''RAF Fighter Squadrons in the Battle of Britain''. London: Arms and Armour Press Ltd., 1987 (Reprinted in 1999 by Brockhampton Press, .)

External links

{{Royal Air Force Military units and formations established in 1918 236 Squadron Battle of Britain 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom