No. 257 Squadron RAF was a flying squadron of the

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) and ...

active during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

and also the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. It was finally disbanded in December 1963.

History

In World War I

No. 257 Squadron was formed at

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

on 18 August 1918 from Nos. 318 and 319 Flights. It flew both seaplanes and flying boats on anti-submarine patrols from Dundee until the end of the First World War and disbanded there on 30 June 1919.Jefford 2001, p. 81.

In World War II

The squadron was re-formed on 17 May 1940 at

RAF Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Grea ...

as a Fighter Squadron, 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 Grif ...

. The squadron became operational at

RAF Northolt ("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , owners ...

, where the squadron flew

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

in 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 ...

, during which it was part of

No. 11 Group RAF No. 11 Group is a group in the Royal Air Force first formed in 1918. It had been formed and disbanded for various periods during the 20th century before disbanding in 1996 and reforming again in 2018. Its most famous service was in 1940 in the Ba ...

. The squadron was based in south-east England throughout the Battle of Britain and in March began taking part in sweeps over France. Night fighter patrols were also flown and in July 1942 converted to

Typhoons A typhoon is a mature tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere. This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, and is the most active tropical cyclone basin on Earth, accounting for a ...

which began low-level patrols in September to intercept enemy fighter-bomber raids. Escort missions were also flown and in July 1943, it began offensive operations. The squadron started fighter-bombing sorties in January 1944, and as part of

Second Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces ...

moved to France in July to provide air support for the Allied armies. By October it was based in Belgium for attacks on enemy transport and battlefield targets. The Squadron disbanded on 5 March 1945. During the Second World War the squadron was the Burma gift squadron; the

chinthe ''Chinthe'' ( my, ခြင်္သေ့ (); mnw, ဇာဒိသိုၚ် (); shn, သၢင်ႇသီႈ ()) is the Burmese word for 'lion'. The leograph of ''Chinthe'' is a highly stylized lion commonly depicted in Burmese iconogra ...

in its logo is a Burmese effigy.Rawlings 1978, p. 363.

Post War

On 1 September 1946 the squadron was re-formed at

RAF Church Fenton Royal Air Force Church Fenton or RAF Church Fenton was a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south east of Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England and north west of Selby, North Yorkshire, near the village of Church Fenton. The station wa ...

Halley 1988, p. 325. as a fighter squadron, flying

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...

s until January 1955. It then converted to

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-R ...

s. On 31 March 1957 the squadron was disbanded for the third time. On 28th June 1949, two Meteors from the Squadron - operating out of RAF Finningley to participate in a nine-day NATO operation called EXERCISE FOIL, designed to test Britain's air defences - collided. Both pilots ejected. One was Flying-Officer A H Turner; the second Warrant Officer Levene. One aircraft crashed at Hatfield Moor, Lindholme, near Doncaster, and the second on a country estate near Retford called Serlby Park. A third Meteor, flown by F/O Hawes, also force-landed at Finningley due to undercarriage failure returning from the same mission to intercept 'enemy' USAF B-29s over the North Sea. There were no ground casualties.

On Bloodhounds

The squadron re-emerged on 1 July 1960 at

RAF Warboys RAF Warboys is a former Royal Air Force heavy bomber station, situated just outside the village of Warboys in Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire). History During the early years of the war, Warboys was a relatively conventional bomber station ...

as an air defence unit using

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 f ...

missiles till 31 December 1963, when the squadron was disbanded for the fourth, and final time.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* 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, .). {{Royal Air Force 257 Squadron Military units and formations established in 1918 Battle of Britain 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom