No. 269 Squadron RAF was a maritime patrol unit 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 ...

that saw service in

World War I 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 ...

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 opposin ...

, and 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 ...

Service history

World War I

On 6 October 1918, No. 269 Squadron was formed from Nos. 431 and 432 Flights at the seaplane station based at

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of 6 ...

which had been established there since January 1916, under the command of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

P.L Holmes, RAF. No. 269 was part 64th Wing, and it operated seaplanes from the harbor, plus land-based flight of B.E.2e and

Airco DH.9 The Airco DH.9 (from de Havilland 9) – also known after 1920 as the de Havilland DH.9 – was a British single-engined biplane bomber developed and deployed during the First World War. The DH.9 was a development of Airco's earlier successful ...

aircraft. The squadron conducted maritime patrols until the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

, and on 15 September 1919, its seaplanes were moved to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

and merged with No. 270 Squadron as its landplane flight had been disbanded in March 1919. The squadron continued as No. 269 until it was disbanded on 15 November 1919.

Inter-war Period

On 7 December 1936, C Flight of No. 206 Squadron at RAF Bircham Newton was redesignated 269 Squadron. The squadron was moved to RAF Abbotsinch, near

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, later that month, and its

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...

aircraft undertook coastal reconnaissance patrols. On 9 March 1939, the squadron moved to RAF Montrose and began flying maritime patrols off the east coast of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

World War II

1939

No. 269 Squadron was transferred to RAF Wick on 10 October 1939, and executed aerial attacks against surfaced German

U-boats U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare rol ...

on 15 September, 18 October, 28 October, 3 November, 19 November, and 3 December. Postwar examination of ''

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

'' records showed that these attacks either did little damage or a U-boat was not on patrol in the area of attack.

1940

Aircraft from No. 269 Squadron made six separate attacks on German

during February 1940, plus attacks on 8 August. No. 269 Squadron also carried out a number of missions in addition to its maritime patrol duties: * 1 March — The Stavanger airfield was attacked. * 11 June — The German battleships , and were attacked while at anchor in

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

harbor. * 22 June — Aircraft from the No. 269 Squadron and No. 442 Squadron RAF attacked the German battleship ''Scharnhorst'' while at sea north of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

, but inflicted little damage on the German warship. * 27 June — No. 269 Squadron executed a special mission reconnaissance of Norwegian coast. The squadron also began receiving new Lockheed Hudson patrol bombers starting in March 1940, completing the transition on 15 April, while it ceased operating

aircraft as of 1 June. By 15 July, No, 269 Squadron was fully operational with 18 Hudson Mk1 aircraft.

1941

After a year of operations against enemy shipping from RAF Wick, No. 269 Squadron began transferring to

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

starting on 12 April 1941, with the last Hudson aircraft arriving on 30 May. The squadron completed its re-deployment to Iceland on 10 July. A detachment of No. 269 Squadron deployed to RAF Reykjavik on 12 December. On 9 April, six aircraft from RAF Wick bombed the aluminium factory at Hoyanger,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. Also during late May, the squadron participated in the pursuit of the German battleship ''Bismarck''. Aircraft from No. 269 Squadron also made four separate attacks on surfaced U-boats during June. On 6 August, Hudson patrol bombers from No. 269 Squadron escorted USAF fighter aircraft of the 33rd Pursuit Squadron to the Reykjavik airfield after being catapulted off the aircraft carrier . On 16 August, No. 269 Squadron flew twelve sorties escorting the battleship , with British Prime Minister

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

aboard for the upcoming, top-secret

conference A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main p ...

with

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. Aircraft from No. 269 Squadron made four separate attacks on surfaced U-boats during June. Aircraft of the No. 269 Squadron also attacked on 29 August, on 2 September, and and on 14 September, and they were also present during the ''Greer'' Incident. On 27 August 1941,

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...

J.H. Thompson of the No. 269 Squadron made RAF history by becoming the only aircraft captain to have a U-boat () surrender to him. Thompson and his navigator/bomb-aimer— Flying Officer John Coleman—were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 23 September 1941.

1942

Aircraft of the No. 269 Squadron attacked on 14 July, on 23 July, and on 26 July, and on 30 July and 31 July. No. 269 aircraft made eight separate U-boat attacks during August. Six U-boats were attacked during September. was attacked on 3 October. No. 269 Squadron scored its first confirmed U-boat kill by sinking on 5 October.

1943

No. 269 Squadron attacked four U-boats during January, and Four Hudson aircraft were deployed to the Bluie West One airfield in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

on 29 January. No. 269 Squadron attacked three U-boats in April and eight in May, as well as sinking and on 17 May and 19 May, respectively. Six U-boats were attacked in June, and No. 269 aircraft sank on 5 July. Three U-boats were attacked in August. was sunk on 27 September, and was attacked. was attacked on 3 October, was severely damaged, and sank on 5 October. On 13 December, No. 269 Squadron began its temporary transfer from RAF Reykjavik to

RAF Davidstow Moor Royal Air Force Davidstow or more commonly RAF Davidstow Moor is a former Royal Air Force station located north east of Camelford, Cornwall and west of Launceston, Cornwall, England. It was used from late 1942 until 1945 and despite a few ...

prior to its 1944 deployment to the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. The squadron was re-equipped with Supermarine Walrus I and Vickers Warwick I ASRI aircraft, as well as retaining its extant Hudson Mk III patrol aircraft. The squadron also received Miles Martinet I aircraft for target-towing purposes. This transfer was completed on 8 January 1944,

1944 - 1946

No. 269 Squadron completed its deployment to

RAF Lagens Lages is a Brazilian municipality located in the central part of the state of Santa Catarina, in the region known in Portuguese as "Planalto Serrano". It is located in the mountain region of the state and is the largest municipality of it. It i ...

in the

with its Hudson Mk IIIA, Martinet, Walrus and Spitfire Mk V aircraft. The short-range aircraft were launched off the escort aircraft carrier . Later in October, some Warwick aircraft were added to the squadron. For the rest of the war it flew air-sea rescue missions, as well as meteorological and target towing sorties. Following the end of World War II, No. 269 Squadron was disbanded on 10 March 1946.

Cold War

No. 269 Squadron was reformed at North Front,

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

, on 1 January 1952 from part of No. 224 Squadron and moved on 24 March to

RAF Ballykelly Royal Air Force Ballykelly or more simply RAF Ballykelly is a former Royal Air Force station which opened in 1941 in Ballykelly, County Londonderry. It closed in 1971 when the site was handed over to the British Army as Shackleton Barracks. A sm ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, as a maritime reconnaissance unit equipped with Avro Shackleton patrol bombers. No. 269 Squadron participated in a number of military exercises, including Exercise Encompass in January 1956 and

Operation Mosaic Operation Mosaic was a series of two British nuclear tests conducted in the Monte Bello Islands in Western Australia on 16 May and 19 June 1956. These tests followed the Operation Totem series and preceded the Operation Buffalo series. The sec ...

in February 1956, as well as NATO's

Operation Strikeback Exercise Strikeback was a major naval exercise of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that took place over a ten-day period in September 1957. As part of a series of exercises to simulate an all-out Soviet attack on NATO, Exercise S ...

in September 1957. On 1 December 1958 the squadron was re-numbered as No. 210 Squadron. On 22 July 1959, No 269 Squadron reformed at

RAF Caistor 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 ...

as a

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

Missile Squadron in Bomber Command as part of the Thor Missile Force based at RAF Hemswell. No. 269 Squadron was disbanded on 24 May 1963.

Aircraft

The following aircraft were assigned to No. 269 Squadron during its operation service arranged in chronological order: * World War I: ** Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2e
Oct. 1918 to Mar. 1919 **

Short Type 184 The Short Admiralty Type 184, often called the Short 225 after the power rating of the engine first fitted, was a British two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo carrying folding-wing seaplane designed by Horace Short of Short Brothers. It ...

Oct. 1918 to Nov. 1919 **

Dec. 1918 to Mar. 1919 * World War II: ** Avro Anson I
Dec. 1936 to Jun. 1940 ** Locheed Hudson I
Apr. 1940 to May 1941 ** Lockheed Hudson II
Oct. 1940 to May 1941 ** Locheed Hudson III
May 1941 to Dec. 1943 ** Lockheed Hudson IIIA
Feb. 1944 to Aug. 1945 ** Spitfire VB
Feb. 1944 to Mar. 1946 ** Miles Martinet I
Feb. 1944 to Jul. 1944 ** Supermarine Walrus I
Feb. 1944 to Mar 1946 ** Vickers Warwick I
Sept. 1944 to Mar. 1946 * Cold War: ** Shackleton MR Mk 1
Jan. 1952 to Nov. 1958 ** Shackleton MR Mk 2
Mar. 1952 to Aug. 1954
Oct. 1958 to Nov. 1958 ** PGM-17 Thor
Jul. 1959 to May 1963

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: Airlife Publishing, 1998 (second edition 2001). . * Rayner, Ted. ''Coastal Command Pilot, 1939-1945: Wartime Experiences with 220 & 269 Squadrons''. Bognor Regis, West Sussex, UK: Woodfield Publishing Ltd., 1994. . * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. .

269 Year 269 ( CCLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Claudius and Paternus (or, less frequently, year 1022 ''Ab urbe con ...

1918 establishments in the United Kingdom