No. 608 (North Riding) Squadron was an

Auxiliary Air Force The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...

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) an ...

during 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 opposi ...

. It flew during its existence as a bomber, fighter and reconnaissance unit and was the only RAF squadron to be equipped with the unsuccessful

Blackburn Botha The Blackburn B.26 Botha was a four-seat reconnaissance and torpedo bomber. It was produced by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft at its factories at Brough and Dumbarton. The Botha was developed during the mid 1930s in response t ...

torpedo bomber.

History

Formation and early years: Wapitis and Demons

No. 608 Squadron was formed at Thornaby-on-Tees,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

as No. 608 County of York (North Riding) Squadron, on 17 March 1930 as a day bomber squadron within the

. Its initial equipment was the Avro 504 N and

Westland Wapiti The Westland Wapiti was a British two-seat general-purpose military single-engined biplane of the 1920s. It was designed and built by Westland Aircraft Works to replace the Airco DH.9A in Royal Air Force service. First flying in 1927, the Wa ...

, which the squadron flew until they were replaced with Hawker Demon fighters in January 1937, when the squadrons role was changed to that of a fighter squadron. In May 1937 the name of the squadron was changed to No. 608 (North Riding) Squadron. Shortly before the Second World War broke out, on 20 March 1939, the squadron's role was changed yet again, now into that of a general reconnaissance unit flying under RAF Coastal Command and they were re-equipped for that role with Avro Ansons.

Second World War

Reconnaissance with Ansons, Bothas, Blenheims and Hudsons

15 Blackburn Botha I Bristol Perseus Engine (15837310772)

The squadron started the war flying the Anson. In June 1940, it began the process of transferring to the

torpedo bomber, being the only squadron to use this type operationally. The Botha was found to be unsatisfactory, and by December 1940 the squadron was using its Avro Ansons again. These soldiered on until February 1941, when

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

Mk.IVs arrived. However, these were soon replaced by

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and p ...

s, which the squadron flew from bases in Scotland, North Africa and Italy until 31 July 1944, when it was disbanded at Pomigliano, Italy. Lockheed Hudson V

Pathfinding with Mosquitos

The squadron was reformed on 1 August 1944 at

RAF Downham Market RAF Downham Market was a Royal Air Force station in the west of the county of Norfolk, England which operated during the second half of the Second World War. History RAF Downham Market opened as a satellite station for RAF Marham in the Summe ...

, Norfolk as a

Mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

squadron in No 8 (Pathfinder) Groups

Light Night Striking Force The Pathfinders were target-marking squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II. They located and marked targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing. The Pathfinders were norma ...

. In this role it carried out night attacks on Germany. On 2 May 1945, a

from 608 squadron dropped a 4,000lb bomb on the naval port at

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

. It was the last British bombing raid of the war against Nazi Germany. It disbanded on 28 August 1945 at Downham Market.

Post-war reformation: Mosquitos, Spitfires and Vampires

No. 608 squadron was reformed on 10 May 1946 at Thornaby in its original role as a light bomber squadron in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. It had however no operational aircraft before being redesignated as a night fighter unit in July 1947, when it received Mosquito NF.30s. These were flown until the squadron changed role yet again, this time to that of a day fighter squadron, receiving Spitfire F.22s in May 1948. From December 1949 these were gradually replaced with

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by ...

s, which the squadron flew until, along with all the flying units of the RAuxAF, it was disbanded on 10 March 1957.

Aircraft operated

Squadron bases

Commanding officers

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Squadron history on MOD site

* ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/70/a4233070.shtml BBC WW2 People's War-608 sqn 1
BBC WW2 People's War-608 sqn 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 608 Squadron Raf No. 608 608 Squadron Military units and formations established in 1930