No. 87 Squadron RAF

No. 87 Squadron RAF was an aircraft squadron of the Royal Air Force during the First World War and Second World War.

World War I
87 Squadron Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was first formed on 1 September 1917 at Upavon from elements of the Central Flying School. On 17 December 1917, it moved to Hounslow Heath Aerodrome and was equipped with Sopwith Dolphins and S.E.5As, moving on to France in April 1918. After the armistice, the squadron moved back to England and was disbanded at RAF Ternhill on the 24 June 1919. The squadron did have seven aces on this type, in Arthur Vigers DFC, future Air Chief Marshal Leslie Hollinghurst, Henry Biziou, Charles Darwin, Herbert Joseph Larkin, Alexander Pentland, and Charles Edward Worthington.

World War II
87 Squadron was re-formed on 15 March 1937 at RAF Tangmere from elements of No. 54 Squadron RAF, operating the Hawker Fury. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the squadron was part of the air element of the British Expeditionary Force in France, equipped with Hawker Hurricanes.

The Cold War
87 Squadron was again re-formed as part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force in Germany on 1 January 1952 at RAF Wahn with the Gloster Meteor NF11, with the main tasking being the defence of the Ruhr, after five years it moved to RAF Bruggen, and was equipped with the Gloster Javelin as an all-weather interceptor force until it was disbanded on 3 January 1961.