No. 211 Squadron RAF was a active squadron in the Royal Air Force from 1918 to 1919 and from 1937 to 1946, in World War II, operating as a medium bomber unit in the Middle East and Far East and later as a strike fighter unit in the Far East. During World War II the Squadron was equipped with, successively, the Bristol Blenheim, the Bristol Beaufighter and de Havilland Mosquito.
History[]
On 12 June 1940 the squadron participated in an attack on Tobruk, damaging the Italian cruiser San Giorgio. On 14 June Gladiators of No. 33 Squadron and Blenheims of No. 211 Squadron supported the British army's operations for the capture of Fort Capuzzo.[1]
Aircraft[]
- Airco DH.4 (April 1918)
- Airco DH.9 (April 1918 to June 1919)
- Hawker Audax (July to October 1937)
- Hawker Hind (August 1937 to May 1939)
- Bristol Blenheim I (April 1939 to November 1941)
- Bristol Blenheim IV (May 1941 to February 1942)
- Bristol Beaufighter X (October 1943 to May 1945)
- de Havilland Mosquito FB VI (June 1945 to March 1946)
Badge and motto[]
Squadron badge: An azure lion disjointed, ducally crowned. Motto: Toujours à propos (Always at the right moment)
Notes[]
- ↑ Playfair, Vol. I, pages 110, 112–113.
References[]
- Clark CFR 1998 211 Squadron Greece 1940—1941: An Observers Notes and Recollections Canberra: DR Clark
- Dunnet J 2001 Blenheim Over the Balkans Durham: Pentland Press
- Playfair, Major-General I.S.O.; Molony, Brigadier C.J.C.; with Flynn, Captain F.C. (R.N.) & Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2009) [1st. pub. HMSO:1954]. Butler, Sir James. ed. The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume I: The Early Successes Against Italy, to May 1941. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-065-3.
- “RAFMO” [S/Ldr HF Squire MRCS LRCP] 1997 Middle East Scrapbook Durham: Pentland Press
- Spencer DA DFC 2009 Looking Backwards Over Burma — Wartime Recollections of a RAF Beaufighter Navigator Bognor Regis: Woodfield Publishing
- Wisdom TH 1942 Wings Over Olympus London: George Allen and Unwin
- Wright PA 2011 The Elephant On My Wing — The Wartime Exploits of Flight Lieutenant Bobby Campbell, a Blenheim Pilot with 211 Squadron RAF 1939–1943 Bognor Regis: Woodfield Publishing
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to No. 211 Squadron RAF. |
- www.211squadron.org and PANDORA archive set
- RAF Squadron history
- Air of Authority Squadron history
- RAF Bristol Blenheim history
The original article can be found at No. 211 Squadron RAF and the edit history here.