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No. 96 Squadron RAF
File:No. 92 Squadron RAF.jpg
Official Squadron Badge of No. 96 Squadron RAF
Active 8 October 1917 - 4 July 1918
28 September 1918 - November 1918
18 December 1940 - 12 December 1944
21 December 1944 - 1 June 1946
17 November 1952 - 21 January 1959
Country United Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch

8 October 1917 - 1 April 1918:

post-April 1918:

Role Training unit
Night Fighter unit
Transport unit
Garrison/HQ RAF Wyton
RAF Cranage
RAF Wrexham
RAF Honiley
RAF Ford
RAF Odiham
RAF Leconfield
RAF Cairo West
RAF Kai Tak
RAF Ahlhorn
RAF Geilenkirchen
Motto(s) (Latin): Nocturni obambulamus (English: We prowl by night)
Insignia
Identification
symbol
A lion passant facing to the sinister with ten stars representing the constellation of Leo
Identification
symbol

December 1940 - December 1944: ZJ
December 1944 - June 1946: 6H

October 1952 - 1955: L
Aircraft flown
Bomber December 1944-April 1945: Handley Page Halifax
Fighter December 1940 - March 1942: Hawker Hurricane
February 1941 - June 1942: Boulton Paul Defiant
May 1942 - June 1943: Bristol Beaufighter
June 1943 - December 1944: de Havilland Mosquito

No. 96 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron. The squadron served on the Western Front during World War II and the Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II. No. 96 Squadron served in a variety of roles such as night fighter cover and transportation. It was disbanded in 1959, when its personnel was assigned to No. 3 Squadron.

History[]

No. 96 Squadron was formed on October 8, 1917 at Lincolnshire as an aircrew training unit of the Royal Flying Corps, the air force of the British Army during most of World War I.[1] The unit was disbanded on July 4, 1918 but was reformed at St. Ives, Cambridgeshire on September 28, 1918 as a ground attack squadron of the Royal Air Force.[1]

The headquarters of the squadron at that time were located at RAF Wyton. On November 11, 1918 an armistice between the Allies and the German Empire was signed, marking the end of World War I. As a consequence No. 96 Squadron was disbanded by the end of November, 1918 before becoming operational.[1]

World War II[]

On December 18 No. 422 Flight squadron, a night fighter unit stationed at RAF Shoreham was renamed to No. 96 Squadron. The squadron's headquarters were located at RAF Cranage in Cheshire. The Squadron moved to Bilaspur in India in May 1945.

Post World War II[]


Aircraft operated[]

Dates Aircraft Variant Notes
1918[2] Sopwith Salamander Single-engined ground attack biplane
1940-1941[2] Hawker Hurricane I Single-engined fighter
1941-1942[2] Boulton Paul Defiant I Single-engined fighter
1941-1942[2] Hawker Hurricane IIC Single-engined fighter
1942[2] Boulton Paul Defiant IA and II Single-engined fighter
1942-1943[2] Bristol Beaufighter IIF and VIF Twin-engined ground attack
1943-1944[2] de Havilland Mosquito XIII Twin-engined light bomber
1944-1945[2] Handley Page Halifax III Four-engined heavy bomber
1945-1946[2] Douglas Dakota Twin-engined transport
1952-1959[2] Gloster Meteor NF11 Twin-engined jet night-fighter
1958-1959[2] Gloster Javelin FAW4 Twin-engined jet fighter/interceptor

See also[]

References[]

Notes[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Royal Air Force History: History of No. 96 Squadron
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Jefford 1988, p. 53

Bibliography[]

External links[]


All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at No. 96 Squadron RAF and the edit history here.
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