No. 256 Squadron RAF
No. 256 Squadron RAF was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force which operated during the First and Second World Wars. Initially equipped with Dh6 and Kangaroo aircraft, it operated Defiant Mk IIs, Beaufighters, and Mosquitoes in the Second World War.
| No. 256 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
 De Havilland Mosquito at night takeoff at Foggia, Italy | |
| Active | 1 June 1918 – 30 June 1919 23 November 1940 – 12 September 1946 17 November 1952 – 21 January 1959 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Motto(s) | Addimus vim viribus Latin: (we add) strength to strength |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron badge heraldry | In front of an Anchor Azure a Ferret’s head erased Argent |
| Squadron code (1939) | SZ[1][2] |
| Squadron code (1940 – 1946) | JT[1][3] |
In the 1950s it was equipped with the Meteor NF11 Night/All Weather Fighter and was assigned to No 125 Wing, RAF. Based in Germany as part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force, it initially flew from RAF Ahlhorn in north Germany until that airfield was handed back to the German Air Force in 1958, after which the wing was re-located at RAF Geilenkirchen near Aachen.
First World War
The squadron was formed in June 1918 at RAF Elford (later RAF Seahouses),[4] flying Dh6 aircraft. It parented No.s 495 (Light Bomber), 525, 526, 527 and 528 Special Duty Flights.[5] The various flights were engaged in coastal patrols and outbased at other locations such as RAF Ashington,[6] New Haggerston, Rennington, and Cairncross.[7]
A cadre of Kangaroos was detached to the airfield at Killingholme at the end of January 1919, but five months later, the whole squadron was disbanded.[8]
Second World War
The squadron reformed at RAF Catterick as night-fighter unit, in November 1940, flying the Boulton Paul Defiant.[9] It moved to RAF Pembrey in January 1941,[10] but didn't stay long and the squadron moved to RAF Colerne in February 1941, and then a month later moving to RAF Squires Gate.[11] In June 1942, the squadron relocated to RAF Woodvale and converted from the Defiant to Beaufighters.[12] The squadron relocated to RAF Ford in Sussex in April 1943 and re-equipped with Mosquito NF.xii aircraft before returning to RAF Woodvale in August 1943.[13]
In September 1943, the squadron was moved to RAF Luqa in Malta for night-defence and convoy escort duties.[14] In April 1944, most of the squadron moved to La Senia Airfield in Algeria, whilst a month later in May 1944, the squadron absorbed the Spitfires of the Gibraltar Defence Flight (formerly No. 1676 Flight), which became 'C' Flight within the squadron.[15][16] During this time, the squadron ran intruder operations into Italy, eventually relocating to Foggia to enable these flights to be extended into the Balkans. Arriving at Foggia in September 1944, the squadron moved again to Forlì in February 1945 and at the end of the war, the squadron was at El Ballah in Egypt.[17]
Post war
The squadron moved to RAF Nicosia in July 1946 and disbanded there in September of the same year.[18] The squadron was reformed with Gloster Meteor aircraft in November 1952 at RAF Ahlhorn in north western Germany;[11] at this time it was assigned to No 125 Wing, RAF and formed part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force. The squadron moved to RAF Geilenkirchen in January 1958, and was renumbered to No. 11 Squadron a year later whilst still operating from Geilenkirchen.[19]
Squadron badge
The badge for No. 256 Squadron was approved in 1948 and showed a ferret looking to the right in front of a blue anchor. The anchor relates to the coastal and convoy patrols in the First World War and the ferret represented the intruder operations in the Second World War.[20] The squadron's motto was Addimus vim viribus, Latin for (we add) strength to strength.[21]
References
- "Sqn Histories 256-260_P". www.rafweb.org. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- Lake 1999, p. 300.
- Lake 1999, p. 298.
- "Seahouses (Elford) - Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust UK". www.abct.org.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- Lake 1999, pp. 80, 249.
- Historic England. "Ashington Airfield (1507347)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- Chorlton 2014, p. 163.
- Philpott, Ian M. (2006). The Royal Air Force: An Encyclopaedia of the Inter-war Years. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. p. 478. ISBN 1844153916.
- "No.256 Squadron". www.nationalcoldwarexhibition.org. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- Halpenny 1982, p. 44.
- Jefford 2001, p. 79.
- Delve 2006, p. 276.
- "Royal Air Force 1939-1945: Fighter Command". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- Fairbairn 1991, p. 125.
- Lake 1999, p. 71.
- "1676 Gibraltar Defence Flight, also C Flight 253 Squadron; later became C Flight 256". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- Hurt, Zdeněk. (2004). Czechs in RAF Squadrons of World War II in Focus. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. p. 56. ISBN 0953806197.
- Fairbairn 1991, p. 141.
- Lake 1999, pp. 195, 249.
- "256 Sqn | RAF Heraldry Trust". rafht.co.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- Pine, L G (1983). A Dictionary of Mottoes. London: Routledge & K. Paul. p. 5. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
Sources
- Bishop, Chris, ed. (2004). The Encyclopedia of 20th Century Air Warfare. London: Amber Books. ISBN 1-904687-26-1.
- Chorlton, Martyn (2014). Forgotten Airfields of World War I. Manchester: Crécy. ISBN 9780859791816.
- Delve, Ken (2006). Northern England: Co. Durham, Cumbria, Isle of Man, Lancashire, Merseyside, Manchester, Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Yorkshire. Ramsbury: Crowood. ISBN 1-86126-809-2.
- Halpenny, Bruce Barrymore (1982). Action stations 4; Military Airfields of Yorkshire. Cambridge: Stephens. ISBN 0-85059-532-0.
- Fairbairn, Tony (1991). Action Stations Overseas. Sparkford: P. Stephens. ISBN 1-85260-319-4.
- Jefford, C. G. (2001). RAF Squadrons: A Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents Since 1912 (2 ed.). Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
- Lake, Alan (1999). Flying Units of the RAF: The Ancestry, Formation and Disbandment of all Flying Units from 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.
