No. 242 (Canadian) Squadron RAF
Active	15 Aug 1918 – 15 May 1919 30 Oct 1939 – 10 Mar 1942 10 Apr 1942 – 4 Nov 1944 15 Nov 1944 – 1 May 1950 1 Oct 1959 – 30 Sep 1964
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Nickname(s)	Canadian
Motto(s)	French:Toujours prêt ("Always ready")[1]
Engagements	Battle of Britain,Invasion of Sicily,Berlin Airlift
Commanders
Notable commanders	Douglas Bader Alan Eckford
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry	A moose's head erased At the time that the badge was awarded, many of the air crew serving with the squadron were Canadian.[2]
Squadron Codes	LE (Feb 1940 – Dec 1941, Apr 1942 – Nov 1944) KY (Nov 1944 – 1948)

No. 242 Squadron RAF was aRoyal Air Force (RAF) squadron. It flew in many roles during theFirst World War,Second World War andCold War.

During the Second World War, the squadron was notable for (firstly) having many pilots who were eitherRCAF personnel orCanadians serving in the RAF – to the extent that it was sometimes known, unofficially, as "242 Canadian Squadron" – and (secondly) for being the first squadron to be commanded byDouglas Bader.

No. 242 Squadron was formed on 15 August 1918^[3] from the numbers 408, 409 and 514 Seaplane Flights atNewhaven Seaplane Base, and continued using theShort 184 from there and the nearby airfield atTelscombe Cliffs on anti-submarine patrols over the English Channel until the end of theFirst World War.^[4]

The squadron was reformed atRAF Church Fenton on 30 October 1939^[5] withCanadian personnel. At first using theBristol Blenheim andFairey Battle light bombers, it converted to theHawker Hurricane fighter in February 1940.^[3]

In May 1940 the squadron moved toRAF Coltishall^[6]Douglas Bader was posted to command the Squadron, as asquadron leader, at the end of June 1940, when the unit was mainly made up of Canadian pilots that had suffered high losses in theBattle of France and had low morale. Despite initial resistance to their new commanding officer, the pilots (including such aces asWillie McKnight) were soon won over by Bader's strong personality and perseverance, especially in cutting through red tape to make the squadron operational again.^[7] Aircraft spares and tools had been in very short supply and not available through the usual channels. After appeals to higher authority, ample amounts of aircraft spares and tools were provided. Upon the formation ofNo. 12 Group RAF, No. 242 Squadron was assigned to the Group while based at RAF Duxford.

In June 1940 it moved toRAF Coltishall ineastern England, as part of No. 12 Group RAF and was involved in theBattle of Britain. During this period 242 Squadron moved toRAF Duxford as part of theDuxford Wing, 12 Group'sBig Wing formation. In 1941 it started offensive sweeps and bomber escorts and convoy patrols.

In December 1941 the squadron moved to thefar East arriving atRAF Seletar on 13 January 1942. The situation was desperate and it had to move toPalembang onSumatra where the squadron collapsed through lack of spares and was dispersed by 10 March 1942.^[3][4] On 29 December 1941 Pilot Officer M. C. Blanchard (RCAF) was reported missing believed killed after a mid-air collision off the coast of Ghar Hassan, Malta, during an operational flight. The collision was between Hurricane BE343 (Blanchard) and Hurricane BE344 (Flight Lieutenant Andrews (RCAF) who was later found safe).

On 10 April 1942 the squadron re-formed atRAF Turnhouse,Scotland with theSupermarine Spitfire and was involved in coastal patrols. In October it was deployed to North Africa defendingAlgiers. It fought into Tunisia then moved on to Malta and was involved in theinvasion of Sicily and the Salerno beach-head operations. In 1944 it was moved to Syria for a rest period before moving to Corsica where it was part of theinvasion of southern France and attacks on northern Italy. The squadron was disbanded in Italy on 4 November 1944.^[3][4]

The squadron reformed again on 15 November 1944 atRAF Stoney Cross as a transport squadron, training on theVickers Wellington then getting operational on theShort Stirling. By 1946 it was operating theAvro York running scheduled freight services into India and to the Azores; in June 1946 it was located atRAF Oakington as part ofNo. 47 Group.^[8] In 1948 it became involved in theBerlin Air Lift operating fromWunstorf. After the air lift it returned to England and reequipped withHandley Page Hastings. The squadron was disbanded atRAF Lyneham on 1 May 1950.^[3][4]

On 1 October 1959 it was reformed atRAF Marham as a surface-to-air missile unit with theBristol Bloodhound. It was tasked to protect theV bomber bases until disbanded on 30 September 1964.^[3][4]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toNo. 242 Squadron RAF.

• No. 242's actions between 10/05/1940 and 30/06/1940 on epibreren.com
• World War II bases of No. 242 Squadron
• History of No.'s 241–245 Squadrons at RAF Web
• No. 242 Squadron and the Battle of Britain
• Travels with a Spitfire or No. 242 (Fighter) Squadron - 1942 to 1944Archived 10 June 2015 at theWayback Machine
• No. 242 Squadron, 25 May 1944

• Military units and formations established in 1918
• Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
• Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II
• 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom
• Military units and formations in Mandatory Palestine in World War II
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1964

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• Short description is different from Wikidata
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• Use British English from August 2015
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