No. 170 Squadron RAF was aSecond World WarRoyal Air Force squadron that operated theNorth American Mustang in the fighter-reconnaissance role and later theAvro Lancaster as part ofBomber Command.

The squadron was formed atRAF Weston Zoyland on 15 June 1942 as a fighter-reconnaissance squadron equipped with the American-builtNorth American Mustang I. After a few months' training with the Army it began operations over continental Europe in January 1943. In the first few months of action it had a speciality for attacking and destroying rail traffic. It eventually operated defensive patrols against German fighter-bombers until it was disbanded atRAF Sawbridgeworth on 15 January 1944.

No. 170 Squadron was re-formed on 15 October 1944 atRAF Kelstern from C Flight of625 Squadron, moving shortly toRAF Dunholme Lodge then again toRAF Hemswell. Equipped with the four-enginedAvro Lancaster heavy bomber it was soon operating as part of the Bomber Command offensive over Germany through the winter of 1944/45. As the risk from German fighters grew less it also operated daylight raids. It only operated as a heavy bomber unit for six months but flew 980 sorties with the loss of 13 Lancasters. Following its last raid on 25 April 1945 against Berchtesgaden it concentrated on dropping relief supplies into the Netherlands and transporting prisoners of war and troops back to England from Germany. With its job done it was disbanded on 14 November 1945.

There is a 170 Sqn. memorial at the former RAF Hemswell site.

^[1]

1945 - Sqn Ldr Basil Templeman-Rooke

1944-1945 - Pilot Officer Robert Byron Pattison

1944-1945 - Flight Lieutenant Donald Edward Thomas Hudson DFC

1944-1945Flight Lieutenant Denis Michael Evans

1944-1944Pilot Officer Jack Stevenson

194?/1943Flying Officer Hector William Munro RCAF KIA 24th November 1943Buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery.

• RAF History 170 Sqn siteBomber Command: No. 170 Squadron at theWayback Machine (archived 4 July 2013)
• Photos of 170 Sqn memorial at RAF Hemswell
• Obituary of Wg Cdr Basil Templeman-Rooke^{[dead link]}
• Wilfred Earl Weber and the Crew of Lancaster Bomber ME320

• Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from August 2015
• Use British English from August 2015
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Webarchive template wayback links
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from January 2025