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| No. 224 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1 April 1918 – May 1919 1 February 1937 – 31 October 1966 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Mottos | Fedele all'amico (Italian:Faithful to a friend)[1] |
No. 224 Squadron RAF was aRoyal Air Forcesquadron that saw service in both theFirst andSecond World Wars.
It was formed on 1 April 1918, atAlimini, Italy from part of No. 6 WingRNAS, equipped with thede Havilland DH.4. In June 1918 it re-equipped with thede Havilland DH.9.[2][3] It carried out attacks against Austro-Hungarian targets inMontenegro and Albania,[4] and on 2 October 1918, took part in an aerial bombardment ofDurazzo, Albania in support of anaval attack on that port.[5] The squadron disbanded atTaranto on 15 May 1919.[6]
On 1 February 1937, the squadron reformed atManston as a General Reconnaissance squadron,[a] with personnel fromNo. 48 Squadron. It then moved toBoscombe Down where it receivedAvro Anson aircraft.[4][8] The squadron moved toRAF Thornaby inYorkshire in July 1937.[4][8] In August 1938 the squadron moved toLeuchars in Scotland, and from May 1939 began re-equipping with theLockheed Hudson, becoming the first RAF squadron to operate the American reconnaissance bomber, becoming operational in August that year.[8][9]
On the outbreak of theSecond World War, the squadron deployed its Hudsons on patrols over the North Sea and reconnaissance missions over German ports, losing three aircraft by the end of September 1939. On 8 October 1939 three of its Hudsons shot down a GermanDornier Do 18flying boat, the first enemy aircraft claimed shot down by the RAF in the Second World War.[10] TheGerman invasion of Norway in April 1940 saw the squadron's Hudsons carry out bombing operations against harbours and shipping, with operations off the coast of Norway continuing after the Norway's occupation.[8]
On 23 April 1940 a 'most regrettable incident' occurred whereby three Hudsons, sent to supportOperation Primrose (1940), were engaged by anti-aircraft guns fromHMS Curacoa (D41) and others. Hudson N7249 was shot down, whilst the other two aircraft, including N7264, returned toRAF Wick with damage.[11][12]
On 27 December 1940, one of the squadron's Hudsons sank the merchant shipArnfinn Jarl offEgersund,[13] and on 4 January 1941, had another anti-shipping success, sinking the merchant shipSnyg south east ofHaugesund.[14][15][16]
The squadron moved toLimavady in April 1941, andSt Eval in December 1941. In February 1942 it returned to Limavady and moved toTiree in April 1942 where it converted toConsolidated Liberators. In September 1942 the squadron moved; first toBeaulieu, thenSt Eval in April 1943, andMilltown, Scotland in September 1944.224 Squadron was a successfulanti-submarine unit, accounting for ten[17] U-boats destroyed during the Second World War.[18] Its wartime commanders included New ZealandersA. E. Clouston andMick Ensor. The squadron returned to St Eval in July 1945 where it converted toAvro Lancasters in October 1946. The squadron disbanded on 10 November 1947.
The squadron reformed on 1 March 1948 atRAF Aldergrove, equipped with theHandley Page Halifax. In 1951 it re-equipped with theAvro Shackleton, which it operated fromRAF Gibraltar from August 1951,[19] until disbanding on 31 October 1966. During this period its main tasks were NATO maritime surveillance as well as search and rescue duties within the Gibraltar Maritime Area. This area covered a large part of the eastern Atlantic as well as the western Mediterranean.[20]
