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No. 210 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit established in World War I. Disbanded and reformed a number of times in the ensuing years, it operated as a fighter squadron during World War I and as a maritime patrol squadron during the Spanish Civil War, World War II and the Cold War before it was last deactivated in 1971.

No. 210 Squadron RAF
Squadron badge of No. 210 Squadron RAF
Active12 Feb 1917(RNAS)– 24 Jun 1919
1 Feb 1920 – 1 Apr 1923
1 Mar 1931 – 31 Dec 1943
1 Jan 1944 – 4 Jun 1945
1 Jun 1946 – 31 Jan 1957
1 Dec 1958 – 31 Oct 1970
1 Nov 1970 – 17 Nov 1971
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
RoleMaritime patrol
Motto(s)Welsh: Yn y nwyfre yn hedfan
("Hovering in the Heavens")[1]
Battle honoursWestern Front, 1916–18
Ypres 1917
Lys
Atlantic 1939–45
Arctic 1945
Bismarck
North Africa, 1942–43
Biscay 1943
All these honours are emblazoned on the squadron standard
Commanders
Notable
commanders		W/Cdr. R. Leckie
W/Cdr. A.T. Harris
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldryA griffin segreant[1]
Squadron CodesVG (May 1939 – Sep 1939)[2][3]
DA (Sep 1939 – Mar 1944)[4][5]
OZ (Apr 1946 – 1951)[6][7]
L (1951–1956)[8][9]

History



World War I


No. 210 Squadron was formed from No. 10 Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS), when the Royal Air Force was established on 1 April 1918. No. 10 (Naval) Squadron had been raised on 12 February 1917, flying Nieuports and later Sopwith Triplanes, which were in turn replaced by Sopwith Camels in late 1917. One of its pilots was Raymond Collishaw, the RNAS's highest-scoring ace and later an Air Vice-Marshal. The unit remained in Europe after the war, until February 1919. It then returned to the UK and was disbanded on 24 June 1919.[1]


Between the wars


The squadron was reformed on 1 February 1920 from No. 186 Squadron, equipped with the Sopwith Cuckoo torpedo bomber. It was again disbanded on 1 April 1923.[1]

The squadron reformed on 1 March 1931, equipped with Supermarine Southampton flying boats. The squadron initially operated out of Felixstowe before moving three months later to Pembroke Dock in Wales, June 1931. One of its pilots at this time was Don Bennett, the future commanding officer of the Pathfinder Force. In 1935 the squadron converted to the Short Rangoon and was posted to Gibraltar. A year later the squadron returned home to be re-equipped with the Short Singapore, August 1936.

In 1937 the squadron was posted to Algeria as part of an Anglo-French force charged with countering submarine attacks on neutral shipping during the Spanish Civil War. The squadron returned home in December 1937. In June 1938 the squadron converted to the Short Sunderland.


World War II


A 210 Squadron Sunderland I escorting convoy TC.6, 31 July 1940.
A 210 Squadron Sunderland I escorting convoy TC.6, 31 July 1940.

When World War II began, detachments from No. 210 Squadron were sent to Invergordon and Sullom Voe. In July 1940 the squadron moved to RAF Oban and began to re-equip with the Consolidated Catalina. The squadron returned to Pembroke Dock in October 1942, with a detachment based at Gibraltar. In April 1943, squadron headquarters moved to RAF Hamworthy. The Gibraltar detachment was transferred to No. 202 Squadron on 31 December 1943 and the remainder of the squadron at Hamworthy disbanded.

The squadron reformed the day after at Sullom Voe, when No. 190 Squadron was renumbered on 1 January 1944. During this time, Flying Officer John Cruickshank, a pilot with the squadron, was awarded the Victoria Cross for flying his aircraft home despite extensive wounds received during an attack on a German U-boat. This was one out of a total of eight German U-boats that fell victim to the Catalinas of 210 squadron.[10] When the war ended 210 sqn flew a month postal runs to Norwegian ports but shortly thereafter officially disbanded on 4 June 1945 at Sullom Voe. The squadron's history however has a flight with the RAF Film Unit along the Norwegian coast as flown as late as on 10 June 1945.[10]


Post war



Lancasters and Neptunes

On 1 June 1946, No. 210 Squadron reformed again when one flight ('Y') of No. 179 Squadron was renumbered. Eventually the other flight of no. 179 sqn ('X') was absorbed later in September 1946.[11] It operated Lancaster GR.3s from RAF St Eval until September 1952, then moved to RAF Topcliffe, re-equipping with Neptune MR.1 aircraft in February 1953. The squadron disbanded at Topcliffe on 31 January 1957.


On Shackletons

The squadron reformed one more time on 1 December 1958 when No. 269 Squadron was renumbered, taking over that squadron's maritime patrol tasks from RAF Ballykelly, equipped with the Shackleton MR.2. The tasks included taking part in the UN sanctions against Rhodesia, flown by two detachments from Sharjah in the Trucial States and Majunga, Madagascar.[12] This lasted until 31 October 1970, when the Squadron disbanded. On 1 November 1970 the squadron's former detachment at Sharjah reformed as the new 210 sqn, but this did not last for long, as the squadron disbanded there for the last time at Sarjah on 17 November 1971.[13][14]


Aircraft operated


From To Aircraft Variant
Feb 1917May 1917Nieuport 12
Feb 1917May 1917Nieuport 17
Feb 1917Jul 1917Sopwith Triplane
August 1917Jun 1919Sopwith Camel
Feb 1920Apr 1923Sopwith Cuckoo
May 1931Jul 1935Supermarine SouthamptonMk.II
Jan 1935Aug 1935Short SingaporeMk.III
Sep 1935Aug 1936Short RangoonMk.I
Oct 1935Nov 1935Saro LondonMk.II
Oct 1935Nov 1935Supermarine StranraerMk.I
Sep 1936Nov 1938Short SingaporeMk.III
Jun 1938Apr 1941Short SunderlandMk.I
Apr 1941Mar 1944Consolidated CatalinaMks.I and Ib
Aug 1942Dec 1943Consolidated CatalinaMks.IIa and III
Mar 1944Jun 1945Consolidated CatalinaMk.IV
Jun 1946Oct 1952Avro LancasterASR.3
Feb 1953Jan 1957Lockheed NeptuneMR.1
Dec 1958Nov 1971Avro ShackletonMR.2

[14][15][16]


Squadron bases


From To Base
12 Feb 191727 Mar 1917Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France
27 Mar 191715 May 1917Furnes, Belgium
15 May 19174 Oct 1917Droglandt, France
4 Oct 191727 Nov 1917Leffrinckoucke, France
27 Nov 191731 Mar 1918Téteghem, France
31 Mar 19189 Apr 1918Treizennes, France
9 Apr 191827 Apr 1918Liettres, France
27 Apr 191830 May 1918Saint-Omer, France
30 May 19188 Jul 1918Sainte-Marie-Cappel, France
8 Jul 191822 Jul 1918Téteghem, France
22 Jul 191823 Oct 1918Eringhem, France
23 Oct 191817 Feb 1919Boussières, France
17 Feb 191924 Jun 1919RAF Scopwick, Lincolnshire
1 Feb 19201 Apr 1923RAF Gosport, Hampshire
1 Mar 193115 Jun 1931RAF Felixstowe, Suffolk
15 Jun 193128 Sep 1935RAF Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales
28 Sep 19357 Aug 1936RAF Gibraltar
7 Aug 193622 Sep 1937Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales
22 Sep 193718 Dec 1937Arzeu, Algeria
18 Dec 193729 Sep 1938Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales
29 Sep 19388 Oct 1938Tayport, Fife, Scotland
8 Oct 193823 Oct 1939Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales
23 Oct 19396 Nov 1939RAF Invergordon, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland
6 Nov 193924 Nov 1939Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales
24 Nov 193921 May 1940Invergordon (Det. at Sullom Voe, Shetland, Scotland)
21 May 194013 Jul 1940Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales
13 Jul 194028 Feb 1942RAF Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland (Dets. at Reykjavík, Iceland, Sullom Voe and Stranraer
28 Feb 19424 Oct 1942RAF Sullom Voe, Shetland, Scotland (Det. at Grasnaya, Russia)
4 Oct 194221 Apr 1943Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales (Det. at Gibraltar)
21 Apr 194331 Dec 1943RAF Hamworthy, Dorset (Det. at Gibraltar)
1 Jan 19444 Jun 1945Sullom Voe, Shetland, Scotland (Det. at Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales)
1 Jun 194615 Apr 1952RAF St Eval, Cornwall (Dets. at Ein Shemer, Israel, RAF Gibraltar and RAF Luqa, Malta
15 Apr 195226 May 1952RAF St Mawgan, Cornwall
26 May 195215 Apr 1952RAF St Eval, Cornwall
10 Sep 195226 Sep 1952RAF Ballykelly, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland
26 Sep 195231 Jan 1957RAF Topcliffe, North Yorkshire
1 Dec 195831 Oct 1970RAF Ballykelly, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland (Dets. at Sharjah, Trucial States and Majunga, Madagascar
1 Nov 197015 Nov 1971Sharjah, Trucial States (United Arab Emirates)

[14][15][16]


Commanding officers


From To Name
Feb 1917Apr 1917Squadron Commander (S/Cdr.) C. D. Breese
Apr 1917Sep 1917S/Cdr. Bertram Charles Bell (acting)
Sep 1917Apr 1918S/Cdr. B.C. Bell
Apr 1918Oct 1918Maj. B.C. Bell
Oct 1918Jun 1919Cpt. A.W. Carter, DFC
Feb 1920Apr 1920S/Ldr. J.A.G. de Courcy
Apr 1920Sep 1920S/Ldr. C. W. H. Pulford
Sep 1920Apr 1923W/Cdr. N.J. Gill
Mar 1931Mar 1933W/Cdr. R. Leckie, DSO, DSC, DFC
Mar 1933Jul 1933W/Cdr. A.T. Harris
Jul 1933May 1934W/Cdr. R.H. Kershaw
May 1934Oct 1935S/Ldr. A.F. Lang
Oct 1935Dec 1938W/Cdr. W.N. Plenderlieth
Dec 1938Jan 1939S/Ldr. G.A. Bolland
Jan 1939Jan 1940W/Cdr. W.J. Daddo-Langlois
Jan 1940Jan 1941W/Cdr. F.J. Fressanges
Jan 1941Nov 1941W/Cdr. G.G. Barret
Nov 1941Jun 1942W/Cdr. W.H. Hutton
Jun 1942Jan 1943W/cdr. H.B. Johnson
Jan 1943Nov 1943W/Cdr. C.H. Brandon
Nov 1943Jan 1944W/Cdr. S.R. Gibbs, DFC
Jan 1944Mar 1944W/Cdr. P.H. Allington
Mar 1944Oct 1944W/Cdr. L.W. Burgess
Oct 1944Nov 1944S/Ldr. Smallman
Nov 1944Jun 1945W/cdr. R.W. Whittome
Jun 1946Jan 1947S/Ldr. A. Henderson, AFC
Jan 1947Oct 1947S/Ldr. F.G. Paisley, DFC
Oct 1947Apr 1949S/Ldr. W.D. Hodgkinson, DFC, AFC
Apr 1949Jun 1951S/Ldr. P.R. Casement, DSO, DFC
Jun 1951Nov 1951S/Ldr. P.J. Cundy
Nov 1951Aug 1952S/Ldr. E.F.J. Odoire, DFC, AFC
Aug 1952Jan 1954S/Ldr. H.H. Eccles
Jan 1954Dec 1955S/Ldr. H.R. Kerr, OBE
Dec 1955Jan 1957W/Cdr. J.L. Nunn, DFC
Dec 1958W/Cdr. J.F. Halton
19611962W/Cdr. A.F. Carvosso
W/Cdr. J.W. King
W/Cdr. D.G.F. Palmer
Nov 1970Nov 1971S/Ldr. G. Moule

[17][18]


References



Notes


  1. Halley 1988, p. 274.
  2. Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 14.
  3. Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 52.
  4. Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 28.
  5. Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 68.
  6. Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 81.
  7. Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 154.
  8. Bowyer and Rawlings 1979, p. 127.
  9. Flintham and Thomas 2003, p. 192.
  10. Seymour and Balderson 1999, p. 100.
  11. Jefford 2001, p. 68.
  12. Evans 1999, p. 77.
  13. Jefford 2001, p. 73.
  14. Rawlings 1982, p. 142.
  15. Halley 1988, p. 275.
  16. Jefford 2001, pp. 72–73.
  17. Two Ten – Two Six! no. 7, p. 24.
  18. Rawlings 1982, pp. 142–143.

Bibliography






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