No. 116 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron first formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. Reformed as part of the RAF during World War II it served as an anti-aircraft calibration unit and also operated post-war from 1952 until 1958.
Contents
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History 1
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World War I 1.1
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World War II 1.2
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Postwar 1.3
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References 2
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External links 3
History
World War I
No. 116 Squadron was formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps on 1 December 1917 at Andover. It was intended to become a night bomber unit, but the end of the war resulted in the squadron's disbandment on 20 November 1918.[1][2]
World War II
The squadron reformed at Hatfield on 17 February 1941 from No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Calibration Flight with Westland Lysanders. Its main task was the calibration of predictors and AA radar used by numerous AA batteries in the UK. Due to the wide dispersal of these batteries, No. 116 was fragmented into numerous detachments based at convenient airfields. In November 1941 some Hawker Hurricanes were received for simulating dive-bombing and low-level attacks and in June 1942, de Havilland Tiger Moths were allotted for use in AA radar alignment checks. Airspeed Oxfords began to replace the Lysanders and were later supplemented by Avro Ansons. These were used for the rest of the war, the Squadron disbanding on 26 May 1945.[1][3]
Postwar
On 1 August 1952, the Squadron reformed at Watton from the Calibration Squadron of the Central Signals Establishment. It flew Vickers Varsities, Avro Lincolns and Ansons until renumbered 115 Squadron on 21 August 1958.[1][2]
References
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^ a b c "116 Squadron". Royal Air Force. 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
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^ a b Barrass, M. B. (2014). "Sqn Histories 116-120". rafweb.org. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
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^ Rickard, J. (2013). "No. 116 Squadron (RAF) during the Second World War". historyofwar.org. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
External links
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