No. 234 Squadron RAF
Encyclopedia
No. 234 Squadron RAF had a long career within the RAF, being operational on flying boats in World War I and on fighter aircraft in World War II. After the war it remained a fighter unit till 1957. In its last incarnation the squadron was in turn Operational Training Unit (OTU), Tactical Weapon Unit (TWU) and part of No. 4 Flying Training School RAF until lastly disbanded in 1994.

Formation and World War I

No. 234 Squadron RAF was officially formed on 20 August 1918 at RNAS Tresco
RNAS Tresco
RNAS Tresco was a Royal Naval Air Service base on Tresco from 1917 to 1919.-History:Early in 1917 a handful of Short Type 184 seaplanes were stationed at Porth Mellon on St Mary’s...

 in the Scilly Isles from No. 350, 351, 352 and 353 Flights, which had been equipped with amongst others Felixstowe F3's
Felixstowe F.3
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bruce, J.M. "". Flight, 2 December 1955, pp.842—846.* Bruce, J.M. "". Flight, 16 December 1955, pp.895—898.* Bruce, J.M. "". Flight, 23 December 1955, pp. 929—932....

 and Curtiss H.12 aircraft since February 1917. The squadron used these to patrol the Western Approaches of the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

 and gained two DSCs
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...

, one DSM
Distinguished Service Medal (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Navy and members of the other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, up to and including the rank of Chief Petty Officer, for bravery and resourcefulness on active service...

 and a CGM
Conspicuous Gallantry Medal
The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal was, until 1993, a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Armed Forces and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for conspicuous gallantry in action against the enemy at sea...

 in doing that. The unit flew its last World war I mission on 10 November 1918 and was disbanded half a year later at Tresco on 15 May 1919.

In World War II

The squadron was reformed on 30 October 1939 at RAF Leconfield
RAF Leconfield
The former RAF Leconfield, or 'Leconfield Camp' was a Royal Air Force airbase in Leconfield , East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The site is now used by the MoD Defence School of Transport Leconfield .-History:...

, initially equipped with three Magisters
Miles Magister
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Amos, Peter. Miles Aircraft = The early years. Tonbridge: Air-Britain, 2009. ISBN 978 0 85130 410 6...

, a Battle
Fairey Battle
The Fairey Battle was a British single-engine light bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company in the late 1930s for the Royal Air Force. The Battle was powered by the same Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engine that gave contemporary British fighters high performance; however, the Battle was weighed...

 and three biplane Gauntlets
Gloster Gauntlet
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Crawford, Alex. Bristol Bulldog, Gloster Gauntlet. Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2005. ISBN 83-89450-04-6....

, soon to be followed by some Blenheims Mk.If
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter, pending the availability of the Beaufighter...

s, which were used flying on coastal patrols until March 1940. It then began to re-equip with Spitfires
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...

 and moved to RAF Church Fenton
RAF Church Fenton
RAF Church Fenton is a Royal Air Force airfield at Church Fenton in North Yorkshire, England.- History :Plans for a new airfield adjacent to the village of Church Fenton were announced in June 1935, it was subject to protest from the local population particularly concerning the waste of valuable...

 in May 1940 when becoming operational. The following month it moved to RAF St Eval
RAF St Eval
RAF St Eval was a strategic airbase for the RAF Coastal Command in the Second World War . St Eval's primary role was to provided anti-submarine and anti-shipping patrols off the south west coast of England...

 and operated from there and RAF Middle Wallop during the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

. During 1941 and 1942 the squadron was operating from various bases in the south and carried out both offensive and defensive duties but in January 1943 it was transferred to Orkney, flying at first from RAF Grimsetter with a detachment at RAF Sumburgh
RAF Sumburgh
RAF Sumburgh was located on the southern tip of the mainland island of the Shetland Islands, and was home to half of No. 404 Squadron RCAF, ....

, and later from RAF Skeabrae.")

Six months later the squadron returned to the South of England, firstly at RAF Church Stanton, and was soon operating over France again in preparation for the forthcoming invasion. However, after D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...

, the squadron converted to North American Mustang Mk.III
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...

s, which it used to provide long-range bomber escort missions from RAF North Weald and after December 1944 from RAF Bentwaters
RAF Bentwaters
RAF Bentwaters, now known as Bentwaters Parks, is a former Royal Air Force station about 80 miles NE of London, 10 miles ENE of Ipswich, near Woodbridge, Suffolk in England...

. On 1 May 1945 the squadron was moved to RAF Peterhead to provide a similar service to the RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...

 strike wings operating along the Norwegian coast, having received some additional new North American Mustang Mk.IV
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...

s (the RAF version of the P-51D Mustang) by this time.")

Post-war: from Spitfires to Jets

With the end of the war, the squadron reverted to Spitfire Mk.IX
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...

s and was retained as part of the post-war RAF. Jets arrived in February 1946, when Meteor F.3
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...

s replaced the Spitfires, but on 1 September the squadron was disbanded by being renumbered to No. 266 Squadron RAF
No. 266 Squadron RAF
-World War I:The squadron was formed from No's 437 and 438 Flights at Mudros, Greece on 27 September 1918 to carry out anti-submarine patrols in that area, flying Short 184s and 320s along with Felixtowe F.3s. In February 1919 it was transferred to the Caucasus on HMS Engadine. It operated from...

. The squadron reformed at Oldenburg
Oldenburg
Oldenburg is an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the western part of the state between the cities of Bremen and Groningen, Netherlands, at the Hunte river. It has a population of 160,279 which makes it the fourth biggest city in Lower Saxony after Hanover, Braunschweig...

 on 1 August 1952 in the ground attack role, equipped with Vampires FB.5 and FB.9
De Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...

s. In November 1953 it returned to the day fighter role when it began to receive North American Sabre F.4
F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America's first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War...

s, conversion being completed by January 1954. The squadron moved to RAF Geilenkirchen
RAF Geilenkirchen
The former Royal Air Force Station Geilenkirchen, more commonly known as RAF Geilenkirchen, was a Royal Air Force military air field in the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany, built by the British who used the facility mainly as an airfield for RAF fighter squadrons from May 1953 until 21...

 on 8 January 1954, where Hunter F.4
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...

s replaced the Sabres in May 1956, but following the 1957 Defence White Paper
1957 Defence White Paper
The 1957 White Paper on Defence was a British white paper setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected was the British aircraft industry...

 of Minister of Defence
Minister of Defence (UK)
The post of Minister of Defence was responsible for co-ordination of defence and security from its creation in 1940 until its abolition in 1964. The post was a Cabinet level post and generally ranked above the three service ministers, some of whom, however, continued to also serve in...

 Duncan Sandys
Duncan Sandys
Edwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys CH PC was a British politician and a minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s...

, No. 234 squadron was disbanded on 15 July 1957.")

With No. 229 OCU and No. 1 TWU

The squadron number popped up again when one of the squadrons of No. 229 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) at RAF Chivenor was given the number on 22 October 1958, operating Hunter F.6 and FGA.9 aircraft, to give Hunter pilots their operational training. On 2 September 1974 No. 229 OCU was redesignated as the Tactical Weapons Unit (TWU) and No. 234 (Reserve) Squadron was one of its components. When a second TWU was formed the original was renamed No. 1 TWU and No. 234 squadron remained a component. However, when No. 1 TWU was disbanded on 31 August 1992, so were its component squadrons, including No 234.

With No. 4 AFTS

The following day however, 1 September 1992, the number was allocated to a squadron of No. 4 Air Flying Training School (AFTS) at RAF Valley
RAF Valley
RAF Valley is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides fast-jet training using the BAE Hawk and provides training for aircrew working with Search and Rescue. Unofficially the motto for RAF Valley is 'One Valley, Training...

, which had taken over the duties of the TWUs. The squadron continued as part of no. 4 AFTS until 1 April 1994, when it was disbanded by being renumbered to No. 208 (Reserve) Squadron
No. 208 Squadron RAF
No 208 Squadron is at present a reserve unit of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. It operates the BAe Hawk aircraft.-World War I:...

.

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