Formation and World War I No. 252 Squadron was formed at
Tynemouth on 1 May 1918 as a day bomber unit when four RNAS flights were amalgamated and was equipped with the
Blackburn Kangaroo and
DH.6s. One of these flights,
No. 510 (Special Duty) Flight was posted to
Redcar with its DH.6s for protection of shipping in the
Teesport area until 21 January 1919. The squadron disbanded at
RNAS Killingholme on 30 June 1919.
Re-formation in World War II , 19 July 1943. On 21 November 1940 the squadron re-formed at
RAF Bircham Newton and was equipped with
Blenheims and
Beaufighters as a Coastal Command unit. It moved to Northern Ireland in April 1941 and an attachment went to
Gibraltar. In May 1941, 13 Beaufighters from No. 252 Squadron were sent to Malta. The squadron was disbanded upon renumbering as
No. 143 Squadron RAF on 15 June 1941 and re-established at
Idku, Egypt on 14 Nov 1941. It then operated from Libya and various locations in Greece and was finally disbanded on 1 December 1946.
Aircraft operated ==References==