First World War The squadron was established as part of the
Royal Naval Air Service on 25 October 1916 at
Dunkirk as
No. 8 (Naval) Squadron. In its early days, the unit flew
Sopwith Pups,
1½ Strutters and
Nieuport Scouts. Later in the
First World War it re-equipped with
Sopwith Camels and was assigned to artillery spotting. The squadron returned to the UK briefly before being sent back to France to face the German offensive. While in France sixteen Camels belonging to the squadron were destroyed by the RAF to prevent the Germans capturing them during their advance. When the
Royal Air Force was formed on 1 April 1918, the unit was renumbered to No. 208 Squadron RAF. After the war ended, 208 Squadron remained with the occupying forces until August 1919, when it again returned to the UK for disbandment on 7 November 1919 at
Netheravon. For some time the squadron was based at the aerodrome at the
Beaupré-sur-la-Lys Abbey in
La Gorgue in northern France. During the war, the squadron claimed 298 victories. Twenty-five aces had served in the squadron. Notable among them were
Anthony Arnold,
Charles Dawson Booker,
Robert J. O. Compston,
Harold Day,
Stanley Goble,
Edward Grahame Johnstone,
William Lancelot Jordan,
Robert A. Little,
William E. G. Mann,
Richard Munday,
Guy William Price,
George Simpson,
Reginald Soar,
Ronald Thornley,
Sir Herbert Thompson and
James White.
Interbellum The squadron re-formed at
RAF Ismailia in Egypt on 1 February 1920 by the renumbering of
No. 113 Squadron RAF. It was at first equipped with
RE8s and from November 1920 till May 1930 with
Bristol Fighters. In September 1922 the squadron was sent to Turkey for a year during the
Chanak crisis, being stationed at
San Stefano, a part of the
Bakırköy district of
Istanbul.
Second World War No. 208 Squadron was still stationed in Egypt at the outbreak of the Second World War. It joined the war effort in mid-1940, flying
Westland Lysander reconnaissance aircraft and
Hawker Hurricane fighters on
army co-operation duties in the
North African campaign and the
Greek Campaign of 1941. During the war it included a significant number of
Royal Australian Air Force and
South African Air Force personnel, along with other nationalities. Amongst the members of the squadron at this time was
Robert Leith-Macgregor, shot down on more than one occasion, once ending up taxiing through a minefield, but managing not to trigger any mines. The unit was later stationed in
Palestine, before returning to
North Africa. It briefly converted to
Curtiss Tomahawks, but received
Supermarine Spitfires in late 1943 and flew them for the remainder of the war. From 1944, it took part in the
Italian campaign.
After the Second World War Shortly after the war, 208 Squadron moved back to Palestine where it was involved in operations against the
Egyptian Air Force. In 1948, the squadron moved to the Egyptian Canal Zone. It saw action in the
1948 Arab–Israeli War, losing four Spitfires in combat with
Israeli Air Force aircraft (which also included Spitfires) on 7 January 1949. Of the four pilots, one (Ronald Sayers) was killed; a second baled out, was picked up by Bedouins and returned to his base; two other pilots were captured by Israel and released. The last officially recorded "air to air fighter pilot kill" (bullets only, without guidance systems) occurred on 22 May 1948. At 09:30 two Egyptian Spitfire LF.9s staged a third attack on Ramat David. This time
Fg Off Tim McElhaw and Fg Off Hully of 208 Squadron had taken over the standing patrol. Fg Off McElhaw, flying Spitfire FR.18 TZ228, intercepted and shot down both LF.9s. In 1951, the squadron relocated to
RAF Fayid where its Spitfires were replaced with
Gloster Meteor jets. From there it moved to
RAF Abu Sueir, relocating to
RAF Ta Kali, Malta, in August 1956, with interim spells earlier in the year at
RAF Hal Far, Malta, and
RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. It disbanded at Ta Kali in January 1958, but re-formed the same month in the UK at RAF Tangmere from a nucleus of
No. 34 Squadron RAF. In March 1958, re-equipped with Hunter F.6's, it returned to the Middle East, based at RAF Nicosia, with detachments to RAF Akrotiri and Amman, Jordan. The squadron disbanded at RAF Nicosia on 31 March 1959. The next day, 1 April 1959, it re-formed at
RAF Eastleigh, Nairobi, Kenya, by the re-numbering of
No. 142 Squadron RAF under Squadron Leader R. Ramirez. It operated from Eastleigh from April 1959 to March 1960, being redeployed home to
RAF Stradishall from March to June 1960, but returning to Eastleigh in June, sending detachments to
Kuwait and
Bahrain during the period. It was moved to
RAF Khormaksar in
Aden in November 1961, under
Air Forces Arabian Peninsula, which became Air Forces Middle East the same year. In June 1964 it moved to
Muharraq in Bahrain. The squadron remained in the Middle East until September 1971 when it was disbanded as a consequence of British drawdown of armed forces from
East of Suez.
Flying Buccaneers |alt= 208 Squadron re-formed at
RAF Honington in 1974 with
Blackburn Buccaneer S.2s, assigned to
SACEUR in a low-level strike role. The squadron's twelve Buccaneers were declared operational to SACEUR from 1975 armed with 24
WE.177 nuclear weapons. The squadron was tasked with supporting land forces resisting an advance by the Warsaw Pact into western Europe, by striking at enemy forces, logistics and infrastructure beyond the forward edge of the battlefield, initially with conventional munitions, and with nuclear weapons in the event of escalation. The allocation of the British-owned WE.177 weapon freed the squadron from the time-consuming burden, at a critical time, of using US-owned nuclear weapons held in US custody at a central location. The squadron continued in this role, based at RAF Honington, until late 1983, when it moved base to
RAF Lossiemouth and was reassigned to
SACLANT for maritime strike duties. At Lossiemouth it flew alongside
No. 12 Squadron RAF with the same role. The squadron's allocation of WE.177 nuclear weapons was reduced to twelve, one per aircraft, although the Buccaneer was able to carry two in its internal bomb bay. The squadron continued in this role until late 1993 when it relinquished its nuclear weapons. The unit was one of the last squadrons to operate the Buccaneer before it went out of service in 1994, and after the type's retirement the squadron again disbanded on 31 March 1994.
Centenary and disbandment Despite conducting parallel training alongside the advanced Hawk TMk2 aircraft of
4(R) Squadron for several years, once 4(R) Squadron reached full output capacity, in January 2016 the Royal Air Force took a decision to disband 208(R) Squadron. The Squadron celebrated its centenary on 1 April 2016 with the final student course graduation, a families' day and a formal dinner. Shortly afterwards the Squadron disbanded, making its last flight on 13 April 2016 where three aircraft (two in centenary markings) led by OC 208(R) Squadron and the RAF Valley Station Commander overflew several landmarks linked with the Hawk TMk1. When it was handed back, it was estimated that over 1000 student pilots had been trained in the 208(R) Squadron building during its 22-year tenure at RAF Valley. The Squadron Standard was lodged in the RAF church,
St Clement Danes, at a ceremony on 22 May 2016, attended by squadron personnel, members of the 208 Squadron Association, Air Officer Commanding 22(Trg) Group and the Director of Flying Training. == Squadron badge ==