No.82 Squadron
- Badge
- In front of a sun in splendour, a weathercock
- Motto
- Super omnia ubique - Over all things everywhere
- Formed
- 07 January 1917
- Disbanded
- 10 July 1963
Formed at Doncaster on 7 January 1917, No 82 Squadron was a corps reconnaissance unit. It moved to France in November 1917 and undertook artillery spotting and reconnaissance work until the end of the war. In February 1919 the unit returned to the UK and was disbanded on 30 June 1919.
On 14 June 1937 the unit reformed at RAF Andover as a day bomber squadron. It was involved in tactical bombing during the German May 1940 Blitzkrieg. During the Battle of Britain it turned its attention to German invasion barges in the Channel ports. In June 1941 a large number of the squadron’s aircraft went to Malta. There they were absorbed by existing units. In March 1942 the squadron moved to the Far East. It did not resume operational flying until November when it began anti-submarine patrols. In June 1943 it began bombing missions on the Burma front. The squadron was at various times in combat against the Japanese but in May 1945 was withdrawn from operations to prepare for the invasion of Malaya. The Japanese surrender forestalled this plan. On 15 March 1946 the unit disbanded.
On 1 October 1946 the squadron reformed at RAF Benson as a survey unit.
The squadron undertook this work in the Gold Coast (Ghana) Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In November 1953 it began a survey of West Germany. On 1 September 1956 the unit disbanded. On 22 July 1956 the squadron reformed as a ballistic missile unit based at RAF Shepherds Grove. It finally disbanded on 10 July 1963.
AIRCRAFT
Various types 1917 - 1917
FK8 1917 - 1919
Blenheim I/IV 1938 - 1942
Vengeance 1942 - 1944
Mosquito VI 1944 - 1946
Lancaster PR1 1946 - 1953
Spitfire 19 1946 - 1947
Canberra 3/7 1953 - 1956
Thor 1959 - 1963
Reference Sources
The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force James J Halley Air Britain (Historians) Ltd 1988
RAF Squadrons Wg Cdr C G Jefford Airlife 2001
Bomber Squadrons of the RAF and their aircraft Phillip J R Moyes Macdonald & Jane’s 1976
Coastal Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their aircraft John D R Rawlings Jane’s Publishing 1982
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