Country United Kingdom | Branch Royal Air Force | |
Active 20 August 1918 – 14 January 1919
16 February 1943 – 1 May 1945 Motto(s) Swahili: Haya ingia napigane
("Get in a fight") Squadron Badge An eagle head over a globe Squadron Codes VP (Apr 1939 – Sep 1939) | ||
No. 259 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed in Africa as a reconnaissance and anti-submarine unit in World War II.
Contents
World War I
No. 259 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was authorized to form on 20 August 1918 but there is no evidence that it did so, and it was formally disbanded on 14 January 1919.
Formation in World War II
The squadron formed on 16 February 1943 at Kipevu, Kenya and flew anti-submarine patrols over the Indian Ocean equipped with Catalinas. Detachments of the squadron were based at Dar-es-Salaam, Diego Suarez, Khormaksar, Masirah, Port Victoria, Tulear, Lake St. Lucia in South Africa and Mauritius. The squadron was disbanded on 1 May 1945 by which time it was re-equipping with Sunderlands.
References
No. 259 Squadron RAF Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA