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No. 260 Squadron RAF
Active August 1918 – 22 February 1919
22 November 1940 – 19 August 1945
Country United Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Ensign of the Royal Air Force Royal Air Force
Motto(s) Latin: Celer et fortis ( Swift and Strong)
Insignia
Squadron Badge A sword and morning star
Squadron Codes HS (Feb 1942 - Aug 1945)

No. 260 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed as a reconnaissance and anti–submarine unit in World War I and a fighter unit in World War II.

History[]

Formation and World War I[]

No. 260 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed on 25 July 1918 and operated DH.6s from Westward Ho, Devon on anti-submarine patrols and disbanded on 5 March 1919.

Reformation in World War II[]

The squadron reformed on 22 November 1940 at RAF Castletown, Scotland and operated Hurricanes. It then moved to Egypt and operated Kittyhawk fighter bombers over the western desert. The squadron then advanced with the 8th Army into Tunisia. With the North African Campaign over it then moved to Sicily following Operation Husky. As the allied forces advanced into Italy it converted to Mustangs and it disbanded at Lavariano on 19 August 1945.

Aircraft operated[]

Crashed Kittyhawk I 260 Sqn in NAfrica 1942

A crashed Kittyhawk I of 260 Sqn. in North Africa, 1942.

Aircraft operated by no. 260 Squadron RAF
From To Aircraft Variant
Aug 1918 Feb 1919 Airco DH.6
Nov 1940 Feb 1942 Hawker Hurricane I
Feb 1942 Mar 1942 Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk II
Feb 1942 Sep 1942 Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk I
Jun 1942 May 1943 Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk IIA
Dec 1942 Mar 1944 Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk III
Apr 1944 Aug 1945 North American P-51 Mustang III
Jun 1945 Aug 1945 North American P-51 Mustang IV

[1]

2012 aircraft recovery in Egypt[]

In May 2012, CNN reported a Polish oil company worker in Egypt discovered a crash-landed 260 Sqn P-40 aircraft presumably piloted by Flt Sgt Dennis Copping, who went missing on June 28, 1942 and was never heard from again. Copping became disoriented while ferrying the P-40 from one base to another and flew in the wrong direction; evidence at the crash site indicates Copping survived the landing but could not have survived long in the desert. British authorities hope to bring the remarkably well-preserved plane back to the RAF Museum in London.[2]

References[]

  1. C.G.Jefford (1988). RAF Squadrons. UK Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-053-6. 
  2. Silverleib, Alan (May 11, 2012). "British WWII fighter found in Egyptian desert". http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/11/world/british-wwii-plane/index.html?hpt=hp_t3. Retrieved May 11, 2012. 

External links[]



All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at No. 260 Squadron RAF and the edit history here.
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