No. 260 Squadron RAF
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 Air Force was formed in August 1918 as a coastal patrol squadron, equipped with the DH.6s. It carried out anti-submarine patrols from Westward Ho!, Devon for the remainder of the First World War. It disbanded on 22 February 1919.Reformation in World War II
The squadron reformed on 22 November 1940 at RAF Castletown, in Caithness in the north of Scotland, receiving Hawker Hurricane I fighters in December that year. The squadron was employed flying convoy patrols off the coast of Scotland from Castletown and RAF Skitten until April 1941, when it moved to RAF Drem to prepare for transfer to the Middle East. On 16 June 1941, twenty No. 260 Squadron Hurricanes took off from the aircraft carrier, with twenty eight more Hurricanes of No. 238 Squadron flew off from. They then flew to Malta, with 43 of the Hurricanes from the two squadrons safely reaching Malta. The majority of the aircraft flew on to Africa over the next few days. As the squadrons' ground crews had not travelled with the air component, but were being sent by ship via the Cape of Good Hope, the pilots were initially used as a pool of reinforcements for existing squadrons, with 260's pilots initially being attached to No. 80 Squadron based at Haifa, Mandatory Palestine. On 23 June, the pilots from No. 260 Squadron combined with the ground party from the Australian No. 450 Squadron to form a composite unit, 260/450 Squadron, which then supported the invasion of Syria, carrying out ground attack operations against Vichy French forces, and in particular, against Vichy airfields. No. 260/450 Squadron operated for ten days only and flew 61 sorties against airfields, 20 on offensive patrols and six on bomber-escort duties during the Syrian campaign. In August 1941, as No. 260 Squadron's ground component had now arrived in the Middle East, the two squadrons separated, with No. 260 Squadron returning to a full RAF unit.In October 1941, the squadron moved to the Western Desert, carrying out fighter sweeps, ground attack and bomber escort missions in support of the Operation Crusader offensive, and covering the retreat of British and Allied forces from Rommel's counteroffensive early in 1942. On 15 February 1942 the squadron handed over its Hurricanes to No. 238 Squadron, receiving Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks for training prior to conversion to the more capable Curtiss Kittyhawk I fighter bomber. The squadron then advanced with the Eighth 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 the North American P-51 Mustang and it disbanded at Lavariano on 19 August 1945.
Among notable squadron personnel was the future actor Christopher Lee, who served as an intelligence officer. The Australian flying ace John Waddy also flew with the squadron for a time.
Aircraft operated
| 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 |