No. 192 Squadron was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

squadron operational during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

as a night training squadron and during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

as a radar countermeasure unit. After the war the squadron served again in the Electronic Intelligence role, until disbanded in 1958.

History

Formation in World War I

No. 192 Squadron was formed at

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

on 5 September 1917 as a night training squadron operating the Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2b and FE.2d. The squadron moved to Newmarket,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

in 1918 and was disbanded in December 1918.

Reformation in World War II

The squadron was re-formed on 4 January 1943 when No. 1474 Flight at RAF Gransden Lodge was re-numbered 192 (Special) Squadron. The squadron operated specially modified

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its ...

s and

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden ...

s to identify German radar patterns and wavelengths. It also carried out similar missions over the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. In April 1943 the squadron moved to

RAF Feltwell Royal Air Force Feltwell or more simply RAF Feltwell is a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, East Anglia that is used by the United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa. The station is located about 10 miles west of Thetford, and ...

and at the end of the year, the squadron moved again to

RAF Foulsham Royal Air Force Foulsham, more commonly known as RAF Foulsham is a former Royal Air Force station, a military airfield, located 15 miles North-West of Norwich, in the English county of Norfolk, East Anglia, from 1942 to 1945. History RAF Fouls ...

to operate with 100 (Bomber Support) Group. During bomber raids the aircraft would provide countermeasures against German radars. The squadron disbanded at the end of the Second World War on 22 August 1945 to form the bases of the Central Signals Establishment and the Radio Warfare Establishment (RWE).Jefford 2001, p. 69.

Reformed again in the Cold War

On 15 July 1951, the squadron reformed at

RAF Watton Royal Air Force Watton or more simply RAF Watton is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of East Dereham, Norfolk, England. Opened in 1937 it was used by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) d ...

as part of that same Central Signals Establishment for ''Operational Signals Research''. Despite the name ''Research'' in the role, the squadron continued with its traditional ELectronic Signals INTelligence (

ELINT Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...

) role. The squadron also used the

Boeing Washington The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 Fly ...

and

English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havil ...

in the ELINT role. The squadron disbanded on 21 August 1958 at Watton when it was renumbered to 51 Squadron.

Aircraft operated

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. ''Squadron Codes, 1937–56''. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. . * Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. ''Combat Codes: A full explanation and listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied air force unit codes since 1938''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. . * Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918–1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. . * Jefford, C.G. ''RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). . * Rees, William J. and John E. ''Espionage in the Ether: The Wartime Story of Electronic Intelligence & Radio Countermeasures Carried out by 192 (Bomber Support) Squadron''. Compaid Graphics, 1999. .

External links

Squadron history on MOD site

192 Squadron photos, life stories, documents, and memorabilia
at the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive. {{Royal Air Force 192 Squadron 192 Squadron Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II Electronic warfare units and formations Signals intelligence units and formations Military units and formations established in 1917 1917 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations disestablished in 1958 Telecommunications in World War II