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No. 178 Squadron RAF

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No. 178 Squadron RAF
No. 178 Squadron ground crew preparing to load a Liberator bomber with mines
No. 178 Squadron ground crew preparing to load a Liberator bomber with mines
Active15 Jan 1943 – 15 April 1946
CountryUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
Motto(s)Latin: Irae emissarii (Emissaries of wrath)[1]
Insignia
Squadron badge[a][2]

No. 178 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron that was a bomber unit based in Egypt, Libya and Italy in World War II.

History

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Formation in World War II

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W.D. Wright pilot, 178 Squadron RAF, war cemetery in Kraków

The Squadron was equipped with Liberators at Shandur, Egypt on 15 January 1943 and then moved to Libya, then Italy from March 1944. The squadron was actively involved in the air drop operations in support of the besieged Polish Home Army in Warsaw in 1944.

Postwar

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In November 1945 the Liberators were replaced by Lancasters at Fayid, Egypt. It was disbanded upon renumbering as No. 70 Squadron RAF on 15 April 1946.

Aircraft operated

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Aircraft operated by no. 178 Squadron RAF[3]
From To Aircraft Variant
Jan 1943 Dec 1943 Consolidated B-24 Liberator II
May 1943 Sep 1943 Handley Page Halifax II
Sep 1943 Jul 1944 Consolidated B-24 Liberator III
Jan 1944 Jan 1946 Consolidated B-24 Liberator VI
Nov 1945 Apr 1946 Avro Lancaster III

References

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Notes
  1. ^ An erased lion holding a flash of lightning.
Citations
  1. ^ Pine, L G (1983). A Dictionary of mottoes. London: Routledge & K. Paul. p. 116. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
  2. ^ "178 Squadron". Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017.
  3. ^ C.G.Jefford (1988). RAF Squadrons. UK Airlife Publishing. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
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