No. 236 Squadron

Reformed on 31 October 1939 at RAF Stradishall, No. 236 Squadron spent most of the Second World War as a Coastal Command anti-shipping unit. After a brief spell under Fighter Command flying Bristol Blenheims on Channel patrols in early 1940, it returned permanently to Coastal Command in July 1940. Re-equipped with Bristol Beaufighters from October 1941, it flew long-range offensive sweeps over the North Sea, Bay of Biscay, and English Channel. On 12 June 1942, Flight Lieutenant A. K. Gatward and Sergeant G. Fern flew a low-level sortie from Thorney Island to occupied Paris, dropping a French tricolour over the Arc de Triomphe and strafing the Gestapo’s Ministère de la Marine headquarters — Gatward receiving an immediate DFC. In November 1942 the squadron became a founding member of the North Coates Strike Wing, conducting coordinated anti-shipping strikes until disbandment on 25 May 1945.