No. 219 Squadron — Mysore

No. 219 (Mysore) Squadron reformed at RAF Catterick on 4 October 1939 as a night fighter unit, initially flying Bristol Blenheim IFs before converting to the Bristol Beaufighter in October 1940. The squadron holds the distinction of being the first Beaufighter unit declared operational, and on the night of 25 October 1940 Sergeant Arthur Hodgkinson scored the type’s first aerial kill, shooting down a Dornier. Operating under No. 13 Group, Fighter Command, the squadron defended northern and southern England before deploying to North Africa in May 1943, where its Beaufighter VIs provided night fighter cover across ports from Casablanca to Sicily. Returning to Britain in January 1944, the squadron joined the Second Tactical Air Force and re-equipped with de Havilland Mosquito night fighters, flying intruder and defensive patrols over north-western Europe from bases including RAF Bradwell Bay and RAF Hunsdon. By late 1944 the squadron had advanced to forward bases in liberated France and the Netherlands, pressing the night offensive deep into German-held airspace until the end of hostilities. The squadron’s badge motto, “From Dusk Till Dawn”, captured precisely the hours its crews patrolled, and King George VI authorised the badge in June 1941.