No. 263 Squadron

No. 263 Squadron was reformed on 2 October 1939 at RAF Filton, initially flying Gloster Gladiators before taking on Hurricanes for the brief but costly Norwegian campaign of April–May 1940, in which the squadron flew 249 sorties and claimed 26 enemy aircraft destroyed at severe cost to itself. After rebuilding in Scotland, it became the first — and ultimately the only — RAF squadron to fly the Westland Whirlwind, receiving its first example in July 1940; the twin-engined, four-cannon Whirlwind made the squadron a specialist in anti-shipping strikes and cross-Channel intruder raids from bases in south-west England, chiefly Warmwell in Dorset, throughout 1941–43. In December 1943 the squadron re-equipped with the Hawker Typhoon IB, transferring to No. 146 Wing, 84 Group of the 2nd Tactical Air Force, and moved to the Continent after D-Day to support the Allied advance with bombing and rocket attacks; a notable raid in October 1944 struck the 15th Army’s headquarters, killing two German generals and over 250 staff. The squadron’s motto, “Ex ungue leonem” — loosely rendered as “by his claws one knows the lion” — reflects the aggressive strike role it maintained throughout its wartime existence, and it was informally known as the “Fellowship of the Bellows.”