No. 170 Squadron

Group
1 Group
Home station
RAF Hemswell

About

No. 170 Squadron had two quite different lives in the Second World War. It first formed in June 1942 as a fighter-reconnaissance unit flying the North American Mustang, carrying out low-level reconnaissance and defensive patrols until it was disbanded early in 1944.

It reformed in October 1944 at RAF Kelstern, drawn from a flight of No. 625 Squadron, this time as a heavy-bomber squadron in No. 1 Group equipped with the Avro Lancaster. After a brief spell at RAF Dunholme Lodge it settled at RAF Hemswell, flying with the main force through the final months of the bombing campaign. Recalling its reconnaissance beginnings, its motto was “To see but not be seen”.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including History of War — No. 170 Squadron (RAF) in the Second World War and Wikipedia: No. 170 Squadron RAF. The text is original and has been written from factual source material; no source text has been copied unless specifically quoted and attributed.

Photographs

No service records linked to this squadron yet. Aircraft, crews and sorties will appear here soon.

Further reading & sources

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