No. 85 Squadron

Noctu diuque venamur

Group
Fighter Command

About

No. 85 Squadron formed on 1 June 1938 and went to war as a Hawker Hurricane day-fighter unit, serving in France with the British Expeditionary Force in 1939-40 and then in the Battle of Britain. From the autumn of 1940 it was switched to the night-fighter role, the work that would define it for the rest of the war: it flew Hurricanes, Defiants and Turbinlite-equipped Havocs before settling on the de Havilland Mosquito, with which it claimed its first night victory in January 1943.

The squadron was led at different times by two of the most celebrated fighter pilots of the war, Peter Townsend and, from January 1943 to March 1944, John ‘Cat’s Eyes’ Cunningham. In 1944 it joined No. 100 Group, escorting and protecting the main bomber stream on its night operations over Germany and hunting enemy night-fighters, as well as intercepting V-1 flying bombs. Its motto, Noctu diuque venamur, means “we hunt by day and night”.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including History of War — No. 85 Squadron (RAF) in the Second World War and Wikipedia: No. 85 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

Flight Lieutenant R H A Lee and Flying Officer K H Blair, after being decorated by King George VI at RAF Hornchurch, Essex, 27 June 1940. Flight-Lieutenant R H A Lee, after being awarded the DSO and DFC, and Flying Officer K H Blair, after being awarded the DFC, by King George VI at RAF Hornchurch, Essex. The awards were given for their distinguished service as fighter pilots with No. 85 Squadron RAF in France. Lee, a flight commander with the Squadron, was posted missing in action on 18 August 1940, having destroyed at least 9 enemy aircraft. Blair flew with No. 151 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain, and later converted to night fighters. He finished the war commanding No. 613 Squadron RAF, having brought his victory score to 12.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flying_Officer_K_H_Blair,_after_being_decorated_by_King_George_VI_at_RAF_Hornchurch,_Essex,_27_June_1940_(cropped_from_CH433.jpgView source & full licence →
Flight Lieutenant R H A Lee and Flying Officer K H Blair, after being decorated by King George VI at RAF Hornchurch, Essex, 27 June 1940. Flight-Lieutenant R H A Lee, after being awarded the DSO and DFC, and Flying Officer K H Blair, after being awarded the DFC, by King George VI at RAF Hornchurch, Essex. The awards were given for their distinguished service as fighter pilots with No. 85 Squadron RAF in France. Lee, a flight commander with the Squadron, was posted missing in action on 18 August 1940, having destroyed at least 9 enemy aircraft. Blair flew with No. 151 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain, and later converted to night fighters. He finished the war commanding No. 613 Squadron RAF, having brought his victory score to 12.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flight_Lieutenant_R_H_A_Lee_and_Flying_Officer_K_H_Blair,_after_being_decorated_by_King_George_VI_at_RAF_Hornchurch,_Essex,_27_June_1940._CH433.jpgView source & full licence →
Flight Lieutenant R H A Lee and Flying Officer K H Blair, after being decorated by King George VI at RAF Hornchurch, Essex, 27 June 1940. Flight-Lieutenant R H A Lee, after being awarded the DSO and DFC, and Flying Officer K H Blair, after being awarded the DFC, by King George VI at RAF Hornchurch, Essex. The awards were given for their distinguished service as fighter pilots with No. 85 Squadron RAF in France. Lee, a flight commander with the Squadron, was posted missing in action on 18 August 1940, having destroyed at least 9 enemy aircraft. Blair flew with No. 151 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain, and later converted to night fighters. He finished the war commanding No. 613 Squadron RAF, having brought his victory score to 12.
ⓘ licence & creditDaventry B J (Mr), Royal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flight_Lieutenant_R_H_A_Lee_after_being_decorated_by_King_George_VI_at_RAF_Hornchurch,_Essex,_27_June_1940._CH433_(cropped).jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force- Air Defence of Great Britain (adgb), 1944. Fire-damaged De Havilland Mosquito NF Mark XVII, 'O', of No. 85 Squadron RAF, back at its base at West Malling, Kent, following the destruction of an enemy bomber on the night of 24/25 March 1944. Flying Officer E R Hedgecoe (pilot), and Flight Lieutenant N L Bamford (radar operator), flying 'O for Orange' intercepted the Junkers Ju 188 off Hastings, closing to 100 yards to deliver a burst of cannon fire upon which the enemy aircraft suddenly exploded, enveloping the Mosquito in burning oil and debris. The fabric covering of the aircraft caught fire and it was enveloped in flames. Hedgecoe ordered Bamford to bale out, but had second thoughts when the fire went out and he found the Mosquito to be stable in flight, despite the loss of rudder control due to the fabric being burned off. After wiping a clear patch in the soot-blackened cockpit canopy, Hedgecoe flew back to a safe landing at West Malling. Hedgecoe and Bamford were a
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:De_Havilland_Mosquito_wreck_West_Malling_-_Royal_Air_Force_-_Air_Defence_of_Great_Britain_(adgb),_1944_CE136.jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditPa3ems / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Barchem_P.F.J.Copp.JPGView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force 1939-1945- the RAF in France, 1940 Once the Blitzkrieg had begun, the Hurricane squadrons in France were plunged into almost constant action, flying interception patrols and providing escort for RAF light bombers. Their airfields were subject to frequent Luftwaffe strafing attacks, with little or no warning. Here, personnel of No 85 Squadron at Lille-Seclin check air activity overhead while in the background two Hurricanes sit at 'stand-by', their pilots strapped in ready for immediate take-off, 10-12 May 1940.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lille-Seclin_airfield_-_Royal_Air_Force_1939-1945_the_RAF_in_France,_1940_C1521.jpgView source & full licence →
Royal Air Force- France, 1939-1940. Pilots of No. 85 Squadron RAF pause for a photograph between sorties at Lille-Seclin, at 9am on the first day of the German invasion of France. They had been intercepting German formations since 4.15am and were to continue to do so until 9pm that evening, claiming a total of seventeen enemy aircraft destroyed for the loss of four Hawker Hurricanes. Back row, (left to right); * Flight Lieutenant J R M Boothby * Flying Officer T G Pace * Squadron Leader J O W "Doggie" Oliver (Commanding Officer) * Pilot Officer J H Ashton * Pilot Officer J W Lecky. Killed in car accident 18/05/1940, age 20. * Flying Officer S P Stephenson * Sergeant G 'Sammy' Allard. Killed in accidental aircraft crash 13/03/1941, age 28. * Sergeant L A Crozier * Warrant Officer Newton Front, (left to right); * Flying Officer K H Blair * Sergeant J McG Little. Missing in action 19/05/1940, age 22.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Hensser H (Mr) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lille-Seclin_airfield_-_Royal_Air_Force_-_France,_1939-1940._C1514.jpgView source & full licence →
American Aircraft in Royal Air Force Service 1939-1945- Douglas Db-7 Havoc. Havoc Mark I (Night Fighter), BL228 ‘VY-Y’, of No. 85 Squadron RAF based at Debden, Essex, taxying at an airfield in Britain. 85 Squadron used this aircraft for crew training, after which it was passed to No.1422 Flight, followed by No. 1454 Flight and No. 51 Operational Training Unit.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:American_Aircraft_in_Royal_Air_Force_Service_1939-1945-_Douglas_Db-7_Havoc._E(MOS)256.jpgView source & full licence →
{{En-gb|1=The (RAF) officers of , including Major Mannock, in front of their Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a scouts at , 21 June 1918. The bareheaded aviator stood directly behind the black goat is Walter Hunt Longton.}}
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force (RAF) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Airman_stood_directly_behind_the_black_goat_is_Walter_Hunt_Longton_21_June_1918.jpgView source & full licence →
Aircraft of the Royal Air Force, 1939-1945- Hawker Hurricane. Hurricane Mark I, W9232, of the Station Flight at Northolt, Middlesex, in flight. This aircraft formerly served with Nos. 85, 23 and 247 Squadrons RAF, and with No. 55 Operational Training Unit. It was subsequently shipped to India.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force,_1939-1945-_Hawker_Hurricane._MH3186.jpgView source & full licence →
A Hawker Hurricane Mk I of No. 85 Squadron taxiing by the light of a flare at Debden, before taking off to intercept night raiders, 14 March 1941. A Hawker Hurricane Mark I night fighter of No. 85 Squadron RAF taxiing by the light of a flare at Debden, Essex, before taking off to intercept night raiders. Note the navigation lights on the wing tips.
ⓘ licence & creditRoyal Air Force official photographer, Tovey P H F (Mr) / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Hawker_Hurricane_Mk_I_of_No._85_Squadron_taxiing_by_the_light_of_a_flare_at_Debden,_before_taking_off_to_intercept_night_raiders,_14_March_1941._CH2250.jpgView source & full licence →
CWGC gravestone for Herbert William Richardson, RAF, located in the New town cemetery of {{w|North Walsham
ⓘ licence & creditKolforn (Kolforn) I'd appreciate if you could mail me (Kolforn@gmail.com) if you want to use this picture out of the Wikimedia project scope. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. You are free: to share – to copy, distribute and transView source & full licence →

Known personnel (1)

NameRankStationDates
Cunningham, John — — ? – ?