No. 604 Squadron — County of Middlesex

No. 604 (County of Middlesex) Squadron was formed at RAF Hendon in 1930 as an Auxiliary Air Force unit, beginning as a day-bomber squadron before turning to fighters in the mid-1930s. From the start of the war it specialised in night defence, and through the Blitz of 1940-41 it became a pioneer of radar-controlled night interception, flying Bristol Blenheims and then the much more capable Bristol Beaufighter. Its most famous crew, pilot John ‘Cat’s Eyes’ Cunningham and his radar operator Jimmy Rawnsley, were among the most successful night-fighting partnerships of the war; the press credited Cunningham’s run of victories to exceptional eyesight in order to keep the existence of airborne radar secret.

Re-equipping with the de Havilland Mosquito early in 1944, the squadron joined the Second Tactical Air Force and provided night cover over the Normandy beachhead and the subsequent advance across Europe before disbanding in April 1945. Its motto was Si vis pacem para bellum — “if you wish for peace, prepare for war”.