No. 144 Squadron

No. 144 Squadron began the Second World War in Bomber Command’s No. 5 Group, flying Handley Page Hampdens on leaflet drops and bombing raids over Germany and occupied Europe from stations including RAF Hemswell. In April 1942 the squadron transferred to Coastal Command, converting its role to torpedo-bombing and anti-shipping strike operations, and it briefly deployed to northern Russia in the summer of 1942 as part of Operation Orator to help protect the Arctic convoys from German surface attack. Re-equipped with Bristol Beaufighters from January 1943, the squadron conducted anti-shipping strikes from bases in Scotland, and a detachment operated in North Africa against Mediterranean targets in mid-1943. For Operation Overlord in May 1944, the squadron moved to Davidstow Moor in Cornwall to guard the western flank of the D-Day invasion fleet against German naval interference. It subsequently returned to Scotland as part of the Dallachy Strike Wing, flying anti-shipping and, from January 1945, anti-flak sorties to suppress German defences during strike missions against enemy shipping in Norwegian coastal waters. The squadron disbanded at RAF Dallachy on 25 May 1945.