No. 170 Squadron

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”.