No. 183 Squadron — Gold Coast

No. 183 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF was formed on 1 November 1942 at RAF Church Fenton and equipped with Hawker Typhoons, becoming operational in April 1943 after a period of working up on the demanding new aircraft. The squadron flew fighter-bomber and ground-attack operations from southern England, striking enemy airfields, V-1 launch sites, and communications targets in northern France. Following the D-Day landings in June 1944 the squadron moved forward to airstrips on the Normandy beachhead, joining 84 Group of the Second Tactical Air Force for the Allied advance across France and into the Low Countries. On 20 August 1944 the squadron was among four units whose rocket-firing Typhoons helped repel a German panzer counterattack near Chambois, relieving pressure on the Polish Armoured Brigade. Late-war operations included support for the Walcheren landings, ground-attack sorties during the Ardennes offensive, and attacks on U-boat pens at Wilhelmshaven and shipping off the Frisian Islands. After VE Day the squadron re-equipped with Spitfire IXs and then Tempest IIs before being renumbered as No. 54 Squadron RAF on 15 November 1945.