No. 185 Squadron — Gold Coast

No. 185 Squadron RAF, known as the Gold Coast Squadron, was re-formed on Malta on 27 April 1941 from a flight of No. 251 Squadron, taking on the defence of the island at a critical period of the siege. Flying Hawker Hurricanes, the squadron contested fierce Axis air attacks throughout 1941 and into 1942, before re-equipping with Supermarine Spitfires as the island’s defences were strengthened. As the strategic situation turned in the Allies’ favour, the squadron shifted from defence to offence, flying sweeps over Sicily and contributing to air cover for the Allied invasion of that island in July 1943. From early 1944 the squadron transferred to Italy, operating as a fighter-bomber unit from bases including Grottaglie and Perugia and supporting the Allied advance up the peninsula through to the end of the war. In July 1944 the unit came under the South African Air Force’s No. 8 Wing, one of only two RAF squadrons to do so during the Italian campaign. The squadron’s Maltese motto, “Ara fejn hu” — “Look where it is” — and its badge of a griffin before a Maltese Cross reflect the central role that Malta played in its wartime identity. It disbanded on 19 August 1945.