No. 21 Squadron

No. 21 Squadron entered the Second World War as a light bomber unit within No. 2 Group, flying Bristol Blenheim IVs from RAF Watton in Norfolk. After costly daylight sorties against the German advance through France and the Low Countries in May 1940, it transferred to anti-shipping work under Coastal Command, operating from Lossiemouth before deploying to Malta in late 1941 to harry Axis supply lines to North Africa. Disbanded there in March 1942, it reformed the same day at RAF Bodney and became the first RAF squadron to fly the Lockheed Ventura operationally, taking part in the December 1942 low-level raid on the Philips factory at Eindhoven. Re-equipped with the de Havilland Mosquito VI from September 1943, the squadron flew precision daylight strikes and night intruder missions, contributing to the attack on Gestapo headquarters at Aarhus in October 1944 and Operation Carthage against Copenhagen in March 1945.