No. 23 Squadron

No. 23 Squadron was formed on 1 September 1915 at Gosport as part of the Royal Flying Corps, later re-formed on 1 July 1925 at RAF Henlow and rebuilding through the inter-war years to reach the Second World War equipped with the Bristol Blenheim IF. In the early months of the war the squadron flew defensive night-fighter patrols from RAF Wittering, but on the night of 21–22 December 1940 it took part in the inaugural sortie of Operation Intruder — attacking Luftwaffe bomber bases in Normandy — and thereafter committed fully to the offensive intruder role. The squadron progressively re-equipped through the Douglas Havoc and Boston III before receiving de Havilland Mosquitoes in July 1942, giving it the speed and range to strike deep into occupied territory. In December 1942 the squadron deployed to RAF Luqa, Malta, flying intruder sorties over Sicily, Tunisia and Italy before moving on to Alghero in Sardinia in late 1943. It returned to England in June 1944 and joined No. 100 Group RAF at RAF Little Snoring in Norfolk, where it spent the remainder of the war disrupting German night-fighter operations over the Reich in direct support of Bomber Command’s heavy-bomber offensive. The squadron was disbanded on 25 September 1945, having carried its motto, Semper Aggressus — “Always on the attack” — through more than five years of unbroken offensive night operations.