No. 244 Squadron

No. 244 Squadron was formed on 1 November 1940 at RAF Shaibah in Iraq by redesignating the unit previously known as S Squadron, which had been operating in the region since August 1939. Initially equipped with the ageing Vickers Vincent biplane, the squadron flew patrol and army co-operation missions across Iraq and Persia, and took part in operations to suppress the Iraqi uprising of May 1941. From April 1942 the squadron transitioned to the Bristol Blenheim and took on anti-submarine patrol duties over the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, moving a detachment forward to RAF Sharjah in the Trucial States. Its most notable achievement came on 16 October 1943, when the squadron sank U-244 in the Gulf of Oman, the only confirmed U-boat kill credited to the unit. Re-equipment with the Vickers Wellington XIII began in early 1944, and in March that year the squadron relocated to RAF Masirah on Masirah Island, where it continued anti-submarine patrols until its disbandment on 1 May 1945. No badge or motto was ever authorised for the squadron.