No. 256 Squadron

No. 256 Squadron RAF was re-formed in November 1940 as a night-fighter unit. It began with Boulton Paul Defiants and then moved through Beaufighters to Mosquitos as the RAF’s night-defence system improved. The squadron served in Britain during the critical period of night bombing raids and later operated from the Mediterranean, where night fighters protected Allied bases and shipping routes. Its wartime work depended on two-seat crews, airborne radar and close control from the ground. No. 256 therefore belongs to the group of squadrons that turned night fighting from an improvised defence into a specialist RAF arm.