No. 68 Squadron

No. 68 Squadron was formed at RAF Catterick on 7 January 1941 as a defensive night fighter unit under Fighter Command, initially equipped with Bristol Blenheim IFs before converting to the Beaufighter in May 1941. Moving to RAF High Ercall and then to RAF Coltishall in Norfolk from March 1942, the squadron spent the greater part of the war on home defence patrols over eastern England. From July 1941 the unit developed a strong Czechoslovak element, with a dedicated Czechoslovak flight formally established in January 1942; twenty-three Czech and Slovak pilots and sixteen radar operators served with the squadron across the war. The squadron’s crews accumulated 1,905 combat sorties and over 4,000 operational hours, achieving twenty-one confirmed aerial kills and shooting down three V-1 flying bombs during the 1944 campaign. In recognition of its Czechoslovak connections, the squadron adopted the Czech motto Vždy připraven — “Always ready” — and the badge, featuring a tawny owl’s head, was presented in 1944 by Air Chief Marshal Charles Steele. The squadron converted to de Havilland Mosquitoes in July 1944 and continued operations until disbandment on 20 April 1945.