No. 8 Squadron

No. 8 Squadron RAF was formed on 1 January 1915 and by the outbreak of the Second World War was based at RAF Khormaksar in Aden, operating under Air Headquarters Aden. When Italy entered the war in June 1940, the squadron flew its first combat sorties on 12 June, sending Blenheims against the Italian airfield at Assab in Eritrea across the Red Sea. During the Italian invasion of British Somaliland in August 1940 the unit provided air support, and for a period operated alongside a Free French flight equipped with Martin Marylands. After the defeat of Italian East Africa removed the direct threat to Aden, the squadron shifted to anti-submarine patrols over the Indian Ocean, re-equipping with Hudsons and later Vickers Wellington XIIIs. The original wartime iteration disbanded on 1 May 1945; a reformed squadron, renumbered from No. 200 Squadron, briefly flew supply drops over Malaya before standing down on 15 November 1945. The squadron’s motto is “Uspiam et passim” — Everywhere unbounded.