Caption: Spitfire MkIIa RAF 616Sqn QJX LH Casson P7753 Tangmere 1941

 Caption: Spitfire MkIIa RAF 616Sqn YQD P8500 sd by Josef Priller I.JG26 Bf 109F Dunkirk 6th July 1941

 Caption: Spitfire Vb RAF 616Sqn AA879 Manchester Civil Defender Kirton in Lindsey Dec 1941 IWM HU66616

 Caption: Spitfire MkVb RAF 616Sqn YQQ AA879 Operation Jubilee Jan 1942

RAF No 616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron

RAF No 616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron

Motto: Nulla Rosa Sine Spina (No rose without a thorn)

On 1 November 1938 No 503 Squadron re-located to Doncaster and was re-numbered No 616 (South Yorkshire) Squadron, Auxiliary Air Force. It was originally equipped with Hind light bombers but from 15 November it was re-designated a fighter unit. It re-equipped with Gauntlets in 1939 and Spitfires in November 1939.

It began the Battle of Britain in its home county of Yorkshire but in mid August it joined the main battle when it moved to Kenley. Fighter sweeps over the continent began in April 1941 receiving Spitfire IIs in February 1941 and VBs in July 1941. In April 1942 it received the high altitude version of the Spitfire, the Mk VI and from September 1943, the Mk VII.

However, before the last Spitfire had left a new aircraft was arriving in the form of the RAF's first jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor. These arrived just in time to meet the threat posed by the V1 flying bomb, for which the squadron was retained in Britain. In February 1945 a detachment of the squadron went to Belgium, with the whole squadron moving to Holland in April 1945 and when the war ended the squadron found itself at Lubeck, where it disbanded on 29 August 1945.

With the reactivation of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, 616 was reformed on 10 May 1946 at Finningley as a night fighter unit equipped with the Mosquito NF 30. It became a day fighter unit again in 1948 and that December received the aircraft that it had introduced into service four years earlier, the Meteor F 3. Meteor F 4s arrived in April 1950 and F 8s in December 1951, but along with all the flying units of the RAuxAF it was disbanded at Worksop, where it had moved in 1955, on 10 March 1957.

Squadron Codes used: -

QJ Apr 1939 - Jul 1941
YQ Jul 1941 - Aug 1945, 1949 - Apr 1951
RAW Jul 1946 - 1949

Aircraft operated by No. 616 Squadron RAF

Aircraft Operated by RAF No. 616 Squadron

From	To	Aircraft	Version	Remarks
Nov 1938	Jan 1939	Hawker Hind		Used for training
Jan 1939	Dec 1939	Gloster Gauntlet	Mk.II
May 1939	Nov 1939	Fairey Battle		Used for training
Oct 1939	Feb 1941	Supermarine Spitfire	Mk.I
Feb 1941	Jul 1941	Supermarine Spitfire	Mk.IIa
Jul 1941	Jun 1942	Supermarine Spitfire	Mk.Vb
Oct 1941	Nov 1941	Supermarine Spitfire	Mk.IIb
Apr 1942	Nov 1943	Supermarine Spitfire	Mk.VI
Sep 1943	Aug 1944	Supermarine Spitfire	Mk.VII
Jul 1944	Jan 1945	Gloster Meteor	Mk.I
Jan 1945	Aug 1945	Gloster Meteor	Mk.III
Sep 1947	May 1949	de Havilland Mosquito	NF.30
Jan 1949	May 1957	Gloster Meteor	F.3
Apr 1951	Dec 1951	Gloster Meteor	F.4
Dec 1951	Feb 1957	Gloster Meteor	F.8
Apr 2019	Oct 2021	Sentry	AEW.1
Apr 2019	Mar 2021	Sentinel	R.1
Apr 2019	Date	MQ-9A Reaper
Apr 2019	Date	Shadow	R.1 & R.2

Squadron bases Operated by RAF No. 616 Squadron

From	To	Base	Remark
1 November 1938	23 October 1939	RAF Doncaster	Formed here
23 October 1939	23 February 1940	RAF Leconfield
23 February 1940	9 March 1940	RAF Catfoss	Detached due to thaw at Leconfield
9 March 1940	27 May 1940	RAF Leconfield
27 May 1940	6 June 1940	RAF Rochford	Detached for air cover during Dunkirk evacuation
6 June 1940	19 August 1940	RAF Leconfield
19 August 1940	3 September 1940	RAF Kenley
3 September 1940	9 September 1940	RAF Coltishall
9 September 1940	26 February 1941	RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey
26 February 1941	9 May 1941	RAF Tangmere
9 May 1941	6 October 1941	RAF Westhampnett
6 October 1941	30 January 1942	RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey
30 January 1942	3 July 1942	RAF Kings Cliffe
3 July 1942	8 July 1942	RAF West Malling
8 July 1942	29 July 1942	RAF Kenley
29 July 1942	14 August 1942	RAF Great Sampford
14 August 1942	20 August 1942	RAF Hawkinge	Detached for Dieppe Raid
20 August 1942	1 September 1942	RAF Great Sampford
1 September 1942	7 September 1942	RAF Ipswich	Det.
7 September 1942	23 September 1942	RAF Great Sampford
23 September 1942	29 October 1942	RAF Tangmere
29 October 1942	2 January 1943	RAF Westhampnett
2 January 1943	15 March 1943	RAF Ibsley
15 March 1943	18 March 1943	RAF Harrowbeer	Det.
18 March 1943	17 September 1943	RAF Ibsley
17 September 1943	16 November 1943	RAF Exeter
16 November 1943	1 December 1943	RAF Fairwood Common	Detached for armament practice camp
1 December 1943	18 March 1944	RAF Exeter
18 March 1944	24 April 1944	RAF West Malling
24 April 1944	16 May 1944	RAF Fairwood Common
16 May 1944	21 July 1944	RAF Culmhead
21 July 1944	17 January 1945	RAF Manston
17 January 1945	28 February 1945	RAF Colerne
4 February 1945	26 March 1945	B.58 Melsbroek, Belgium	Detachment flying all-white Meteors
28 February 1945	1 April 1945	RAF Andrews Field
1 April 1945	13 April 1945	B.77/Gilze-Rijen, Netherlands
13 April 1945	20 April 1945	B.91/Nijmegen, Netherlands
20 April 1945	26 April 1945	B.109/Quakenbrück, Germany
26 April 1945	3 May 1945	B.152/Fassberg, Germany
3 May 1945	7 May 1945	B.156/Luneberg, Germany
7 May 1945	29 August 1945	B.158/Lübeck, Germany	Disbanded here
10 May 1946	15 June 1951	RAF Finningley	Reformed here
15 June 1951	11 July 1951	RAF Church Fenton	Call-up training during Korean crisis
11 July 1951	23 May 1955	RAF Finningley
23 May 1955	10 March 1957	RAF Worksop	Disbanded here
1 April 2019	Present	RAF Waddington	Reformed here

Commanding officers of RAF No. 616 Squadron

From	To	Name
November 1938	September 1939	S/Ldr the Earl of Lincoln
September 1939	May 1940	S/Ldr W.K. Beisiegel
May 1940	September 1940	S/Ldr M. Robinson
September 1940	September 1941	S/Ldr H.F. Burton, DFC
September 1941	February 1942	S/Ldr C.F. Gray, DFC & Bar
February 1942	January 1943	S/Ldr H.L.I. Brown DFC
January 1943	April 1943	S/Ldr G.S.K. Haywood
April 1943	April 1943	S/Ldr P.W. Lefevre DFC
April 1943	July 1943	S/Ldr P.B. Lucas DFC
July 1943	July 1944	S/Ldr L.W. Watts DFC
July 1944	May 1945	W/Cdr A. McDowall DFM & Bar
May 1945	August 1945	W/Cdr W.E. Schrader DFC
July 1946	December 1950	S/Ldr K. Holden DFC
December 1950	November 1954	S/Ldr L.H. Casson DFC
November 1954	March 1957	S/Ldr W.G. Abel
April 2019	Present	Sqn Ldr Stephen (Bertie) Lewis Beddoes

Notable Members of 616 Squadron

Name
Air Vice Marshal James Edgar 'Johnnie' Johnson CB CBE DSO & Two Bars DFC & Bar
Group Captain Sir Hugh Dundas CBE DSO & Bar DFC
Group Captain Denys Gillam DSO & Two Bars DFC & Bar AFC
Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader CBE DSO & Bar DFC & Bar DL FRAeS