206 Squadron

History

1916 - Formed on 25 October as 6 Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service. A fighter unit, 6 Squadron initially flew the Nieuport Scout

1917 - Re-equipped with the Sopwith Camel in June, for operations around Dunkirk, before disbanding in August

1918 - Reformed in January as an Airco DH.9-equipped bomber unit. Re-numbered as 206 Squadron, RAF, on 1 April. Remained in Germany after the Armistice, flying airmail

1919 - Moved back to France in May and then to Egypt in June. Renumbered as 47 Squadron on 1 February 1920

1936 - Re-formed out of 48 Sqn’s ‘C’ Flight at RAF Manston, using the Avro Anson to provide advanced flying training. Began maritime patrol work in 1937

1940 - Re-equipped with the Lockheed Hudson

1943 - Began re-equipping with the Boeing Fortress during July, moving to the Azores in October. Returned to the UK in 1944, for conversion onto the Consolidated Liberator VI

1945 - Converted onto the Liberator VIII transport aircraft and began flying routes to India and Asia. Disbanded on 25 April 1946

1947 - Re-formed as an Avro York operator on 17 November. Flew transport missions during the 1948–49 Berlin Airlift. Disbanded on 20 February 1950

1952 - Re-formed in the maritime role as a Shackleton MR1 operator on 27 September. Re-equipped with the Nimrod in 1970 and flew during the 1982 Falklands War. Disbanded on 1 April 2005

2009 - The Heavy Aircraft Test & Evaluation Squadron, based at MOD Boscombe Down, became 206 (Reserve) Squadron, tasked with trialling all UK Defence ‘heavy’ aircraft, from the Beechcraft King Air up to the Boeing C-17

2014 - Permanently moved to RAF Brize Norton, alongside the bulk of the RAF’s heavy aircraft fleet, as Atlas trials ramped up