No. 118 Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Air Force. Originally formed in 1918, it served as a fighter squadron in the Second World War, flying Spitfires and Mustangs. It flew jet fighters as part of RAF Germany in the 1950s, and Bristol Sycamore helicopters in Northern Ireland before finally disbanding in 1962. Operational history First World War The squadron was formed as No. 118 Squadron Royal Flying Corps at Catterick Airfield, North Yorkshire, on 1 January 1918 with the intention of becoming a night bomber unit. It received a mixture of aircraft for training, including Airco DH.6s, Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s and Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2bs. The squadron moved to Netheravon on 15 April that year, and again to Bicester Airfield on 7 August, with the intention that it would receive Handley Page O/400 heavy bombers before moving to France. A change of plans meant that it would wait for Vickers Vimys instead of the O/400s, but the squadron received none before being disbanded on 7 September 1918. Second World War On 20 February 1941, No. 118 reformed at RAF Filton, near Bristol, as a No. 10 Group fighter squadron equipped with Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I fighters, soon supplementing them with Spitfire Mk.IIs. On 28 March, convoy patrols began and after moving to RAF Ibsley in April, it started to fly escort missions for anti-shipping strikes, as well as defensive patrols and fighter sweeps over northern France. The squadron re-equipped with Spitfire Mk Vbs in September 1941, continuing to fly escort for anti-shipping strikes over the English Channel and for bombing raids. On 12 February it took part in the unsuccessful attempts to intercept the German battleships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen when they sailed through the Channel, escorting bombers searching for the German squadron. In August 1942, the Ibsley-based fighter wing, including 118 Squadron, moved to RAF Tangmere to support the Dieppe Raid. The squadron flew four missions during the day of the raid, claiming two Dornier Do 217 bombers destroyed. The squadron moved to RAF Zeals in Wiltshire on 24 August and to RAF Coltishall in East Anglia on 17 January 1943, operating over Belgium, the Netherlands and the North Sea. A major task was escorting the light bombers of No. 2 Group RAF on raids over the Netherlands, often encountering heavy German opposition. A particularly violent engagement took place on 3 May 1943,