RAF Boscombe Down, Wiltshire as the first Handley Page Halifax squadron. It received its first Halifaxes on 13 November, before moving to RAF Leeming, Yorkshire on 20 November, and to RAF Linton-on-Ouse, also in Yorkshire, on 5 December that year. The squadron flew its first operational mission with the Halifax on the night of 11/12 March 1941 when six Halifaxes set out to bomb docks at Le Havre. The squadron continued to fly night bombing attacks against targets in France and Germany through the rest of 1941 and into 1942, its pilots including Leonard Cheshire and James Brian Tait, both later highly decorated commanders of 617 Squadron. In August 1942 it was one of the five squadrons selected to create the Pathfinder Force. The squadron was based at RAF Graveley. When the Pathfinder Force was enlarged 35 Squadron was a part of the newly designated No. 8 Group. In March 1944 the squadron converted to the Avro Lancaster, which it used till the end of the war. Sqd Ldr Alec Panton Cranswick DSO, DFC, was in 35 Sqd at the time of his death when his Lancaster was shot down on a raid to Villeneuve St George near Paris on the night of 4 July 1944, it was his 107th mission and he flew more bombing operations than any other RAF pilot in WW2, he was on his 4th operational tour. Although Wg CDR Guy Gibson VC, DSO & BAR, DFC & BAR had a higher ops tally a percentage of them were fighter ops making his bomber ops total less than Sqd Ldr Cranswick. Postwar In 1946, in addition to participating in the Victory flypast over London the squadron participated in a goodwill tour of the United States, later returning to RAF Stradishall, due to Graveley's closure. The Lancasters were replaced by Avro Lincolns in September 1949, and the squadron later disbanded on 23 February 1950. On 1 September 1951 the squadron reformed at Marham equipped with the Boeing Washington. In April 1954 the squadron re-equipped with its first jet powered aircraft type, the Canberra B.2 twin engined light bomber. The squadron again disbanded on 11 September 1961. No. 35 Squadron reformed for the last time on 1 December 1962 at RAF Coningsby as part of RAF Bomber Command's V-bomber force, equipped with eight Vulcan B2 aircraft and Yellow Sun free-falling bombs in a high-altitude strategic bombing role, moving