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.
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 [REF].