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No 500 Squadron was formed at Manston, 16th March 1931, as a Special Reserve Unit (half regular and half reserve personnel). It was redesignated as a day bomber squadron in December 1935 and transferred from Special Reserve to Auxiliary Air Force in 1936. It was transferred to Coastal command in November 1938, and just before the outbreak of war flew patrols over the Channel and the North Sea.
In April 1941, flying Blenheims, No 500 flew reconnaissance, patrols and boming raids on enemy coastal targets. In March 1942, with Hudsons, the squadron moved to Scotland, patrolling the Atlantic and the approaches to the Clyde and the Irish Sea. It moved to Cornwall and then to Algeria, flying anti-submarine patrols over the western Mediterranean. No 500 was disbanded in July 1944, and its aircraft transferred to No 27 SAAF Squadron.
No 500 re-formed in August 1944 at La Senia, and moved on to Italy, flying daylight raids on communications targets and then night interdiction for the rest of the war.
The squadron moved to Kenya in October 1945 and was renumbered 249 Squadron.
Airfields
No. 500 Squadron
flew from:
- RAF Detling, Kent from 3rd September 1939 (Anson 1, Blenheim IV)
- RAF Bircham Newton, Norfolk from 30th May 1941 (Hudson III, Hudson V)
- RAF Stornoway, Outer Hebrides from March 1942
- RAF St. Eval, Cornwall from August 1942
- RAF Portreath, Cornwall from November 1942
- RAF North Front, Gibraltar from the 5th November 1942
- Tafaroui, May 1943
- Montecorvino, Sicily from December 1943 (Ventura V)
- Grottaglie, Italy from January 1944
- La Senia, from 30th January 1944
- La Senia, re-numbered as No 27 Squadron SAAF 11th July 1944
- La Senia, re-formed August 1944
- Kenya from October 1945 and re-numbered as Squadron 249
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