No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Force

No 186 Squadron was formed on 1st April 1918 as a night training unit for home defence and the Western Front. It became an operational shipboard unit aboard HMS Argus in 1919 before it moved to Gosport as a torpedo development unit, but was renumbered to become 210 Squadron on 1st February 1920.
On 27th April 1943, No 186 was re-formed as an army-support fighter-bomber squadron, initially without aircraft. In August it moved to Ayr and received its first Hurricane bombers. It converted to Typhoons in November 1943, but replaced them in March 1944 with Spitfire Vbs for cross-channel sweeps. In April 1944 the squadron was renumbered 130 Squadron.
No 186 re-formed as a heavy-bomber squadron in October 1944 from C Flight of No 90 Squadron, a Lancaster unit in Bomber Command. It continued attacks on enemy targets for the rest of the war. After VE Day it took part in the dropping of food to the Netherlands and transported released POWs back to Britain. No 186 was disbanded in July 1945.

Airfields No. 186 Squadron flew from:

RAF Drem, East Lothian (formed the 27th April 1943, no aircraft)
RAF Ayr, Ayrshire from the 3rd August 1943 (Hurricane IV, Typhoon Ib)
RAF Tain, Ross from the 7th January 1944 (Spitfire Vb)
RAF Lympne, Kent from 1st March 1944
renumbered as No 130 Squadron, the 5th April 1944.

RAF Tuddenham, Suffolk from 5th October 1944 (re-formed from 90 Squadron with Lancaster I, Lancaster III)
RAF Stradishall, Suffolk from 17th December 1944; Disbanded 17th July 1945.

27th April 1943 New army cooperation squadron formed

June 1943 No aircraft for new squadron

3rd August 1943 Squadron moved on

11th August 1943 Squadron receives aircraft at last

31st August 1943 Rocket firing Hurricanes delivered

1st September 1943 Training programme planned

13th September 1943 Pilots missing on exrcise

13th October 1943 Rocket firing practice

14th September 1943 Search for missing aircraft

15th September 1943 Missing pilot found

16th September 1943 Second missing pilot found

25th September 1943 Full establishment

24th October 1943 Pilot killed on low flying exercise

29th October 1943 Pilots killed in mid-air collision

15th November 1943 Typhoons delivered

19th November 1943 Influenza

25th November 1943 Collision on the ground

30th November 1943 Equpped

29th December 1943 Pilots killed in mid-air collision

7th January 1944 Training proceeded

7th January 1944 Relocated and new C.O.

11th January 1944 Training programme

1st February 1944 Crashed at sea

7th February 1944 Postings

19th February 1944 Postings

22nd February 1944 Practice for new pilots

25th February 1944 New pilots arrive in time for move

26th February 1944 Move delayed

27th February 1944 Heavy snow disrupts move

1st March 1944 Relocated and re-equipped

11th March 1944 Spitfire Squadron becomes operational

13th March 1944 Pilot missing on practice flight

15th March 1944 Squadron's first Ramrod operation

5th April 1944 Squadron renumbered

5th October 1944 New Lancaster Squadron to be formed

9th October 1944 Senior officers arrive at New Squadron

11th October 1944 First flight crews arrive

15th October 1944 Lancaster missing

16th October 1944 186 Squadron independently operational

18th October 1944 First bomber op by 186 Squadron

19th October 1944 Lancaster crashed over France

2nd November 1944 Lancaster crew safe after crash in Holland

20th November 1944 Lancaster missing

6th December 1944 Rear gunner missing

16th December 1944 Farewell party

17th December 1944 Move completed

1st January 1945 New radar equipment

5th January 1945 Lancaster landed at Rheims

16th January 1945 Unexplained crash

3rd February 1945 Lancaster lost at Dortmund

7th February 1945 Bomber formation broken up

8th February 1945 Lancaster exploded over target

13th February 1945 Operation Thunderclap

22nd February 1945 Routine day

27th Feb 1945 186 Squadron Lancaster lost

9th March 1945 Lancaster Flight transferred

16th March 1945 New C.O.

23rd March 1945 Attack on Wesel

4th April 1945 Mid-air collision

9th April 1945 Attack on Kiel

13th April 1945 Collision over base

29th April 1945 Operation Manna

29th April 1945 Operation Manna

3rd May 1945 Operation Manna

5th May 1945 Cigarettes and chocolate dropped

10th May 1945 Operation Exodus

If you can provide any additional information, please add it here.

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Those known to have served with
No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Force
during the Second World War 1939-1945.

Beer DFM. Harold William. Flt.Sgt.
Gray Phillip.
Herriot Frank Sidney. LAC.
Hosier Ron.
McFalls DFC James. W/O (d.16th November 1946)
O'Brien DFC. Jack Dennis. F/O.
Sunley John Robert. Sgt. (d.15 October 1944)
Templeton DFC. Gordon McNab. P/O.
Winton Edward Prosper. F/O (d.20th Nov 1944)
Wright James Benjamin. F/O.

The names on this list have been submitted by relatives, friends, neighbours and others who wish to remember them, if you have any names to add or any recollections or photos of those listed, please Add a Name to this List

Records of No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Force from other sources.

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Want to know more about No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Force?

There are:2065 items tagged No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Force available in our Library

These include information on officers, regimental histories, letters, diary entries, personal accounts and information about actions during the Second World War.

Flt.Sgt. Harold William "Geordie" Beer DFM. 186 Squadron

William beer served as Rear Gunner with 186 Squadron, RAF.

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P/O. Gordon McNab "Timmy " Templeton DFC. 186 Squadron

Timmy Templeton flew with my dad and I wondered if anyone had a photo?

Mark

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F/O. Jack Dennis O'Brien DFC. 186 Squadron

Jack O'Brien served with 186 Squadron and was awarded the DFC in 1945. My sister and I are trying to obtain more information on our father. He died as a civilian on 14th March 1955 and we have very little information. If anyone has any information or photos we would be most grateful.

Pauline Hawkswell

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F/O. James Benjamin Wright 186 Squadron

My dad, James Wright served as navigator with 186 Squadron on Lancasters flying out of Tuddenham, then Stradishall, from February to June 1945, flying 18 missions over Germany. His pilot was F/Lt Head.

John Wright

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LAC. Frank Sidney Herriot 90 Squadron

Frank Herriot served in the RAF with 90 and 186 squadron, at Dumfries, Gibraltar, Tuddenham, Stradishall and in Italy.

M Herriot

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Phillip Gray 186 Squadron

My name is Philip Gray, born in Ladybank on the east side of Scotland.
During WWII I was a pilot with 186 Squadron, Stradishall, Suffolk. This was a heavy bomber squadron using Lancasters Marks I and III. My crew were -
F/Sgt. Gerry Merrick, navigator.
F/Officer Jack Marner, air bomber.
F/Sgt. Harry Jenkinson, Wireless operator.
F/Sgt. Frank Parkhouse, enginer.
F/Sgt. Ivor 'Blondie' Foster, mid-upper gunner.
F/Sgt. Clin Booth, rear gunner
.
We bombed Gelsenkirchen four times, the target each time being a coking plant where the Germans made synthetic petrol. These plants were located all over the Reich. In all we took part in 16 raids on Germany.
It's all there in my book 'Ghosts Of Targets Past' published by Grub Street, London, which is now in its third edition and 10th print. I've had favourable reports on this book from all over the planet.
I earned my 'wings', pilots brevet, at Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona, USA.
As the war faded away in 1945 we were occupied with the 'clean up' jobs -
Operation Mana, dropping food to the people of The Netherlands.
Operation Exodus, flying back ex-POWs from France to GB.
Operation Baedeker, low flying over Germany to allow ground crews and admin staff to monitor the bomb damage.
Operation Post Mortem, testing German radar
.
Leaving Bomber Command I carried out two mini tours of duty for Transport Command at Syerston airfield, towing military gliders and dropping food to British farmers.
In the mid 1950s on invitation, NOT AN ORDER, I flew for Fighter Command on the Island of Sylt, West Germany, as a staff pilot. There I flew Hawker Tempests, Mosquitos and Meteors on the four air-to-air firing ranges. For the record we lost more pilots there than on my bomber squadron during WWII. We were under the command of the 2nd Tactical Army on the Rhine. There was an emergency of one kind or another every single day on the Island of Sylt during that time. With club flying in both Scotland and New Zealand I then went on to fly for 46 years in all.

Philip Gray

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No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Force

Logbooks

Those known to have served with
No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Force
during the Second World War 1939-1945.

The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.

Announcements

Want to know more about No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Force?

Recomended Reading.

Links

The Wartime Memories Project - No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Force during the Second World War -

No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Force

Logbooks

Those known to have served with No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Forceduring the Second World War 1939-1945.

The Wartime Memories Project is the original WW1 and WW2 commemoration website.

Announcements

Want to know more about No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Force?

Recomended Reading.

Links

The Wartime Memories Project
- No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Force during the Second World War -

Those known to have served with
No. 186 Squadron Royal Air Force
during the Second World War 1939-1945.