No. 203 Squadron RAF was originally formed as No. 3 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service

Royal Naval Air Service

The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...

. It was renumbered No. 203 when the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 was formed on 1 April 1918.

First World War

The squadron was formed as No. 3 Squadron RNAS on 1 September 1914 at Saint Pol, and became No. 3 Wing RNAS on 21 June 1915 after it was shipped to the Dardanelles

Dardanelles

The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...

.

A new 3 Squadron was formed at Saint Pol on 5 November 1916 from elements of No. 1 Wing RNAS. It then served as a fighter squadron on the Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

. Among the numerous types of aircraft it was equipped with were the Nieuport 17

Nieuport 17

|-Specifications :-See also:-Bibliography:* Bruce, Jack. "Those Classic Nieuports". Air Enthusiast Quarterly. Number Two, 1976. Bromley, UK:Pilot Press. pp. 137–153....

, Nieuport 21

Nieuport 21

|-See also:-Sources:* Keskinen, Kalevi; Partonen, Kyösti and Stenman, Kari: Suomen Ilmavoimat I 1918-27, 2005. ISBN 952-99432-2-9.* Donald, David: The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, Aerospace Publishing, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X....

, and Sopwith Pup

Sopwith Pup

The Sopwith Pup was a British single seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good maneuverability, the aircraft proved very...

, followed later by the Sopwith Camel

Sopwith Camel

The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...

.

Among its notable Officers Commanding were Canada's first ace, Redford Mulock

Redford Mulock

Colonel Redford Henry Mulock was the first Canadian flying ace of World War I and the first in the Royal Naval Air Service, as well as the highest ranking ace. He was credited with five aerial victories....

; Lloyd S. Breadner, future Air Marshal

Air Marshal

Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...

 of the Royal Canadian Air Force

Royal Canadian Air Force

The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...

; Raymond Collishaw

Raymond Collishaw

Air Vice Marshal Raymond Collishaw CB, DSO & Bar, OBE, DSC, DFC, RAF was a distinguished Canadian fighter pilot, squadron leader, and commanding officer who served in the Royal Naval Air Service and later the Royal Air Force. He was the highest scoring RNAS flying ace and the second highest...

, sixth scoring ace of the war; and Tom F. Hazell

Tom F. Hazell

Thomas Falcon Hazell DSO, MC, DFC & Bar was a fighter pilot with the Royal Flying Corps, and later, the Royal Air Force during World War I...

, the Royal Air Force's tenth scoring ace of the war. The squadron produced a number of other notable aces, including
Leonard Rochford;
Arthur Whealy

Arthur Whealy

Arthur Treloar Whealy DSC & Bar DFC was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 27 victories.-Background:Whealy was a medical student at the University of Toronto before World War I...

;
James Alpheus Glen

James Alpheus Glen

James Alpheus Glen DSC was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 15 victories.-Distinguished Service Cross:"Flt. Lieut. James Alpheus Glen, R N.A.S....

;
Edwin Hayne

Edwin Hayne

Captain Edwin Tufnell Hayne was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories.-Early life:Edwin Tufnell Hayne was the son of Emily and Tufnell Hayne. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa...

;
William Sidebottom

William Sidebottom (aviator)

Lieutenant William Sidebottom was a World War I flying ace credited with fourteen aerial victories.William Sidebottom joined the Royal Naval Air Service on 11 October 1917. In 1918, he was assigned to 203 Squadron as a Sopwith Camel pilot...

;
Frederick C. Armstrong

Frederick C. Armstrong

Flight Commander Frederick Carr Armstrong DSC was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 13 victories.-Aerial service:...

;
Joseph Stewart Temple Fall

Joseph Stewart Temple Fall

Joseph Stewart Temple Fall DSC & Two Bars, AFC was a Canadian World War I flying ace with 36 credited victories.-Early life:...

;
Harold F. Beamish;
future Air Marshal

Air Marshal

Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...

 Aubrey Ellwood

Aubrey Ellwood (RAF officer)

Air Marshal Sir Aubrey Beauclerk Ellwood KCB DSC RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:...

;
John Joseph Malone

John Joseph Malone

Flight Sub-Lieutenant John Joseph Malone was a Canadian flying ace of the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I. He was credited with 10 aerial victories and won the Distinguished Service Order for his valor before dying in combat.-Early life:...

;
John Denis Breakey

John Denis Breakey

Air Vice Marshal John Denis Breakey began his military career in the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I. As the RNAS was merged into the Royal Air Force, he scored nine aerial victories as a fighter pilot....

;
Frederick Britnell

Frederick Britnell

Captain Frederick John Shaw Britnell was a flying ace in the Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Air Force during World War I. He was credited with nine aerial victories...

;
Francis Casey;
Australia's highest scoring ace, Robert A. Little

Robert A. Little

Robert Alexander Little DSO & Bar, DSC & Bar is officially regarded as the most successful Australian flying ace of World War I, with a total of forty-seven aerial victories. Born in Victoria, he travelled to England in 1915 and learnt to fly at his own expense before joining the Royal Naval Air...

;
Harold Spencer Kerby;
Alfred Williams Carter

Alfred Williams Carter

Alfred Williams Carter DSC was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 17 victories....

; and
Herbert Travers

Herbert Travers

Flight Commander Herbert Gardner Travers was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. Postwar, he worked in civil aviation. He returned to service during World War II....

.

Eleven of the squadron's 23 aces were Canadian. The squadron claimed about 250 aerial victories during World War I.

Between the World Wars

On 21 January 1920, the squadron disbanded. In 1929 the squadron reformed as a reconnaissance squadron operating Supermarine Southampton

Supermarine Southampton

-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Supermarine Aircraft since 1914 . London: Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-800-3....

 flying boats.

Second World War

Shortly before the start of the war the squadron was re-equipped with Short Singapore IIIs and in 1940 with Bristol Blenheim

Bristol Blenheim

The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter, pending the availability of the Beaufighter...

s. The squadron flew patrols over the Red Sea

Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...

 and Mediterranean from Basra

Basra

Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...

, and in 1942 the squadron re-equipped with Martin Baltimore

Martin Baltimore

The Martin 187 Baltimore was a two-engined light attack bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company in the United States, originally ordered by the French in May 1940 as a follow-up to the earlier Martin Maryland, then in service in France. With the fall of France, the production series was...

 aircraft. In 1943 the squadron was posted to India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and was re-equipped with Vickers Wellington

Vickers Wellington

The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...

s to fly coastal patrols. The squadron converted to Consolidated Liberator aircraft in November 1944 and began anti-shipping patrols over the Bay of Bengal.

Post war

The squadron returned to the UK in 1947 and re-equipped with Avro Lancaster

Avro Lancaster

The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...

s. In July 1954, the squadron was flying Neptune MR.2

P-2 Neptune

The Lockheed P-2 Neptune was a Maritime patrol and ASW aircraft. It was developed for the United States Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon, and being replaced in turn with the Lockheed P-3 Orion...

s from RAF Topcliffe

RAF Topcliffe

RAF Topcliffe is a Royal Air Force station in North Yorkshire. It is a satellite station of RAF Linton-on-Ouse.Topcliffe opened in September 1940 as a bomber station in RAF Bomber Command and was home to 77 and 102 Squadrons flying the Whitley heavy bomber. There was a decoy site at Raskelf...

, along with No.s No. 36

No. 36 Squadron RAF

No. 36 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Cramlington on February 1, 1916 and was disbanded for the last time in 1975.-First World War:No...

 and No. 210

No. 210 Squadron RAF

No. 210 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit established in World War I. Disbanded and reformed a number of times in the ensuing years, it operated as a fighter squadron during World War I and as a maritime patrol squadron during the Spanish Civil War, World War II and the Cold War before it was...

 Squadrons as part of No. 19 Group, RAF Coastal Command

RAF Coastal Command

RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...

. The squadron remained a Maritime Reconnaissance squadron for the remainder of its existence operating Avro Shackleton

Avro Shackleton

The Avro Shackleton was a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft for use by the Royal Air Force. It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber with a new fuselage...

s and then Nimrod

Nimrod

Nimrod means "Hunter"; was a Biblical Mesopotamian king mentioned in the Table of Nations; an eponym for the city of Nimrud.Nimrod can also refer to any of the following:*Nimród Antal, a director...

s. The squadron disbanded on 31 December 1977 at RAF Luqa

RAF Luqa

Royal Air Force Luqa was a flying station and location of RAF Mediterranean Command headquarters of the Royal Air Force on the island of Malta during World War II...

 in Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

, by which time it was part of No. 18 Group

No. 18 Group RAF

No. 18 Group of the Royal Air Force was a group active from 1918 to 1919, and from 1938 to 1996.- 1918 - 1919 :The Group was initially formed on 1 April 1918 in No 4 Area. It was transferred to North-Eastern Area, 8 May 1918...

 within RAF Strike Command

RAF Strike Command

The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007: it was merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air Command. It latterly consisted of two formations - No. 1...

.

The Squadron was reformed in October 1996, when the Sea King

Westland Sea King

The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...

 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) at RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall was redesignated 203(R) Squadron as a reserve unit. In 2008, 203(R) Squadron relocated to RAF Valley

RAF Valley

RAF Valley is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides fast-jet training using the BAE Hawk and provides training for aircrew working with Search and Rescue. Unofficially the motto for RAF Valley is 'One Valley, Training...

 in Anglesey

Anglesey

Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...

, maintaining its role as the Sea King OCU and operating the Sea King HAR Mk 3.