No. 89 Squadron was a 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...

 squadron, mainly active in the fighter role during its existence.

Formation and World War I

No. 89 squadron was formed on 1 September 1917 as a training unit at Netheravon

Netheravon

Netheravon is a village and civil parish on the River Avon, about north of the town of Amesbury in Wiltshire.-Notable people:The writer Frank Sawyer , although born in Bulford, spent most of his life in Netheravon as river keeper River Avon and died on the banks of the river near the parish church...

. The squadron was not used for operations and remained a training unit. It was disbanded on 4 July 1918.

Reformation and World War II

The squadron was formed again on 25 September 1941 at RAF Colerne

RAF Colerne

RAF Colerne now known as Colerne Airfield or AEF Colerne is a former World War II RAF Fighter Command and Bomber Command airfield located on the outskirts of the village of Colerne, Wiltshire...

. The squadron was equipped with the Bristol Beaufighter

Bristol Beaufighter

The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...

 night fighters. The squadron moved out to Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

 to defend the Nile delta and the Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

. On 3 March 1942 the squadron scored its first victory when it shot down a German Luftwaffe Heinkel He 111

Heinkel He 111

The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...

.
The squadron was active in the Mediterranean area and sent aircraft to 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...

 and Algiers

Algiers

' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...

 and in 1943 sought targets over Crete

Crete

Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

 and later Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

. With the withdrawal further north of the German night fighter units the squadron moved to Ceylon

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. A further move in the summer of 1944 to Burma on intruder missions. The aircraft withdrew from operations to convert to the de Havilland Mosquito

De Havilland Mosquito

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...

. Apart from leaflet dropping from Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 there was little for the squadron to do and it was disbanded on 1 May 1946 when it was re-numbered as 22 Squadron

No. 22 Squadron RAF

No. 22 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Sea King HAR.3 and HAR.3A at three stations in the southern United Kingdom. The squadron was originally formed in 1915 as an aerial reconnaissance unit of the Royal Flying Corps serving on the Western Front during First World War...

.

On jets

With the expansion of RAF Fighter Command

RAF Fighter Command

RAF Fighter Command was one of three functional commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...

 in the mid-1950s the squadron was reformed on 15 September 1955 at RAF Stradishall

RAF Stradishall

RAF Stradishall was a Royal Air Force station in Suffolk, opened in 1938.The airfield closed in 1970 and is now the site of two category C prisons: HMP Highpoint North and HMP Highpoint South...

 equipped with the de Havilland Venom

De Havilland Venom

The de Havilland DH 112 Venom was a British postwar single-engined jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Vampire. It served with the Royal Air Force as a single-seat fighter-bomber and two-seat night fighter....

 night fighter. Two years later these were replaced with the Gloster Javelin

Gloster Javelin

The Gloster Javelin was an "all-weather" interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force in the late 1950s and most of the 1960s...

. It only flew for a year as an all-weather fighter squadron and was disbanded on 30 November 1957 when it was re-numbered as 85 Squadron

No. 85 Squadron RAF

No. 85 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It most recently served as No. 85 Squadron based at RAF Church Fenton.-In World War I:...

.

Aircraft operated

From	To	Aircraft	Variant
Sep 1917	Jul 1918	Various, including Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 was a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. Although the first examples reached the Western Front before the Sopwith Camel and it had a much better overall performance, problems with its Hispano-Suiza engine, particularly the geared-output H-S...
Sep 1941	Oct 1944	Bristol Beaufighter Bristol Beaufighter The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...	Mk.If
Jul 1942	Apr 1945	Bristol Beaufighter	Mk.VIf]
Feb 1945	Apr 1945	de Havilland Mosquito De Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...	Mk.VI
Apr 1945	Mar 1946	de Havilland Mosquito	Mk.XIX
Mar 1946	Apr 1946	Supermarine Walrus Supermarine Walrus The Supermarine Walrus was a British single-engine amphibious biplane reconnaissance aircraft designed by R. J. Mitchell and operated by the Fleet Air Arm . It also served with the Royal Air Force , Royal Australian Air Force , Royal Canadian Air Force , Royal New Zealand Navy and Royal New...	Mk.II
Dec 1955	Nov 1957	de Havilland Venom De Havilland Venom The de Havilland DH 112 Venom was a British postwar single-engined jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Vampire. It served with the Royal Air Force as a single-seat fighter-bomber and two-seat night fighter....	NF.3
Oct 1957	Nov 1958	Gloster Javelin Gloster Javelin The Gloster Javelin was an "all-weather" interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force in the late 1950s and most of the 1960s...	FAW.2
Oct 1957	Nov 1958	Gloster Javelin	FAW.6

Commanding officers

From	To	Name
Oct 1941	Sep 1942	Wg Cdr Wing Commander (rank) Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...  G H Stainforth, AFC Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
Sep 1942	Jun 1943	Wg Cdr J A Leathart, DSO Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
Jun 1943	Mar 1944	Wg Cdr W D David, DFC Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against... , AFC
Mar 1944	Nov 1944	Wg Cdr A F McGhie
Nov 1944	Jul 1945	Wg Cdr F Collingridge
Jul 1945	Sep 1945	Sqn Ldr Squadron Leader Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these... A E Browne
Sep 1945	May 1946	Sqn Ldr R J A Good
1957	Nov 1958	Wg Cdr G A Martin, DFC, AFC