78 Squadron was based at RAF Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands, operating Westland Sea King HAR3s and until 2006 the Boeing Chinook HC2.

78 Squadron was formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps on 1 November 1916 for home defence at Harrietsham and tasked with protecting the southern English coast.

On the night of 25 September 1917 a Captain Bell of the squadron encountered a German Gotha and attacked it over RAF Joyce Green.

John Rawlings, writing in Fighter Squadrons of the Royal Air Force (1969), stated that 'it was believed that he damaged it for one of the German raiders failed to return that night, being lost at sea.

It arrived at Sutton's Farm, under the command of Major Cuthbert Rowden, in September 1917 and was there until December 1919, with a detachment at RAF Biggin Hill.

78 Squadron was reformed at RAF Boscombe Down on 1 November 1936, twenty-two years after it was first formed, by redesignating a flight of the Handley Page Heyford equipped No.

The squadron continued in the bomber mission until the end of the war in Europe, both against German cities and in direct support of allied ground forces during and after the invasion of France in June 1944.

In total, the squadron had dropped 17,000 tonnes of bombs and mines during 6,337 operational sorties, losing 182 aircraft but claiming 28 enemy fighters shot down.

[10] It remained active in the post-war period as a transport squadron, converting to Vickers Valetta C.1s in April 1950, before being disbanded at RAF Fayid in Egypt on 30 September 1954.

[8][10] The squadron was reformed on 15 April 1956 at RAF Khormaksar in Aden, operating Scottish Aviation Pioneer CC.1 single-engine STOL transports.

[10] The unit was awarded its squadron standard on 1 April 1962 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, having reached 25 years of service.

It transferred to RAF Sharjah in 1967, continuing to fly in the army support and Search and Rescue roles until being disbanded on 1 December 1971.