No. 88 Squadron RAF

80 Wing, which specialised in attacks on German airfields, on 1 July 1918, shortly after the foundation of the Royal Air Force on 1 April.

Eleven aces served in the unit, including Kenneth Burns Conn, Edgar Johnston, Allan Hepburn, Charles Findlay, and Gerald Anderson.

[10][9][11] The first recorded RAF "kill" of the Second World War was claimed on 20 September 1939 by air observer Sergeant F Letchford aboard a Fairey Battle flown by Flying Officer LH Baker.

[14] It returned to Britain in June 1940, moving to RAF Sydenham, Belfast where it operated a mix of Battles, Douglas Boston Is and Bristol Blenheim IVs, carrying out patrol duties over the Western Approaches.

[15] Part of the squadron, equipped with Blenheims, moved to RAF Attlebridge carrying out attacks against German shipping attempting to traverse the English Channel as part of 2 Group's "Channel Stop" campaign,[16][17] while the remainder of the squadron continued to evaluate the Boston, converting to the combat capable Boston III and IIIA.

On 19 August 1942 the squadron supported Canadian forces during the intense air battles of the Dieppe raid, where the RAF lost 91 aircraft.

It flew repeated sorties attempting to destroy field gun positions overlooking the beaches at Dieppe.

On 6 December 1942, the squadron was the lead element in Operation Oyster, the daylight raid against the Philips works in Eindhoven.

In October 1944, the squadron returned to France based at Vitry-en-Artois[19][20] to join the tactical air forces that were supporting the Allied armies as they advanced across Europe.

1430 Flight at RAF Kai Tak, Hong Kong, equipped with Short Sunderland flying boats, was redesignated No.

It was initially employed on transport duties, ferrying passengers, mail and freight from Hong Kong to Iwakuni in Japan in support of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force.

[10][21][22] The squadron later became a General Reconnaissance unit, adding maritime patrol and anti-piracy operations to its transport duties.

[27] They flew two types of patrol from Iwakuni: marine reconnaissance, and weather (providing meteorological data used in planning the following day's air operations by UN forces).

[27] They also supported local police in the Philippines, British North Borneo, and Brunei in operations against piracy and smuggling, and provided air-sea rescue services during regular detachments to Hong Kong.