No. 204 Squadron RAF
| No 204 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 23 March 1915(RNAS) – 15 October 1915 31 December 1916 – 31 December 1919 1 February 1929 – 30 June 1945 1 August 1947 – 20 February 1953 1 January 1954 – 1 April 1971 1 April 1971 – 1 May 1972 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Royal Air Force
|
| Motto(s) |
Latin: Praedam mari quaero ("I seek my prey in the sea") |
| Battle honours | Home Waters, 1915 Western Front, 1917–18 Atlantic, 1940–45 Norway, 1940 Arctic, 1941 |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | On water barry wavy, a mooring buoy, thereon a cormorant displayed The badge is based upon a photograph made by Aircraftsman T.E. Shaw (Lawrence of Arabia) |
| Squadron Codes |
RF (Apr 1939 – Sep 1939) KG (Sep 1939 – 1943) T (Jan 1954 – 1956) |
No. 204 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit first formed in March 1915 as No.4 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service.
No. 4 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service was formed on 25 March 1915 at Dover from the former RNAS Defence Flight. In August 1915 the squadron moved to Eastchurch where it was re-designated as No. 4 Wing RNAS. The squadron was reformed on 31 December 1916 at Coudekerque just outside Dunkirk, France to operate the Sopwith 1½ Strutter. In March 1917 the squadron re-equipped with the Sopwith Pup before it moved to Bray-Dunes, not far away on the French-side of the Franco-Belgian border. In June 1917 the squadron re-equipped again with the Sopwith Camel.
In January 1918 the squadron made a temporary move to Walmer in Kent to rest and refit before returning to the front at Bray-Dunes in March 1918. On the formation of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918 the squadron was re-designated No. 204 Squadron. The squadron moved around some of the aerodromes around Dunkirk before settling at Téteghem in May 1918. In October 1918 the squadron moved forward to Heule in Flanders until the end of the war. In February 1919 the surviving personal returned to RAF Waddington in England before being disbanded in December 1919.
The squadron was reformed on 1 February 1929, when the coastal reconnaissance flight based at RAF Cattewater (later RAF Mount Batten), Plymouth, equipped with five Supermarine Southampton flying boats, was renumbered. It carried out a regular routine of training, interspersed with a series of formation cruises, including one to the Mediterranean in 1932 and to the Baltic the next year.
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