No. 609 Squadron RAF

No. 609 (West Riding) Squadron
In front of two hunting horns in saltire, a white Yorkshire rose.
Active	10 Feb 1936 - 15 Sep 1945 31 Jul 1946 - 10 Mar 1957 1 Jul 1998 - present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Role	Force Protection
Part of	Royal Auxiliary Air Force
Base	RAF Leeming
Motto(s)	Tally Ho
Engagements	Battle of Dunkirk Battle of Britain Normandy landing
Commanders
Honorary Air Commodore	Geoffrey Ambler
Notable commanders	Roland Beamont
Insignia
Squadron Badge	In front of two hunting horns in saltire, a rose
Post 1951 Squadron markings	The RAF roundel surrounded with a blue bar and on either side two diagonal yellow crosses
Squadron Codes	BL (Apr 1939 - Sep 1939) PR (Sep 1939 - Sep 1945 and 1949 - Apr 1951) RAP (May 1946 - 1949)

No. 609 (West Riding) Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, originally formed as a bomber squadron and in the Second World War active as fighter squadron, nowadays provides personnel to augment and support the operations of the Royal Air Force. The squadron is no longer a flying Squadron, but instead has the role of Force Protection. It is currently based at RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire.

No. 609 Squadron was formed on 10 February 1936 at RAF Yeadon, now Leeds Bradford International Airport, as the ninth of the 21 flying squadrons of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. In June of that year it received Hawker Hart light bomber aircraft, which gave way in December 1937 to Hawker Hinds. The first Commanding Officer of 609 Squadron was Squadron Leader Harald Peake, who later rose to the rank of Air Commodore. On 8 December 1938, 609 Squadron was transferred to RAF Fighter Command, but was not equipped with fighters until the introduction of the Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I in August 1939. At this point the squadron was still manned by part-time civilians. Fairey Battle light bombers were used as training aircraft to convert pilots from the fixed undercarriage biplane Hinds to much more modern monoplane Spitfire with its retractable undercarriage.

At the outbreak of war, the squadron was called up to full-time service and initially served on defensive duties in the North of England. In May 1940, the squadron moved to RAF Northolt and flew over the Battle of Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo. Around this period, one third of the squadron's pilots were lost over a period of three days.