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Aircraft Index |
Squadron Index |
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No.266 Sqn RAF
Founded : 27th September 1918
Country : UK
Fate : Disbanded 30th June 1964
Known Aircraft Codes : UO, FX, ZH
Rhodesia Hlabezulu - The stabber of the sky
No.266 Sqn RAF
No.266 Sqn RAF Artwork |
No.266 Sqn RAF Artwork Collection |
  Clipped Signature - Dennis Armitage. |   Clipped Signature - Ronnie Sheward. |   Guardian of Freedom by Timothy OBrien. |
| Aces for : No.266 Sqn RAF | ||
| A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking the pilots name. | ||
| Name | Victories | Info |
| Don E Kingaby | 23.00 | The signature of Don E Kingaby features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Aircraft for : No.266 Sqn RAF | |||
| A list of all aircraft known to have been flown by No.266 Sqn RAF. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | |||
| Squadron | Info | ||
Manufacturer : Gloster Production Began : 1944 Number Built : 3947 | Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. Designed by George Carter, and built by the Gloster Aircraft Company, Armstrong-Whitworth, the Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The Gloster Meteor was not an aerodynamically advanced aircraft but the Gloster design team succeeded in producing an effective jet fighter that served the RAF and other air forces for decades. Meteors saw action with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in the Korean War and other air forces used the Meteor. The Royal Danish Air Force, The Belgian Air Force and Isreali Air Force kept the Meteor in service until the early 1970's. A Total of 3947 meteors were built and two Meteors, WL419 and WA638, remain in service with the Martin-Baker company as ejection seat testbeds. | ||
Manufacturer : Supermarine Production Began : 1936 Retired : 1948 Number Built : 20351 | Spitfire Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954. | ||
Manufacturer : Hawker Production Began : 1941 Number Built : 3330 | Typhoon Single engine fighter with a maximum speed of 412 mph at 19,000 feet and a ceiling of 35,200 feet. range 510 miles. The Typhoon was armed with twelve browning .303inch machine guns in the wings (MK1A) Four 20mm Hispano cannon in wings (MK!B) Two 1000ilb bombs or eight 3-inch rockets under wings. The first proto type flew in February 1940, but due to production problems the first production model flew in May 1941. with The Royal Air Force receiving their first aircraft in September 1941. Due to accidents due to engine problems (Sabre engine) The Hawker Typhoon started front line service in December 1941.The Hawker Typhoon started life in the role of interceptor around the cost of England but soon found its real role as a ground attack aircraft. especially with its 20mm cannon and rockets. This role was proved during the Normandy landings and the period after. The total number of Hawker typhoons built was 3,330. | ||
| Signatures for : No.266 Sqn RAF | |||||
| A list of all signatures from our database who are associated with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking their name. | |||||
| Name | Info | ||||
 Squadron Leader Dennis Armitage DFC Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Squadron Leader Dennis Armitage DFC | Squadron Leader Dennis Armitage DFC Having flown 13 wing operations with Douglas Bader, Armitages strongest memories are of a man who was afraid of nothing, who would take on any odds. In the mess this transferred to the pilots so that they eagerly awaited the next day's operations. An RAFVR pilot, Armitage was commissioned and joined 266 Squadron in December 1939. He was appointed Flight Commander in August 1940. On August 12 he claimed the destruction of a Ju 88. 266 Squadron was not a formal part of the Duxford Wing, but did provide an additional element to the wing on a regular basis. Armitage took command of 129 Squadron in June 194 1. Flying from Westhampnett on September 2 1, he was shot down on a sweep and made a POW, meeting up with Bader again in prison camp. | ||||
 Wing Commander Don Kingaby DSO AFC DFM** DFC (USA) Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Wing Commander Don Kingaby DSO AFC DFM** DFC (USA)
| Wing Commander Don Kingaby DSO AFC DFM** DFC (USA) Born in London on 7th January 1920. Joined the RAFVR in April 1939 at the age of 20. He flew a Mk.I Spitfire with No.266 Squadron during the initial stages of the Battle of Britain, claiming as damaged two Ju88s and an Me110. He then joined No.92 Squadron in September 1940, claiming 4 aircraft (including 3 Me109s) in October, then 6 more Me109s in November 1940, including 4 in a single day on the 15th. He claimed a further 12 victories during 1941, before joining No.111 Sqn and No.64 Sqn in March and April 1942 correspondingly. He later joined No.122 Squadron, and was promoted to lead the Hornchurch wing in March 1943. On D-Day, he claimed the final addition to his total, sharing in the destruction of an Me109. He was the only RAF pilot to be awarded three DFMs, and scored a total of 23 victories and 8 probables. His Air Force Cross medal was awarded in 1952 for his work with Vampire jets. He retired in 1958. Sadly, he passed away on 31st December 1990. | ||||
 Sqn Ldr Hugh Parry Click the name above to see prints signed by Sqn Ldr Hugh Parry | Sqn Ldr Hugh Parry Hugh Parry joined the RAF from Northern Rhodesia in December 1939, and after training in England was posted in February 1941 to join 260 Squadron flying Hurricanes. In April he transferred to 266 Squadron flying first Spitfires and then Typhoons. In March 1943 he went to Malta with 601 Squadron on the USS Wasp, flying the Spitfire Vc, where he remained until July. After a spell as a test pilot, he returned to combat with 41 Squadron flying Spitfire MkXIIs. On 24th September 1943 he was shot down near Beauvais and managed to evade capture for the next five months until he was eventually captured by the Gestapo in Paris. After a month in prison he was sent to Stalag Luft III until the end of the war. | ||||
S/Ldr. Ronnie Sheward Click the name above to see prints signed by S/Ldr. Ronnie Sheward | S/Ldr. Ronnie Sheward 137, 263, 266 and 197 Squadrons | ||||
| Battle of Britain Pilots for this Squadron | |
| Name | Info |
| Sgt. J. W. Allen | British, Served with : 266 Squadron |
| Sgt. L. C. Allton | British, Served with : 266 and 92 Squadrons Killed October 19th 1940 |
| F/Lt. D. L. Armitage Signed Artwork | British, Served with : 266 Squadron Having flown 13 wing operations with Douglas Bader, Armitages strongest memories are of a man who was afraid of nothing, who would take on any odds. In the mess this transferred to the pilots so that they eagerly awaited the next day's operations. An RAFVR pilot, Armitage was commissioned and joined 266 Squadron in December 1939. He was appointed Flight Commander in August 1940. On August 12 he claimed the destruction of a Ju 88. 266 Squadron was not a formal part of the Duxford Wing, but did provide an additional element to the wing on a regular basis. Armitage took command of 129 Squadron in June 1941. Flying from Westhampnett on September 21, he was shot down on a sweep and made a POW, meeting up with Bader again in prison camp. He died on 5th March 2004. |
| F/O D. G. Ashton | British, Served with : 266 Squadron Drowned August 12th 1940 |
| Sgt. R. G. V. Barraclough | British, Served with : 266 Squadron |
| Sgt. M. A. Beatty | British, Served with : 266 Squadron |
| S/Ldr. E. R. Bitmead | British, Served with : 266, 310 & 253 Squadrons |
| P/O N. G. Bowen | British, Served with : 266 Squadron Killed August 16th 1940 |
| F/O N. W. Burnett | British, Served with : 266 & 46 Squadrons Missing June 11th 1941** |
| P/O F. W. Cale | Australian, Served with : 266 Squadron Killed August 15th 1940 |
| P/O H. H. Chalder | British, Served with : 266 & 41 Squadrons Shot down Sept 28th 1940. (Died Nov 10th) |
| Sgt. H. Cook | British, Served with : 66 & 266 Squadrons |
| Sgt. T. A. Cooper | British, Served with : 266 and 92 Squadrons |
| F/O T. D. H. Davy | British, Served with : 266 and 72 Squadrons Killed September 13th 1942 |
| Sgt A. W. Eade | British, Served with : 266 & 602 Squadron |
| Sgt. S. A. Goodwin | British, Served with : 266 & 66 Squadrons |
| P/O R. C. Gosling | British, Served with : 266 Squadron |
| (F.A.A.) Sub Lt. H. la Fore Greenshields | British, Served with : 266 Squadron Killed August 16th 1940 |
| Sgt. R. H. Gretton | British, Served with : 266 & 222 Squadrons |
| Sgt. F. B. Hawley | British, Served with : 266 Squadron Missing August 15th 1940 |
| P/O H. M. T. Heron | British, Served with : 266 & 66 Squadron |
| P/O M. R. Hill | South African, Served with : 266 Squadron Killed March 12th 1945 |
| P/O A. H. Humphrey | British, Served with : 266 Squadron |
| F/Lt P. G. DFC Jameson Signed Artwork WW2 Ace - 10.00 victories | New Zealand, Served with : 266 Squadron Passed away September 1996 Pat Jameson, a New Zealander born in 1912, joined the RAF in 1937 after flight training, being posted to No.46 Sqn. Flying Hurricanes with the squadron, he was involved in the campaign in Norway, and was notably the last man to leave the carrier HMS Glorious, sunk on 8th June 1940. He subsequently commanded several Wings and Squadrons, including No.266 Sqn. He was awarded the DFC and Bar, and DSO during the war, being awarded the CB later. He died in September 1996. |
| P/O W. R. Jones | British, Served with : 266 & 602 Squadrons |
| Sgt. D. E. Kingaby Signed Artwork WW2 Ace - 23.00 victories | British, Served with : 266 & 92 Squadrons Passed away 31st December 1990 Born in London on 7th January 1920. Joined the RAFVR in April 1939 at the age of 20. He flew a Mk.I Spitfire with No.266 Squadron during the initial stages of the Battle of Britain, claiming as damaged two Ju88s and an Me110. He then joined No.92 Squadron in September 1940, claiming 4 aircraft (including 3 Me109s) in October, then 6 more Me109s in November 1940, including 4 in a single day on the 15th. He claimed a further 12 victories during 1941, before joining No.111 Sqn and No.64 Sqn in March and April 1942 correspondingly. He later joined No.122 Squadron, and was promoted to lead the Hornchurch wing in March 1943. On D-Day, he claimed the final addition to his total, sharing in the destruction of an Me109. He was the only RAF pilot to be awarded three DFMs, and scored a total of 23 victories and 8 probables. His Air Force Cross medal was awarded in 1952 for his work with Vampire jets. He retired in 1958. Sadly, he passed away on 31st December 1990. |
| P/O C. Logan | British, Served with : 266 Squadron Killed March 27th 1941 |
| W/Cdr. H. W. Mermagen | British, Served with : 222 & 266 Squadrons Passed away. |
| P/O W. A. Middleton | New Zealand, Served with : 266 Squadron Missing August 27th 1941 |
| F/O P. H. G. Mitchell | British, Served with : 266 Squadron |
| P/O J. G. Pattison | New Zealand, Served with : 266 Squadron |
| P/O P. D. Pool | British, Served with : 266 & 72 Squadrons Missing August 19th 1942** |
| P/O H. A. R. Prowse | British, Served with : 266 & 603 Squadrons |
| P/O R. J. B. Roach | British, Served with : 266 Squadron |
| Sgt. J. A. Scott | British, Served with : 266, 611 & 74 Squadrons Killed October 27th 1940 |
| P/O J. F. Soden | British, Served with : 266 & 603 Squadrons Killed September 12th 1942** |
| S/Ldr. D. G. H. MBE Spencer | British, Served with : 266 Squadron |
| F/Sgt. C. Sydney | British, Served with : 19, 266 & 92 Squadrons Killed September 27th 1940 |
| Sgt. R. H. Thomas | British, Served with : 266, 66 & 64 Squadrons |
| F/Lt. E. H. Thomas | British, Served with : 222, 19 & 266 Squadrons Passed away 1972. |
| P/O R. M. Trousdale | New Zealand, Served with : 266 Squadron |
| P/O B. E. Tucker | British, Served with : 266 & 66 Squadrons |
| P/O E. P. Wells | New Zealand, Served with : 266 and 41 Squadrons |
| S/Ldr. R. L. Wilkinson | British, Served with : 266 Squadron Killed August 16th 1940 |
| P/O W. S. Williams | New Zealand, Served with : 266 Squadron Killed October 21st 1940 |
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