December 1942 – January 1943
During the third week of December, after a non-stop and frantic period of almost three months, and due to the loss of operationally-fit aircraft, our sadly depleted Squadron was withdrawn from the action and put in reserve. A relief Squadron took over from us at LG202. The general feeling was good, with the exception that it would have been better, now that the ALO’s reports were that ‘the battle has been won’, to have followed the advance as we had on many previous occasions and carry on up the desert. In retrospect, this would not have been possible due to the shortage of aircraft and pilots, and an incomplete ground crew who, to the man, in the main due to lack of sleep, had virtually worked themselves to a standstill.
Wing Commander Neil Meadows, Officer Commanding 208 Squadron
between 2001 and 2003, concludes 208 Squadron’s involvement in the Battle of El-Alamein:
I was privileged to lead a 4-ship flypast of Perth to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Battle of El-Alamein on 26th October 2002, thus linking the exploits of the Squadron of the past with the training task of the present. At the time, there were only 4 RAF squadrons still flying that had served in the battles of El-Alamein. Launching out of RAF Leuchars, a Dominie of 55 Squadron and a Hercules of 70 Squadron were followed by a ‘box-4’ of Jaguars from 6 Squadron (the Flying Canopeners) and a ‘box-4’ from 208 Squadron (the Flying Shuftis).
All aircraft flew down the main parade line, after which both the 6 Squadron and 208 Squadron elements returned to fly a ‘missing man’ finger-4 formation over the saluting base to honour fallen comrades. This was also the day of the association reunion so, following the flypasts, in one of the longest Hawk sorties I have ever flown (1:40) I flew on to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire and then onwards by train to London to the Club, where I was honoured to meet 2 former members of the Squadron who had served at the time of the Battle of El-Alamein. It was a fitting end to a memorable day in commemoration of one of the Squadron’s finest actions.
El Alamein 80th Page 1 2 3 4 5
between 2001 and 2003, concludes 208 Squadron’s involvement in the Battle of El-
All aircraft flew down the main parade line, after which both the 6 Squadron and 208 Squadron elements returned to fly a ‘missing man’ finger-