203 Squadron RAF
- 203 Squadron's history starts with No. 3 Squadron RNAS, formed in June 1916, and renumbered 203 Squadron upon the formation of the RAF on April 1, 1918.
- The squadron was disbanded in January, 1920, reformed in April, 1920, then disbanded again in April, 1923.
- The squadron was reformed on January 1, 1929 by renumbering 482 Flight at Cattewater, Plymouth.
- Pre-war the squadron was based in the Gulf area.
- Initial wartime operations were in the Gulf area East Africa and the Mediterranean theatre.
- In November 1943 it moved to India and re-equipped with Wellington XIII's for anti-shipping patrols over the Indian Ocean.
- In November 1944, the squadron started converting to Liberators, initially flying patrols over the Bay of Bengal..
- In 1945 the squadron commenced anti-shipping strikes by both day and night over the Bay of Bengal. During this period it also flew some supply dropping flights.
- After VJ day, the squadron was used for ferrying flights, until May 1946 when it returned to the UK.
- In August 1946 it converted to Lancaster GR3's
- During WWII the squadron flew MkVI and Vk VIII Liberators
Transcripts of 203 Squadron Records, while in SEAC
All the Form 540's and 541's for the Liberator period (October 1944 to April 1946)
(Note: These transcripts still need work, but some have been updated since the individual records listed below were created. This document also contains an "Index of Names".)
(Initial drafts -- on a few the sections of the copies were unreadable and some transcripts need a lot of work)
Form 541's were not produced after August 1945, i.e. after the end of the war.
October 1944 Form 540
November 1944 Form 540
December 1944 Form 540
December 1944 Form 541
January 1945 Form 540
January 1945 Form 541
February 1945 Form 540
March 1945 Form 540
March 1945 Form 541
April 1945 Form 540
April 1945 Form 541
May 1945 Form 540
May 1945 Form 540 Cuttack Detachment
May 1945 Form 541
June 1945 Form 540
June 1945 Form 540 Akyab Detachment
June 1945 Form 541
July 1945 Form 540
July 1945 Form 541
August 1945 Form 540
August 1945 Form 540 Cocos Detachment
August 1945 Form 541
September 1945 Form 540
October 1945 Form 540
November 1945 Form 540
December 1945 Form 540
January 1946 Form 540
February 1946 Form 540
March 1946 Form 540
April 1946 Form 540
Prior to its use of Liberators, 203 Squadron operated Wellingtons
Some information on this era.
Liberators listed as serving with 203 Squadron
Includes the "fates" of the aircraft.
The Painting by Frank Wootton P.G. Av
A
"P/O Eric. H Cocks, RAAF, flying a B24, 203 Squadron RAF
in a low level bombing attack on enemy ships in Bandon Harbour, Malaya
6th July 1945"
(presented here courtesy of E. H. Cocks)
"P"
KH185
(Photographs of 203 Squadron members in the Mediterranean Theatre while on Baltimores on this page.)
Tom Webster's RAF Service
Tom Webster joined the RAF in May 1942 and served until February 1947.
He has written a document containing details of his career in the RAF.
This document covers all the time he spent in training, his ferrying a Liberator to England, and his time as a pilot on 203 Squadron.
Tom has generously agreed to have the document posted on this website.
The RAF Career of Tom Webster (pdf format)
The RAF Career of Tom Webster (pdf-a format)
If you have any comments, please e-mail me. (change (at) to @)
Last updated August 1, 2013