page_title: No. 616 Squadron RAF
section_title: Post-war
hierarchical_section_title: No. 616 Squadron RAF / History and Operations / Post-war
caption_attribution_description: English: Gloster Meteor F.8 WH456 of 616 Squadron at Blackbushe airfield in 1955.
context_page_description: No. 616 Squadron is an active Reserve unit of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force assigned to the RAF ISTAR Force at RAF Waddington. It was originally formed as a unit of the British Auxiliary Air Force in 1938, active throughout World War 2 as a fighter unit, becoming the 1st operational RAF unit to fly jets and disbanded in 1957. The unit reformed in its current guise in April 2019 as 616 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force.
context_section_description: No. 616 squadron was officially reformed at RAF Finningley as the South Yorkshire Squadron on 10 May 1946, with volunteers being recruited over the following few months till embodied on 11 July 1946. It was allocated the night fighter role within Reserve Command and the first Mosquito T.3 trainers were received in October, but it was not until January 1948 that the operational Mosquito NF.30s were delivered to Finningley.
  At the end of 1948 No. 616 was redesignated as a day fighter squadron and began to receive Meteor F.3s in January 1949. Conversion to the updated Meteor F.8 took place in December 1951, which wore the distinctive Green and Gold Diamond markings of 616 Sqn on the rear fuselage. The squadron moved base to RAF Worksop on 23 May 1955, where it either disbanded on 10 March 1957 (per Halley and Jefford or Pitchfork), together with all RAuxAF flying units, or disbanded on 15 January 1957 according to Rawlings in Fighter Squadrons of the Royal Air Force, at RAF Finningley.
caption: Gloster Meteor F.8 of 616 Squadron in 1955 wearing the distinctive unit markings.
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