No . 603 Squadron RAF No . 603 ( City of Edinburgh ) Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force , based in Edinburgh , Scotland . The primary role of 603 Squadron , since reforming on 1 October 1999 , has been as a " Survive to Operate " squadron , as well as providing " Force Protection " . History . Formation and early years . No . 603 Squadron was formed on 14 October 1925 at RAF Turnhouse as a day bomber unit of the Auxiliary Air Force . Originally equipped with DH . 9As and using Avro 504Ks for flying training , the squadron re - equipped with Wapitis in March 1930 , these being replaced by Harts in February 1934 . On 24 October 1938 , No . 603 was redesignated a fighter unit and flew Hinds until the arrival of Gladiators at the end of March 1939 . In World War II . In August 1939 , New Zealand - born Fg Off Brian Carbury was attached to No . 603 Squadron as training officer , to bring the squadron up to standard on Spitfires . As war approached the squadron was put on a full - time footing , and within two weeks of the outbreak of World War II , Carbury was permanently attached and the squadron began to receive Spitfires , passing on its Gladiators to other squadrons during October . On Spitfires . Scotland was in range of Nazi Germany ' s long range bombers and reconnaissance aircraft . The Luftwaffe ' s main operations being mainly against the Royal Naval Home Fleet anchored in Scapa Flow . The squadron was operational with Spitfires in time to intercept the first German air raid on the British Isles on 16 October , when it shot down a Junkers Ju - 88 bomber into the North Sea east of Dalkeith - the first enemy aircraft to be shot down over Great Britain since 1918 , and the first RAF victory in the Second World War . It remained on defensive duties in Scotland until 27 August 1940 , when it moved on rotation to Southern England , based with No 11 Group at RAF Hornchurch , where it was operational from 27 August 1940 for the remaining months of the Battle of Britain . Two days after the squadron became operational in southern England , Carbury claimed the first of his 15½ victories , becoming the fifth highest scoring fighter ace of the Battle . He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar with No . 603 during the battle . P / O R . ' Rasp ' Berry claimed some 9 ( of an eventual total of 17 ) victories during this time , while P / O ' Sheep ' Gilroy claimed over 6 victories . Plt Off Richard Hillary ( 5 victories ) was shot down on 3 September in combat with Bf 109 ' s of Jagdgeschwader 26 off Margate at 10 : 04hrs - rescued by the Margate lifeboat , he was severely burned and spent the next three years in hospital , during which time he wrote his classic ' The Last Enemy ' . Returning to Scotland at the end of December , Carbury damaged a Ju 88 on Christmas Day over St Abb ' s Head , before leaving squadron in January 1941 as an instructor at the Central Flying School . In May 1941 , the squadron moved south again to take part in sweeps over France ( termed " Rhubarb ' s " ) , until the end of the year . After a further spell in Scotland , No . 603 left in April 1942 for the Middle East where its ground echelon arrived early in June . Concurrently , Flt Sgt Joe Dalley moved from the squadron to PRU duties and flew a Spitfire PR direct from RAF Benson to Malta , joining 69 Sqn to become one of four pilots known as the " Eyes and Ears " on the Island . The squadron ' s aircraft were embarked on the US carrier USS " Wasp " and flown off to Malta on 20 April to reinforce the fighter defences of the beleaguered island . After nearly four months defending Malta , the remaining pilots and aircraft were absorbed by 229 Squadron on 3 August 1942 . On Beaufighters . At the end of June 1942 , No . 603 ' s ground echelon had moved to Cyprus , where it spent six months as a servicing unit before returning to Egypt . In February 1943 , Bristol Beaufighter s and crews arrived to begin convoy patrols and escort missions along the North African coast and in August sweeps over German held islands in the Aegean and off Greece began . Attacks on enemy shipping continued until the lack of targets enabled the squadron to be returned to the UK in December 1944 . Spitfires again . On 10 January 1945 , No . 603 reassembled at RAF Coltishall and by curious coincidence , took over the Spitfires of No . 229 Squadron RAF and some of its personnel , the same squadron which had absorbed No . 603 at Ta ' Qali in 1942 . Fighter - bomber sweeps began in February over the Netherlands and continued until April , when the squadron returned to its home base at Turnhouse for the last days of the war . On 15 August 1945 , the squadron was disbanded . Post war . No . 603 reformed as a unit of the Auxiliary Air Force on 10 May 1946 and began recruiting personnel to man a Spitfire squadron during June at RAF Turnhouse . Receiving its first Spitfire in October , it flew this type until conversion to De Havilland Vampire FB . 5s in May 1951 . By July it was completely equipped and the type was flown until disbandment on 10 March 1957 . Present role . The new 603 Squadron was formed from No . 2 ( City of Edinburgh ) Maritime Headquarter Unit ( MHU ) in October 1999 . It was used to provide the basis for the new No . 602 ( City of Glasgow ) Squadron RAuxAF in 2006 while 603 remained in Edinburgh . To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the formation of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in 2007 , for the next 2 seasons the Flight ' s Supermarine Spitfire IIa , P7350 , which fought in 603 Sqn during the Battle of Britain will carry the 603 Squadron letters XT - L , those of Gerald ' Stapme ' Stapleton ' s personal aircraft .