No . 144 Squadron RAF No . 144 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the British Royal Air Force . It was first formed in 1918 during the First World War , operating as a bomber squadron in the Middle East . It reformed in 1937 , serving in the bomber and anti - shipping roles during the Second World War . A third incarnation saw the squadron serving as a stategic missile squadron during the late 1950s and early 1960s . History . First World War . On 20 March 1918 , a new squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was established at Port Said in British administrated Egypt . It was intended as a corps reconnaissance squadron , to work in support of the Army , and initially operated a mix of aircraft , including Royal Aircraft Factory B . E . 2 es and Royal Aircraft Factory B . E . 12 s . The squadron re - equipped with Airco DH . 9 light bombers in August that year , reinforcing 40th ( Army ) Wing as it prepared for a major offensive against Ottoman forces . On 19 September , the opening actions of the Battle of Megiddo began , with 144 Squadron attacking Turkish communication and command centres , including the headquarters of the Ottoman Seventh Army at Nablus . The Ottoman forces were soon in full retreat , and all available air power , including 144 Squadron , was sent to repeatedly attack the force of the Ottoman Seventh Army as it retreated through the Wadi al - Far ' a , with the Seventh Army effectively destroyed by these sustained aerial attacks . On 17 October 1918 , the squadron moved to Mudros on the island of Lemnos near the Dardanelles , but the Armistice of Mudros ended the war against the Ottoman Empire on 30 October . The squadron returned to the United Kingdom in December , disbanding at RAF Ford on 4 February 1919 . Reformation . No . 144 Squadron reformed on 11 January 1937 , when a flight from 101 Squadron , equipped with four Boulton & Paul Overstrand twin - engined bombers and based at RAF Bicester in Oxfordshire , was detached to form the cadre of the new squadron . 144 Squadron quickly received Avro Anson monoplanes to replace the obsolete Overstrand biplanes , and moved to RAF Hemswell in Linconshire on 8 February 1937 . It supplemented its Ansons with Hawker Audax biplanes in March before replacing both with more modern Bristol Blenheim I bombers in August that year . By now a part of 5 Group of Bomber Command , the squadron re - equipped with Handley Page Hampden s in March 1939 . Second World War . The squadron was still equipped with Hampdens on the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 , flying its first mission on 26 September , when it dispatched 12 aircraft to search for , and attack if found , German naval forces in the North Sea . On this occasion , however , it encountered no allowable targets . Three days later , the squadron sent out 11 aircraft over the Heligoland Bight in another search for German warships . The strike force split into two groups ; while one formation spotted but failed to hit two German destroyers , the second formation was intercepted by " Luftwaffe " Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters , which shot down all five Hampdens . The squadron started to fly night - time leaflet dropping raids over Germany from February 1940 , and on 6 March it flew its first bombing raid against a German land target , the seaplane base at Hörnum on the island of Sylt . The squadron continued to operate in the night bomber role through the rest of 1940 and 1941 . As a result of the Channel Dash in February 1942 , when the German battleships " Scharnhorst " and " Gneisenau " and the heavy cruiser " Prinz Eugen " managed to break the British blockade and sail from France through the English Channel to Germany , indicated to the RAF that their anti - shipping strike strength was inadequate , and it was decided to convert two Hampden squadrons to the torpedo bomber role , with 144 Squadron being one of the two chosen for conversion . The squadron transferred from Bomber Command to 18 Group Coastal Command on 21 April 1942 , moving to RAF Leuchars on the East coast of Scotland . It flew its first torpedo bomber mission on 27 July 1942 . In September 1942 , 32 Hampdens of 144 Squadron and 455 Squadron RAAF were sent to Murmansk in Northern Russia in order to support the Arctic convoy PQ 18 , and to attack any German warships that might sortie from bases in Norway against the convoy . The squadron lost 5 Hampdens on the flight to Russia , with a further four of 455 Squadron ' s also lost . The German surface warships did not attack PQ 18 , and the squadron ' s personnel returned to Britain aboard a cruiser in October , leaving its aircraft behind to be handed over to the Soviets . In January 1943 the Squadron converted to the more capable Bristol Beaufighter , staying in the torpedo bomber role . After working up , it transferred to Algeria in June 1943 , flying anti - shipping strikes over the Mediterranean until it returned to the United Kingdom in August . It continued anti - shipping operations over the North Sea from RAF Wick in Scotland , moving to RAF Davidstow Moor in Cornwall in May 1944 in preparation for Operation Overlord , the Allied invasion of Normandy , where it was tasked with protecting the invasion forces from German E - boats . It moved to RAF Strubby in Lincolnshire in July for operations against E - boats and German convoys off the Dutch coast . In September it moved to Banff , Aberdeenshireas part of the Banff Strike Wing , for operations off Norway . In January 1945 , the squadron abandoned the torpedo role , concentrating in anti - flak suppression for the Strike Wing . It disbanded on 25 May 1945 at RAF Dallachy . Missiles . On 1 December 1959 , the squadron reformed at RAF North Luffenham in Rutland , equipped with three Thor Intermediate - range ballistic missile s , supplied by the United States under Project Emily . The missiles were operated under a dual key system , with the British in control of the launch sequence , and the Americans responsible for arming the missiles nuclear warhead , giving each nation a veto on using the missiles . The squadron , along with the rest of the Thor force , was brought to full readiness during the Cuban missile crisis . The squadron disbanded on 23 August 1963 .