| Unit Name: | No. 213 (Ceylon) Squadron RAF |
| Dates: | 1 April 1918 - 31 December 1919 8 March 1937 - 30 September 1954 1 September 1955 – 31 December 1969 |
| Branch: | Royal Air Force |
| Nickname: | The Hornets (1918) Ceylon |
| Motto: | Irritatus Lacessit Crabro Latin: "The Hornet Attacks When Roused"[1] |
| Battle Honours: | Western Front 1914-1948*; Channel and North Sea 1939-1940; France and the Low Countries 1939-1940*; Dunkirk*; Battle of Britain 1940*; Home defence 1940-1945; Egypt and Libya 1940-1943*; Syria 1941*; El Alamein*; Mediterranean 1942-1943; South East Europe 1942-1945* Honours marked with an asterisk are emblazoned on the Squadron Standard[2] |
| Identification Symbol: | A Hornet |
| Identification Symbol Label: | Squadron Badge |
| Identification Symbol 2: | AK (Apr 1939 - Jan 1950)[3] |
| Identification Symbol 2 Label: | Squadron Codes |
No. 213 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. The squadron was formed on 1 April 1918 from No. 13 (Naval) Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service.[4] This RNAS squadron was itself formed on 15 January 1918 from the Seaplane Defence Flight which, since its creation in June 1917, had had the task of defending the seaplanes which flew out of Dunkirk.
Formed originally from the Seaplane Defence Flight, which was itself founded in June 1917 at Dunkirk, it was reorganized as No. 13 Squadron RNAS on 15 January 1918. As the SDF, it operated Sopwith Pups. When the Royal Naval Air Service merged with the Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force, it was renumbered as 213 Squadron.[5] In this incarnation, it flew Sopwith Baby floatplanes and transitioned to Sopwith Camels. It was during this time that the squadron derived its Hornet insignia and motto for the squadron badge, after overhearing a Belgian General refer to the squadron's defence of his trenches, "Like angry hornets attacking the enemy aircraft". The Hornet became affectionately known as "Crabro," Latin for hornet. The squadron's official motto became, "Irritatus Lacessit Crabro" (The Hornet Attacks When Roused).[6] In March 1919 the squadron went back to the UK where it disbanded on 31 December 1919.[4]
During its wartime existence, the squadron had 14 flying aces serve with it, including such notables as;[5] John Edmund Greene, Colin Brown, George Chisholm MacKay, Leonard Slatter, Maurice Cooper, Miles Day, Ronald Graham, John Paynter, John Pinder, and George Stacey Hodson.
The squadron was reformed on 8 March 1937 flying Gloster Gauntlet IIs, converting to Hawker Hurricanes in January 1939 and flew throughout the war. It participated as part of the British Expeditionary Force; then at Dunkirk; the Battle of Britain and finally in the Middle East as part of the Desert Air Force. It also flew Supermarine Spitfires and North American Mustangs.
After the war, the squadron remained in the Middle East, first flying Hawker Tempests and then de Havilland Vampires. It was stationed at Deversoir in the Suez Canal Zone from October 1948 till its disbandment there on 30 September 1954.
The squadron reformed once again on 1 September 1955 as an English Electric Canberra squadron, specialising in low level interdiction missions. It was the only squadron to fly the Canberra B(I).6 variant, still with the "Crabro" insignia adorning the tail fin, first from RAF Ahlhorn and later from RAF Bruggen, while a detachment was for a short time in 1956 stationed at Valkenburg Naval Air Base in the Netherlands.[7] The squadron finally disbanded on 31 December 1969.[4]
| From | To | Aircraft | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 1918 | December 1919 | Camel | F1 |
| March 1937 | February 1939 | Gauntlet | Mk.II |
| January 1939 | February 1942 | Hurricane | Mk.I |
| August 1941 | March 1944 | Hurricane | Mks.IIa, IIc |
| February 1944 | May 1944 | Spitfire | Mk.Vc |
| February 1944 | June 1944 | Spitfire | Mk.IX |
| May 1944 | February 1947 | Mustang | Mk.III |
| February 1945 | February 1947 | Mustang | Mk.IV |
| January 1947 | January 1950 | Tempest | F.6 |
| November 1949 | April 1952 | Vampire | FB.5 |
| April 1952 | September 1954 | Vampire | FB.9 |
| March 1956 | December 1969 | Canberra | B(I).6 |
| From | To | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 3 July 1917 | 21 November 1918 | S/Cdr. R. Graham |
| 21 November 1918 | 31 December 1919 | Maj. A.G. Tayler |
| 3 May 1937 | 27 May 1940 | S/Ldr. J.H. Edwardes Jones |
| 27 May 1940 | 25 August 1940 | S/Ldr. H. McGregor, DSO |
| 25 August 1940 | 14 November 1941 | S/Ldr. D.S. MacDonald |
| 14 November 1941 | 16 January 1942 | S/Ldr. R. Lockhart |
| 16 January 1942 | 18 May 1942 | S/Ldr. G.V.W. Kettlewell |
| 18 May 1942 | 12 October 1942 | S/Ldr. M.H. Young, DFC |
| 12 October 1942 | 1 January 1943 | S/Ldr. P. Olver |
| 1 January 1943 | 24 August 1943 | S/Ldr. V.C. Woodward, DFC |
| 24 August 1943 | 16 September 1944 | S/Ldr. S.R. Whiting, DFC |
| 16 September 1944 | 17 December 1944 | S/Ldr. C.S. Vos, DFC |
| 17 December 1944 | 17 January 1946 | S/Ldr. P.E. Vaughan-Fowler, DFC & Bar |
| 17 January 1946 | 4 November 1946 | S/Ldr. R.S. Nash, DFC |
| 4 November 1946 | 2 January 1947 | S/Ldr. M.C. Wells |
| 2 January 1947 | 18 March 1948 | S/Ldr. D.C. Colebrook |
| 18 March 1948 | 18 April 1949 | S/Ldr. P.J. Kelley, DFC |
| 18 April 1949 | 14 September 1951 | S/Ldr. D.J.A. Roe, DSO, DFC |
| 14 September 1951 | 31 March 1954 | S/Ldr. D.M. Finn, DFC |
| 31 March 1954 | 30 September 1954 | S/Ldr. A.J.H. Kitley |
| 1 September 1954 | 29 December 1957 | W/Cdr. H.J. Dodson, AFC |
| 29 December 1957 | 10 August 1959 | W/Cdr. I.R. Campbell, AFC |
| 10 August 1959 | 7 June 1961 | W/Cdr. P.T. Bayley |
| 7 June 1961 | 24 April 1964 | W/Cdr. S. Slater, DSO, OBE, DFC & Bar |
| 24 April 1964 | 13 June 1966 | W/Cdr. R.H. Arscott |
| 13 June 1966 | 23 May 1968 | W/Cdr. T.E. Benson |
| 23 May 1968 | 31 December 1969 | W/Cdr. M.R.T. Chandler |