No. 36 Squadron RAF

No. 36 Squadron RAF
Active18 March 1916 (RFC),
1 April 1918 (RAF) to 13 June 1919
1 October 1928 – 8 March 1942
22 October 1942 – 4 June 1945
1 October 1946 – 15 October 1947
1 July 1953 – 28 February 1957
1 September 1958 – 3 November 1975
CountryUnited Kingdom
BranchRoyal Air Force
Motto(s)Malay: Rajawali raja langit
("Eagle King of the Sky")

No. 36 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps (later the Royal Air Force) was formed in 1916 at Cramlington Aerodrome, just north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in order to defend a section of the North East coast from German Zeppelin attacks at night. Disbanded shortly after the end of WWI, it was reformed as a torpedo bomber unit and served in Singapore and Burma (now Myanmar) in the 1930s, seeing action in 1941–42 when Japan entered the war. After re-equipping with Vickers Wellingtons, it served the remainder of the war as an anti-submarine unit, in the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, and later in UK home waters. After WWII the squadron operated intermittently in various roles, including maritime reconnaissance, and later as a transport unit flying C-130 Hercules until it was disbanded for the last time in 1975.