No. 161 Squadron RAF

No. 161 Squadron RAF
Active9 May 1918 - 17 August 1918
15 February 1942 – 2 June 1945
CountryUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
Motto(s)Liberate[1]
Insignia
Squadron badge heraldryAn open fetterlock
Squadron codesMA Feb 1942 - 1945
JR Apr 1944 - 1945 (Lysander Flight only)

No. 161 (Special Duties) Squadron was a highly secretive unit of the Royal Air Force, performing missions as part of the Royal Air Force Special Duties Service. It was tasked with missions of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) during the Second World War. Their primary role was to drop and collect secret agents and equipment into and from Nazi-occupied Europe. The squadron had a secondary role in acting as the King's Flight.

  1. ^ Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 129. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.