| No. 36 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 18 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 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Motto(s) | Malay: Rajawali raja langit ("Eagle King of the Sky")[1] |
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.