History
No. XIII Squadron formed at Gosport on 10 January 1915 and operated in France, initially on Army Co-operation duties and subsequently on bombing raids, pioneering formation bombing. Aircraft types operated during the war included the Martinsyde G.100, the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2, the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8, both the SPAD VII and SPAD XIII, and the Sopwith Dolphin.
The inter-war years saw the squadron operating a variety of aircraft types in England. By the autumn of 1939 the Sqn was equipped with Lysanders and operated in France until May 1940 when No. XIII Squadron changed role and theatre, flying a variety of bomber aircraft in the Mediterranean until the end of the War. Peace heralded the return to reconnaissance duties, originally with Mosquitos then Meteors and Canberras, operating from, Egypt, Cyprus and Malta. In 1978 the Sqn returned to the UK, flying PR9 Canberras, built by Short Brothers, until the unit disbanded in 1982, creating an 8-year hiatus in its 91-year history.
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