RAF Squadrons in September 1939
Aircrafts and bases of the Royal Air Force

By the outbreak of World War Two, most RAF squadrons had modern equipment, the breathing space given by the Munich agreement having given time for the introduction of vital Hurricanes and Spitfires into Fighter Command squadrons. In September 1939, the RAF had 10,208 aircraft in service, approximately 3,500 being in operational units. Of the latter number, about half were modern.
Two groups of squadrons were despatched to France on the outbreak of war. One was the Advanced Air Striking Force and consisted of ten squadrons of Fairey Battles and two Hurricane squadrons. Based on airfields around Reims, the AASF was positioned to allow its short-range aircraft to operate over Germany. Conversion to Blenheims was in progress when the German invasion came in May 1940 and most of the AASF's obsolescent Battles were destroyed in the ensuing few weeks.
The second force to go to France was the Air Component of the British Expeditionary Force, consisting of five squadrons of Lysanders for army cooperation and four of Hurricanes. Its airfields were overrun in the early stages of the German attack and its squadrons retired to bases in southern England.

Active RAF Squadrons in September 1939:

Squadron	Base	Aircrafts		Squadron	Base	Aircrafts
No. 1	Tangmere (Sep 9 France)	Hurricane		No. 2	Hawking (Oct 6 France)	Lysander
No. 3	Croydon	Hurricane		No. 4	Odiham (Sep 24 France)	Lysander
No. 5	Risalpur, India	Wapiti IIA		No. 6	Ramleh (Palestine)	Hardy, Gauntlet, Lysander
No. 7	Doncaster	Anson, Hampden		No. 8	Khormaskar (Aden)	Vincent, Blenheim
No. 9	Honington	Wellington		No. 10	Dishforth	Whitley
No. 11	Tengah (Egypt)	Blenheim		No. 12	Berry-au-Bac (France)	Battle
No. 13	Odiham (Oct 2 France)	Lysander		No. 14	Ismalia (Egypt)	Wellesley
No. 15	Betheniville (France)	Battle		No. 16	Old Sarum	Lysander
No. 17	Croydon	Hurricane		No. 18	Upper Heyford	Blenheim
No. 19	Duxford	Spitfire		No. 20	Miramshah (India)	Audax
No. 21	Watton	Bleinheim		No. 22	Thorney Island	Vildebeest
No. 23	Wittering	Blenheim IF		No. 24	Hendon	various communication types
No. 25	Northolt	Blenheim IF, IVF		No. 26	Catterick (Oct 8 France)	Lysander
No. 27	Kohat (India)	Wapiti		No. 28	Kohat (India)	Audax
No. 29	Debden	Blenheim IF		No. 30	Ismalia (Egypt)	Blenheim I, IF
No. 31	Peshawar (India)	Valentia		No. 32	Biggin Hill	Hurricane
No. 33	Mersa Matruh (Egypt)	Gladiator		No. 34	Singapore	Blenheim
No. 35	Cranfield	Battle, Anson		No. 36	Seletar (Malaya)	Vildebeest
No. 37	Feltwell	Wellington		No. 38	Marham	Wellington
No. 39	Singapore	Blenheim		No. 40	Betheniville (France)	Battle
No. 41	Catterick (since Sep 25)	Spitfire		No. 42	Bircham Newton	Vildebeest
No. 43	Tangmere	Hurricane		No. 44	Waddington	Hampden
No. 45	Fuka (Sudan)	Blenheim		No. 46	Digby	Hurricane
No. 47	Khartoum (Sudan)	Vincent, Wellesley		No. 48	Thorney Island	Anson
No. 49	Scampton	Hampden		No. 50	Waddington	Hampden
No. 51	Linton-on-Ouse	Whitley		No. 52	Alconbury	Battle, Anson
No. 53	Odiham (Sep 18 France)	Blenheim		No. 54	Hornchurch	Spitfire
No. 55	Ismalia (Egypt)	Blenheim		No. 56	Biggin Hill	Hurricane
No. 57	Upper Heyford (Sep 24 France)	Blenheim		No. 58	Linton-on-Ouse	Whitley
No. 59	Andover (Oct 12 France)	Blenheim		No. 60	Ambala (India)	Blenheim
No. 61	Hemswell	Hampden		No. 62	Singapore (since Sep 22)	Blenheim
No. 63	Upwood	Battle, Anson		No. 64	Church Fenton	Blenheim IF
No. 65	Hornchurch	Spitfire		No. 66	Duxford	Spitfire
No. 70	Habbaniya (Egypt)	Valentia		No. 72	Church Fenton	Spitfire
No. 73	Digby (Sep 9 France)	Hurricane		No. 74	Hornchurch	Spitfire
No. 75	Harwell	Anson, Wellington		No. 76	Finningley	Hampden, Anson
No. 77	Driffield	Whitley		No. 78	Ternhill	Whitley
No. 79	Biggin Hill	Hurricane		No. 80	Amrya (Egypt)	Gladiator
No. 82	Watton	Blenheim		No. 83	Scampton	Hampden
No. 84	Shaibah (Iraq)	Blenheim		No. 85	Debden (Sep 9 France)	Hurricane
No. 87	Debden (Sep 9 France)	Hurricane		No. 88	Auberive (France)	Battle
No. 90	West Raynham	Blenheim		No. 94	Sheikh Othman (Aden)	Gladiator
No. 97	Leconfield	Whitley		No. 98	Hucknall	Battle
No. 99	Mildenhall	Wellington		No. 100	Seletar (Singapore)	Vildebeest
No. 101	West Raynham	Blenheim		No. 102	Driffield	Whitley
No. 103	Challerange (France)	Battle		No. 104	Bassingbourn	Blenheim
No. 105	Reims (France)	Battle		No. 106	Cottesmore	Hampden
No. 107	Wattisham	Blenheim		No. 108	Bassingbourn	Blenheim
No. 110	Wattisham	Blenheim		No. 111	Northolt	Hurricane
No. 112	Helwan (Egypt)	Gladiator		No. 113	Heliopolis (Egypt)	Blenheim
No. 114	Wyton	Blenheim		No. 115	Marham	Wellington
No. 139	Wyton (Dec 2, France)	Blenheim		No. 142	Berry-au-Bac (France)	Battle
No. 144	Hemswell	Hampden		No. 148	Harwell	Wellington, Anson
No. 149	Mildenhall	Wellington		No. 150	Challerange (France)	Battle
No. 151	North Weald	Hurricane		No. 166	Leconfield	Whitley
No. 185	Cottesmore	Hampden, Hereford		No. 201	Invergordon	London
No. 202	Gibraltar	London		No. 203	(Aden)	Singapore
No. 204	Mount Batten	Sunderland		No. 205	Seletar (Ceylon)	Singapore
No. 206	Bircham Newton	Anson		No. 207	Cranfield	Battle, Anson
No. 208	Qasaba (Egypt)	Lysander		No. 209	Invergordon	Stranrear
No. 210	Pembroke Dock	Sunderland		No. 211	El Daba (Egypt)	Blenheim
No. 213	Wittering	Hurricane		No. 214	Merhwold	Wellington
No. 215	Honington	Harrow, Wellington		No. 216	Heliopolis (Egypt)	Valentia, Bombay
No. 217	St.Eval	Anson	No. 218	Suippes (France)	Battle
No. 220	Thornaby	Anson, Hudson	No. 223	Nairobi (Kenya)	Wellesley
No. 224	Leuchars	Hudson	No. 226	Reims (France)	Battle
No. 228	Pembroke Dock (since Sep 10)	Sunderland	No. 230	Seletar (Singapore)	Sunderland
No. 233	Leucchars	Anson, Hudson	No. 240	Invergordon	London
No. 269	Montrose	Anson	No. 273	China Bay (Ceylon)	Vildebeest
No. 500	Detling	Anson	No. 501	Filton	Hurricane
No. 502	Aldergrove	Anson	No. 504	Digby	Hurricane
No. 600	Hornchurch	Blenheim IF	No. 601	Biggin Hill	Blenheim IF
No. 602	Abbottinch	Spitfire	No. 603	Turnhouse	Gladiator, Spitfire
No. 604	North Weald	Blenheim IF	No. 605	Tangmere	Gladiator, Hurricane
No. 607	Usworth	Gladiator	No. 608	Thornaby	Anson
No. 609	Catterick	Spitfire	No. 610	Hooton Park	Spitfire
No. 611	Duxford	Spitfire	No. 612	Dyce	Hector, Anson
No. 613	Ringway	Hind	No. 614	Odiham	Hector
No. 615	Croydon (Nov 15, France)	Gladiator	No. 616	Doncaster	Gauntlet, Battle

Overview of RAF squadrons equipment and location:

Aircraft	UK	France	Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Iraq	India	Aden	Singapore, Malaya	Gibraltar	Kenya	Total
Hurricane	12	4							16
Spitfire	11								11
Gladiator	4		3		1				8
Blenheim IF	7								7
Hind	1								1
Hector	1								1
Vildebeest	2			1		1			4
Wellesley			2			1		1	4
Blenheim	11	3	7	1	1	3			26
Battle	6	10							16
Wapiti				2					2
Bombay			1						1
Whitley	8								8
Hampden	10								10
Wellington	7								7
Hudson	2								2
Anson	10								10
Lysander	1	4	2						7
Audax				2					2
Valentia			1	1					2
Stranrear	1								1
London	2						1		3
Singapore				1	1	-			2
Sunderland	3					1			4
Total	99	21	16	8	3	6	1	1	155