*Note: It is debatable whether the Squadron had officially transferred to Coastal Command by and on the dates given above. "Official" records seem to show that the dates above are correct... but the Sqaudron ORB shows that it occurred not in July 1940, but in April 1941. If it is considered, that the Squadron pilots who flew missions during the Battle of Britain where initially eligible for the Battle of Britain Bar, then it would stand to reason that at this time, 59 Squadron were still under the control of Fighter Command as an Army Co-Operation unit. It wasn't until the list of squadrons eligible for this award was revised in 1960, that 59 Squadron was taken off this list and the 59 pilots had their awards shamefully revoked... I believe that part of this process was reviewing the dates that 59 Squadron was transferred. It is highly likely in my mind, that the time frame in which 59 was "unofficially" transferred to Coastal Command, became the "official" record.. thus stating that during the Battle of Britain, 59 was not under the control of Fighter Command, and therefore not eligible on two fronts... first being the above mentioned and second that they were not a Fighter Squadron...

During WWII, the RAF used three-letter codes to identify their aircraft from a distance. Two large letters were painted before the roundel, which signified the squadron to which the aircraft belonged, and another letter was painted after the roundel which indicated the individual aircraft. Aditionally, there was the individual serial number for each aircraft, which was painted in a much smaller size, usually somewhere at the rear of the aircraft: (more)

Codes used by RAF 59 Squadron:

PJ Sep 1938 - Sep 1939
TR Sep 1939 - Oct 1942
1 Aug 1943 - Jul 1944
WE Jul 1944 - Oct 1945
BY Oct 1945 - Jun 1946, Dec 1947 - Oct 1950