A Return to Peace - The 1920s

Immediately after the war, however, it was decided by 'those on high' that the exemplary record of No 208 Squadron justified it being amongst the squadrons to survive the massive demobilisation of the armed forces after the Great War. Consequently, No 113 Squadron, stationed in Ismalia and still equipped with the RE8s it flew in the Palestine Campaign of the Great War against the Turkish 7th and 8th Armies, was renumbered as No 208. The new 'Naval 8' was commanded by Squadron Leader W J Y Guilfoyle and flew in the Army Cooperation role. The RE8 was, however, immediately due for replacement and, during October and November 1919, the Squadron was re-equipped with the Bristol Fighter, or 'Brisfit' as it was affectionately known (incidentally, 208 Squadron was the last RAF unit to operate the RE8 before it was finally scrapped in November 1919). The 'Brisfit, however, would remain in service with 208 Squadron for a whole decade, in the general purpose as well as the army cooperation role.

Barely had the Squadron settled in at Ismalia when Kemal Ataturk, the Turkish dissident, drove the Greeks into the sea as he advanced on Constantinople in his drive to establish the republic of Turkey. So began the Chanak Crisis, in which the RAF formed an Air Arm to help the Greeks stem the Turkish advance. No 208 Squadron became part of this Air Arm, setting up base in San Stefano in September 1922, where it shared facilities with Nos 1, 4, 25 and 207 Squadrons. On 5 October, the Squadron began its reconnaissance work and there were times that the mud at San Stefano was said to be so dangerous that the only aircraft able to operate were the 'Brisfits' of Nos 4 and 208 Squadrons. Strategic and photo reconnaissances were made of the forward Turkish positions and messages were dropped to the British Cavalry Corps. This was continued until hostilities ceased, by which time the Turkish General Ismet admitted that the British knew more about the disposition of Turkish troops than he did. During this period in Turkey, 208 Squadron also carried out further experiments, one of which was a naval idea, which involved trying to bomb a running torpedo. However, with the signing of the Armistice in Switzerland in August 1923, 208's stay in Turkey came to an end and, on 26th September 1923, the Squadron returned to Ismalia. It is perhaps of interest to note that one of 208 Squadron's Bristol Fighters at this time was D8096, which is the last remaining 'Brisfit' to fly and is now part of the Shuttleworth Collection.

The rest of the 1920s were relatively peaceful for 208 Squadron, although there was the occasional detachment to deal with minor, local troubles. For example, a flight of 'Brisfits' was sent to Khartoum in 1924 to help stabilise political unrest there. For the most part, however, peacetime flying involved the maintenance of a high standard of training and involvement in regular exercises. In October 1927, the Squadron moved to Heliopolis near Cairo and took part in experiments with airborne radio that helped bring this new technological development into operational service. In 1929, 208 Squadron moved to Palestine and was based at Ramleh for policing operations during the Arab-Jewish disturbances of the time. During this time, the Squadron's aircraft were decorated with the 4 different suits of playing cards, usually on the fin.