No. 252 Squadron was formed at Tynemouth on 1 May 1918 as a day bomber unit when four RNAS flights were amalgamated and was equipped with the Blackburn Kangaroo and DH.6s. One of these flights, No. 510 (Special Duty) Flight was posted to Redcar with its DH.6s for protection of shipping in the Teesport area until 21 January 1919.
The squadron was disbanded upon renumbering as No. 143 Squadron RAF on 15 June 1941 and re-established at Idku, Egypt on 14 Nov 1941. It then operated from Libya and various locations in Greece and was finally disbanded on 1 December 1946.
^C.G.Jefford (1988). RAF Squadrons. UK Airlife Publishing. ISBN1-85310-053-6.
Rawlings, John D. R. (1982). Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Limited. ISBN0-7106-0187-5.
Thomas, Andrew (13–26 May 1988). "Desert Beaus: No.252 Squadron, Royal Air Force". Aviation News. Vol. 16, no. 26. pp. 1201–1204.