No. 683 Squadron RAF

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No. 683 Squadron RAF was a squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

The squadron motto was Nihil Nos Latet (Nothing remains concealed).

The squadron was formed out of B Flight of No. 69 Squadron on 8 February 1944 at RAF Luqa in Malta, as a photo-reconnaissance squadron operating the Spitfire fighter.

The squadron added the Mosquito VI to its stength in May 1943 but they were only operated for a month. The squadron was involved in photo-reconnaissance mission over Sicily and Italy and later over Yugoslavia.

The squadron moved to San Severo in Italy and continued in support of the US 5th Army. As the war continued it was involved in both tactical and strategic reconnaissance, and was involved survey flight across southern Europe. In September 1944, the squadron re-equipped with Spitfire PR19 photo-reconnaissance aircraft.

Detachments from the squadron were based at a wide range of bases all across the Italian theatre of operations, with the squadron finally disbanding on 22 September 1945 at San Severo.

The squadron was re-formed on 1 November 1950 at Fayid, Egypt with the Avro Lancaster PR1. It was tasked with survey and mapping over Arabia and East Africa. In January 1952 the squadron moved to RAF Khormaksar, Aden to cover both Aden and Somaliland. Another move to RAF Habbaniya, Iraq allowed the squadron to survey and map the Persian Gulf.

With the survey and mapping role complete the squadron was disbanded at Habbaniya on 30 November 1953