No. 1 Squadron RAF
No. 1 (F) Squadron RAF | |
---|---|
Latin for 'First in all things')[1] | |
Aircraft | Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 |
Insignia | |
Squadron tail badge | |
Squadron badge heraldry | A winged numeral "1". Approved by King Edward VIII in July 1936 as the authorised version of a badge which had originated during the First World War. |
Post 1950 squadron roundel | |
Squadron Codes | NA (Nov 1938 – Sep 1939)[2][3] JX (Sep 1939 – Apr 1951)[4][5] FA–FZ (Present) |
Number 1 Squadron, also known as No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to fly a VTOL aircraft.[6] It currently operates Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth.[6]
The squadron motto, In omnibus princeps ("First in all things") reflects the squadron's status as the RAF's oldest unit, having been involved in almost every major British military operation from the
History
1878 to 1918
No. 1 Squadron's origins go back to 1878 when its predecessor, No. 1 Balloon Company, was formed at the
On 13 May 1912, with the establishment of the
On 1 May 1914, Major Charles Longcroft was appointed as the new squadron commander. Apart from a few weeks as a supernumerary in August and September 1914, Longcroft continued as the squadron commander until January 1915.[10]
The squadron was reformed as an aircraft squadron in August 1914, and equipped with a mixture of
The obsolete Nieuports were replaced by more modern S.E.5as in January 1918. On incorporation into the RAF on 1 April 1918 the squadron kept its numeral; No 1 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was displaced to become No. 201 Squadron RAF.[note 1]
No. 1 Squadron had among its ranks no fewer than 31
Between the wars
The squadron returned to the UK from France in March 1919, being formally disbanded on 20 January 1920. On the next day it reformed at
In early 1927 it was reformed at RAF Tangmere, Sussex as a Home Defence Fighter Squadron, equipped with the Armstrong Whitworth Siskin.[23] After receiving the Hawker Fury Mk.1 in February 1932, the squadron gained a reputation for aerobatics, giving displays throughout the United Kingdom and at the Zürich International Air Meeting in July 1937, where its display impressed but it was clear that it was outclassed by the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Dornier Do 17 also displayed at Zurich. The squadron re-equipped with the Hawker Hurricane Mk.I in October 1938.[25]
Second World War
On the outbreak of the
In August 1940 the squadron entered the Battle of Britain and was heavily engaged until 9 September, when the squadron was transferred to No. 12 Group and sent to RAF Wittering to refit, rest and recuperate.[28]
It returned to No. 11 Group in early 1941 and was employed in fighter sweeps and bomber escort duties. In February, it began "Rhubarb" (low-level sweeps over occupied territory) and night flying missions, and was re-equipped with the Hurricane IIA. In this period its pilots included Karel Kuttelwascher DFC, who was the RAF's highest-scoring night intruder pilot and highest-scoring Free Czechoslovak pilot.[29]
The squadron carried out night intruder patrols until July 1942, when it was re-equipped with the Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber and relocated to RAF Acklington, Northumberland where it reverted to daytime operations.[28]
The squadron was equipped with the
Post-War
In 1946, the Squadron returned to Tangmere and took delivery of its first jet aircraft, the Gloster Meteor. In October 1948, Major Robin Olds, USAF, under the U.S. Air Force/Royal Air Force exchange program, was posted in and flying the Gloster Meteor jet fighter. He eventually served as commander of the Squadron at RAF Station Tangmere, an unusual posting for a non-commonwealth foreigner in peacetime.[30]
The Squadron was then equipped with the
Harrier
Under the command of Squadron Leader Bryan Baker, the squadron became the world's first operator of a
No. 1 Squadron left the "home of the Harrier" at
The squadron was awarded a battle honour in March 2020, recognising its role in the War in Afghanistan.[40]
One outcome of the Strategic Defence and Security Review by the coalition government in 2010 was the decision to take the RAF's Harriers out of service almost immediately. All Harrier units, including No. 1 (F) Squadron, ceased Harrier flying on 15 December 2010, with No. 1 (F) Squadron formally disbanding on 28 January 2011.[6]
Typhoon
On 15 September 2012, the squadron reformed on the Eurofighter Typhoon at RAF Leuchars.[41][42] The squadron participated in multiple exercises in foreign countries including Exercise Shaheen Star in the United Arab Emirates during January 2013 and Exercise Bersama Shield in Malaysia during March 2013.[43]
On 8 September 2014, No. 1 (F) Squadron relocated to
On 14 November 2019 the squadron deployed 4 fighters to
Aircraft operated
- Avro 504 (1915–1916)
- B.E.8 (1915–1916)
- Morane Parasol (1915–1916)
- Nieuport 17 (1916–1917)
- Nieuport 27 (1917–1918)
- SE5a (1918–1920)
- Sopwith Snipe (1920–1927)
- Armstrong Whitworth Siskin (1927–1933)
- Hawker Fury (1933–1937)
- Hawker Hurricane (1937–1943)
- Hawker Typhoon (1943–1944)
- Supermarine Spitfire (1944–1950)
- Gloster Meteor F.8 (1950–1957)
- Hawker Hunter F.5/F.6/FGA.9/T.7 (1957–1970)
- Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.1 and GR.3 (1969–1989)
- British Aerospace Harrier GR5, GR7 and GR9(1988–2010)
- Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 (2012 – present)
-
Men of the Royal Flying Corps beside an Avro 504.
-
A Royal Flying Corps Nieuport 23 in 1917.
-
S.E.5a fighters and pilots of No. 1 Squadron at Clairmarais aerodrome, July 1918.
-
Hawker Hurricane Mk I, N2358 Z, of No. 1 Squadron is refuelled while undergoing an engine check at Vassincourt, France, during 1940.
-
Hawker Typhoon IB R8752 of No. 1 Squadron, written-off after crash-landing in a field near its base at Lympne on 2 June 1943.
-
A Hawker Hunter T7 in No. 1 Squadron markings during the late 1950s.
-
British Aerospace Harrier GR5 ZD355 '01' of No. 1 Squadron seen at Royal International Air Tattoo in 1989.
Battle honours
No. 1 Squadron has received the following
- Western Front (1915–1918)*
- Ypres (1915)*
- Neuve Chapelle (1915)
- Loos (1915)
- Somme (1916)
- Arras (1917)
- Ypres (1917)
- Lys (1918)
- Amiens (1918)
- Somme (1918)
- Hindenburg Line (1916–1917)
- Independent Force and Germany (1918)*
- Kurdistan (1922–1925)
- Iraq (1923–1925)
- France and Low Countries (1939–1940)*
- Battle of Britain (1940)*
- Channel and North Sea (1941–1945)
- Home Defence (1940–1945)
- Fortress Europe (1941–1944)*
- Arnhem (1944)*
- Normandy (1944)
- France and Germany (1944–1945)*
- Biscay (1944–1945)
- Rhine(1945)
- South Atlantic (1982)*
- Kosovo (1999)*
- Iraq(2003)*
Commanding officers
List of commanding officers of No. 1 Squadron, including date of appointment, sourced from Halley,[14] Shaw[48][49] and Franks & O'Connor.[50]
- E M Maitland(13 May 1912)
- Major C A H Longcroft (1 May 1914)
- Major W G H Salmond (28 January 1915)
- Major P B Joubert de la Ferté (19 August 1915)
- Major G F Pretyman (24 November 1915)
- Major G C St P de Dombasle (24 December 1916)
- Major A Barton-Adams (20 June 1917)
- Major W E Young (3 August 1918)
- Squadron LeaderJ O Andrews (21 January 1920)
- Squadron Leader J B Graham (18 September 1920)
- Squadron Leader G G A Williams (10 November 1922)
- Squadron Leader E O Grenfell (8 October 1923)
- Squadron Leader E D Atkinson (25 May 1924)
- Squadron Leader C.N. Lowe (19 April 1926)
- Squadron Leader E D Atkinson (11 April 1927)
- Squadron Leader E O Grenfell (19 March 1928)
- Squadron Leader C B S Spackman (27 July 1931)
- Squadron Leader R W Chappell (21 November 1933)
- Squadron Leader C W Hill(1 October 1934)
- Flight Lieutenant T N McEvoy (acting) (31 January 1936)[51]
- Squadron Leader C W Hill (1 December 1936)
- Squadron Leader F R D Swain (12 April 1937)
- Squadron Leader I A Bertram (15 January 1938)
- Squadron Leader P J H Halahan (17 April 1939)
- Squadron Leader D A Pemberton (24 May 1940)
- Squadron Leader M H Brown (10 November 1940)
- Squadron Leader R E P Brooker (23 April 1941)
- Squadron Leader J A F MacLachlan (3 November 1941)
- Squadron Leader R C Wilkinson (31 July 1942)
- Squadron Leader A Zweigbergh (30 May 1943)
- Squadron Leader J Checketts (3 April 1944)
- Squadron Leader H P Lardner-Burke (29 April 1944)
- Squadron Leader D G S R Cox (11 January 1945)
- Squadron Leader R S Nash (21 April 1945)
- Squadron Leader H R Allen (9 January 1946)
- Squadron Leader C H MacFie (26 October 1946)
- Flight Lieutenant N H D Ramsey (acting) (7 May 1947)
- Squadron Leader T R Burne (15 July 1947)
- Major USAF) (4 February 1949)
- Squadron Leader T R Burne (1 October 1949)
- Major D F Smith (USAF) (10 January 1950)
- Squadron Leader J L W Ellacombe (18 August 1950)
- Squadron Leader R B Morison (21 November 1952)
- Squadron Leader D I Smith (27 July 1953)
- Squadron Leader F W Lister (1 December 1953)
- Flight Lieutenant H Irving (acting) (1 June 1955)
- Squadron Leader R S Kingsford (8 August 1956)
- Squadron Leader L de Garis, AFC (5 July 1958)
- Squadron Leader J J Phipps (1 December 1958)
- Squadron Leader P V Pledger (1 January 1961)
- Squadron Leader F L Travers-Smith (1 January 1963)
- Squadron Leader D C G Brook (28 December 1964)
- Squadron Leader G. Jones (1 November 1966)
- Squadron Leader L A B Baker (20 September 1968)
- Wing CommanderJ A Mansell (10 April 1969)
- Squadron Leader L A B Baker (21 May 1969)
- Wing Commander D Allison (4 August 1969)
- Squadron Leader L A B Baker (October 1969)
- Wing Commander K W Hayr (1 January 1970)
- Wing Commander E J E Smith (6 January 1972)
- Wing Commander P P W Taylor (3 December 1973)
- Wing Commander J G Saye (9 July 1976)
- Wing Commander R B Duckett (17 July 1978)
- Wing Commander P T Squire (26 March 1981)
- Wing Commander J D L Feesey (23 December 1983)
- Wing Commander I M Stewart (13 June 1986)
- Wing Commander I R Harvey (3 October 1988)
- Wing Commander C C N Burwell (17 May 1991)
- Wing Commander D Walker (29 April 1994)
- Wing Commander M A Leakey (18 March 1996)
- Wing Commander I Cameron (acting) (26 November 1997)
- Wing Commander A Golledge (9 January 1998)
- Wing Commander S M Bell (26 October 1999)
- Wing Commander M E Sampson (June 2004)[52]
- Wing Commander K A Lewis (1 November 2006)
- Wing Commander D F Haines (31 October 2008)
- Wing Commander M Flewin (15 September 2012)[42]
- Wing Commander M Sutton (9 October 2014)
See also
Notes
- ^ The war diary of No. 1 Squadron held by the Australian War Memorial, starts in January 1918.
References
Citations
- ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 11.
- ^ Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 51.
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 59.
- ^ Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 81.
- ^ a b c d "Squadron Histories 1-5". Air of Authority. 2014. Archived from the original on 1 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ a b "History of 1(F) Squadron". raf.mod.uk. 2014. Archived from the original on 3 October 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ "The "R.38" Disaster: Those who Perished: Air Commodore E.M. Maitland, C.M.G., D.S.O". Flight. Vol. XIII, no. 35. 1 September 1921. p. 591. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
{{cite magazine}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ISBN 0-11-771224-8.
- ^ "C. A. H. Longcroft". Air of Authority. 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ a b c Halley 1971, p.10.
- ^ Franks and O'Connor 2000, pp.3, 7
- ^ Franks and O'Connor 2000, pp. 3–4
- ^ a b c Halley 1971, p. 28.
- ^ Franks and O'Connor 2000, p. 5
- ^ Franks and O'Connor 2000, pp. 7, 9
- ^ Bruce 1982, pp. 290, 292, 294, 296
- ^ Franks and O'Connor 2000, p. 8
- ^ Bruce 1982, pp. 305, 312
- ^ Bruce 1982, p. 295
- ^ Shores, Franks & Guest 1990, p. 30
- ^ Halley 1971, p.12.
- ^ a b Halley 1971, p.15.
- ^ Halley 1971, pp.12–15.
- ^ Halley 1971, p.16.
- ^ Halley 1971, p.20.
- ^ Halley 1971, pp. 20–21.
- ^ a b "No. 1 Squadron : Second World War". History of War. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ "Karel Kuttelwascher – One of the Few". Free Czechoslovak Air Force. 1 January 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-312-97962-1
- ^ "No. 263 Squadron". RAF Museum. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ "Jever Steam Laundry – 4 Sqn personnel Pollock 004". Rafjever.org. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
- ^ Ashworth 1989, p.26.
- ^ Evans 1998, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Evans 1998, p.123.
- ^ "Defence of the Realm". BBC. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- ^ "Britain's best in Kosovo action". BBC. 16 April 1999. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
- S2CID 116935794.
- ^ Lord Drayson, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (9 June 2005). "Battle and Theatre Honours". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords.
- ^ "RAF Squadrons Receive Battle Honours from Her Majesty The Queen". Royal Air Force. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ "Typhoon Growth Continues with Reformation of No1(F) Squadron". raf.mod.uk. RAF. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Typhoon Force Grows as Historic Squadron Reforms at Leuchars". raf.mod.uk. 15 September 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ Air Forces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. April 2013. p. 9.
- ^ "Typhoon aircraft relocate to RAF Lossiemouth". gov.uk. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ "RAF Lossiemouth – RAF Station homepage". raf.mod.uk. 2014. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ "RAF deploys Typhoons to Iceland | Jane's 360". www.janes.com. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ^ "1 (Fighter) Squadron". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ Shaw 1971, pp.245–246.
- ^ Shaw 1986, p. 188.
- ^ Franks and O'Connor 2000, p. 244.
- ^ "T. N. McEvoy". Air of Authority. 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ "UK's Ministry of Defence appoints a new defence senior military adviser to Middle East and North Africa". zaywa. 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2021.
Bibliography
- Ashworth, Chris. Encyclopedia of Modern Royal Air Force Squadrons. Wellingborough, UK:PSL, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-013-6.
- Bowyer, Michael J.F and John D.R. Rawlings. Squadron Codes, 1937–56. Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-85059-364-6.
- Bruce, J. M. The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing). London: Putnam, 1982. ISBN 0-370-30084-X.
- Evans, Andy. BAE/McDonnell Douglas Harrier. Malborough, Wiltshire, UK: The Crowood Press, 1998. ISBN 1-86126-105-5.
- Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. Combat Codes: A Full Explanation and Listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied Air Force Unit Codes Since 1938. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlif Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-84037-281-8.
- Franks, Norman and Mike O'Connor. Number One in War and Peace: The History of No. 1 Squadron, 1912–2000. London: Grub Street, 2000. ISBN 1-902304-55-1.
- Halley, James J. Famous Fighter Squadrons of the RAF: Volume 1. Windsor, UK: Hylton Lacey, 1971. ISBN 0-85064-100-4.
- Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
- Jefford, C.G. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing, 1998 (second edition 2001). ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
- Rawlings, John D.R. Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. ISBN 0-7106-0187-5.
- Rawlings, John D.R. Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (new edition 1976, reprinted 1978). ISBN 0-354-01028-X.
- Shaw, Michael. No. 1 Squadron. Shepperton, Surrey, UK: Ian Allan Ltd., 1986. ISBN 0-7110-1581-3.
- Shaw, Michael. Twice Vertical: The History of No. 1 Squadron Royal Air Force. London: Macdonald & Company Ltd, 1971. ISBN 0-356-03799-1.
- Shores, Christopher; Franks, Norman & Guest, Russell. Above The Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920. London: Grub Street, 1990. ISBN 0-948817-19-4.