No. 216 Squadron RAF

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No. 216 Squadron RAF
Latin for '216 bearing gifts')[1]
Battle honours
  • Independent Force
    and Germany (1917–1918)*
  • Egypt and Libya
    (1940–1942)*
  • Greece (1940–1941)*
  • Syria
    (1941)*
  • El Alamein (1942)*
  • El Hamma (1943)
  • North Africa (1943)*
  • Mediterranean (1943)
  • Manipur (1944)
  • North Burma (1944)*
  • South East Europe (1944–1945)*
  • Kosovo (1999)
  • Afghanistan (2001–2014)
  • Iraq
    (2003)
  • Iraq
    (2003–2011)
  • Libya (2011)
* Honours marked with an asterisk may be emblazoned on the Squadron Standard
Insignia
Squadron badgeAn eagle, wings elevated, holding a bomb in its claws. Approved by
King Edward VIII in May 1936.[2]
Squadron codesVT (Apr 1939 – Sep 1939)
SH (Sep 1939 – Sep 1941)

Number 216 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, since reforming on 1 April 2020 and is tasked with testing future drone swarm technology. It had previously operated Lockheed TriStar K1, KC1 and C2s from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, between November 1984 and March 2014.

History

First World War

No. 216 Squadron's beginnings can be traced back to August 1917 when

Handley Page O/400.[6] On the night of 24/25 March, an aircraft from the squadron carried out an 8 and a half hour attack on Cologne.[3] On 1 April, while operating out of Villeseneux (south east of Reims), No. 16 Squadron (RNAS) became No. 216 Squadron of the Royal Air Force.[5]

Interwar

Between the two World Wars the squadron used

King Edward VIII in May 1936.[5]

Second World War

During the

de Havilland DH86, Lockheed Hudson and Douglas Dakota. It spent a lengthy time deployed to Cairo from November 1942 to July 1945.[8]

Post-War

No. 216 Squadron leaving RAF Fayid (Egypt) for the UK in 1955

In late 1949, the Dakotas were replaced by Vickers Valettas transport aircraft; in 1955 the squadron moved to RAF Lyneham from RAF Fayid in Egypt to operate the De Havilland Comet C.2 jet airliner until 27 June 1975, when No. 216 Squadron disbanded after 58 years of service.[5]

The squadron reformed at

RAF St Athan. Designated Buccaneer S2A by the RAF, they were equipped with twelve WE.177A nuclear bombs,[11] free-falling conventional HE bombs and Martel missiles for non-nuclear strike. However, on 7 February 1980, a No. XV Squadron Buccaneer crashed after a wing failed in flight during the Red Flag exercise in the USA.[12] The resulting grounding and inspections saw the size of the Buccaneer fleet reduced, with the result that No. 216 Squadron had its assets merged with No. 12 (Bomber) Squadron barely a year after its reformation, however the squadron was not officially disbanded.[5][13]

Lockheed TriStar (1984–2014)

No. 216 Squadron TriStar K.1 ZD949 departing from Kemble Airfield, June 2005

Following the

Pan-Am.[15]

No. 216 Squadron was reactivated on 1 November 1984 at RAF Brize Norton to operate the Lockheed TriStar.[5] The aircraft were operated initially in the air-transport role but the fleet's role was eventually expanded to air-to-air refuelling.[16] On 24 March 1986, TriStar KC.1 ZD953 became the first aircraft to be handed over to the squadron.[17]

No. 216 Squadron deployed the TriStar fleet in support of many high-profile missions including the

Operation Telic (Iraq 2003) and Operation Ellamy (Libya).[18]

The squadron was disbanded on 20 March 2014 at RAF Brize Norton,

Queen Elizabeth II had approved the award of 'Iraq 2003–2011' and 'Libya 2011' battle honours to No. 216 Squadron (without the right to emblazon).[21]

Drone swarm (2020–present)

On 17 July 2019, at the Air & Space Power Conference, the RAF announced that No. 216 Squadron would reform to become an experimental unit that will test future drone swarm technology.[22][23][24] No. 216 Squadron formally stood up on 1 April 2020 at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire.[25] In March 2024, James Cartlidge, the minister for defence procurement, informed Parliament that notwithstanding its formation in 2020, 216 Squadron had “completed [no] tests or trials [of any drones] ... either in-house or with industry” since being reconstituted.[26]

Aircraft operated

London Heathrow Airport
, June 1965

Aircraft operated include:[27][28][14][29]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X
    .
  2. ^ "216 Sqn". RAF Heraldry Trust. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Squadron History". 216 Squadron Association. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  4. ^ "No 216 Squadron Aircraft & Markings". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "216 Squadron". Royal Air Force. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  6. ^ "Squadron History". 216 Squadron Association. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  7. ^ Playfair, Vol. I, page 113.
  8. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 71
  9. ^ RAF nuclear front line Order-of-Battle 1980
  10. ^ RAF nuclear front line Order-of-Battle 1977–78
  11. ^ RAF nuclear front line Order-of-Battle 1981
  12. ^ "1980 losses". ukserials.com. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  13. ^ Weapon overview @ www.nuclear-weapons.info/vw.htm#WE.177 Carriage
  14. ^ a b "Displaying Serials in range ZD". ukserials.com. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  15. ISBN 1-875671-55-2
    .
  16. ^ "RAF TriStars to be scrapped after US sale falls through". Flight Global. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  17. ISBN 1844152723
    .
  18. ^ Military Operations news (20 March 2011). "Updated: British Armed Forces launch strike against Libyan air defence systems". Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom). Retrieved 20 March 2011.
  19. ^ "The disbandment parade of 216 Squadron took place yesterday at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire". Royal Air Force (Facebook). 21 March 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  20. ^ Hoyle, Craig (24 March 2014). "RAF TriStars to fly final sortie". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  21. ^ "Royal Air Force squadrons recognised for gallantry". gov.uk. Ministry of Defence. 11 October 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  22. ^ Jennings, Gareth (17 July 2019). "RAF announces AEW&C, space, 'drone' test squadrons". IHS Janes. London. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  23. ^ Trevelyan, Anne-Marie (27 January 2020). "216 Squadron:Written question - 5351". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  24. ISSN 2399-8334
    .
  25. ^ Jennings, Gareth (31 March 2020). "UK stands-up 'swarming drones' development unit". IHS Janes. London. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  26. ^ Martin, Tim (6 March 2024). "UK drone test squadron fails to register a single test since forming in 2020: Procurement minister". Breaking Defence. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  27. ^ "No 216 Squadron". Air of Authority. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  28. ^ "No.216 Squadron". Royal Air Force Museum. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  29. ^ "Displaying Serials in range ZE". ukserials.com. Retrieved 10 May 2020.

Bibliography

External links

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