No. 111 Squadron RAF

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No. 111 (Fighter) Squadron RAF

Active	1 August 1917
Role	Air Defence
Garrison/HQ	RAF Leuchars
Motto	"Adstantes" (Standing by [them])
Equipment	Panavia Tornado F3
Battle honours	Palestine 1917-1918, Megiddo, Home Defence 1940-1942, France and Low Countries 1940, Dunkirk, Battle of Britain 1940, Fortress Europe 1941-1942, Dieppe, North Africa 1942-1943, Sicily 1943, Italy 1943-1945, Salerno, Anzio and Nettuno, Gustav Line, France and Germany 1944.
Insignia
Identification symbol	A cross potent quadrat charged with three seaxes in front of two swords in saltire.

No. 111 (Fighter) Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Panavia Tornado F3 from RAF Leuchars, Scotland.

1 History
2 Current role
3 Aircraft Operated
4 See also
5 References

[edit] History

No. 111 Squadron was formed in Palestine on August 1 1917 as the first dedicated fighter squadron in the region. Its mission was to restrict enemy reconnaissance flights and challenge the German fighter presence over Suez. 'Treble One' was reformed in Egypt after the War as No. 14 Squadron.

On October 1 1923 111 Squadron reformed. The squadron operated a large variey of aircraft until 1938 when it became the first Hurricane squadron. 111 Sqn played a role in the Battle of Britain, pioneering dangerous head-on attacks against the Luftwaffe bomber streams. Claims included 47 aircraft shot down for 18 Hurricanes lost. The squadron replaced its Hurricanes with Spitfires in April 1942. In November the Squadron again relocated to RAF Gibraltar for support of Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. In a similar role it moved to Malta in June 1943 to support the invasion of Sicily. No 111 moved through Italy with the advancing Allied ground forces and remained there until the end of the war, after which it moved to Austria. The squadron disbanded in May 1947. 269 aircraft were claimed shot down, making the squadron one of the top RAF scorers for the war.

The squadron was not reactivated until 1953 when it received Meteor F8s at RAF North Weald. The Meteors were soon replaced with Hunters, with which the Squadron was to achieve international acclaim with their ‘Black Arrows’ aerobatic display team. The Squadron received the all-weather Lightning fighter in 1962 which it operated for ten years from RAF Wattisham. In 1974 the squadron re-equipped with the Phantom at RAF Coningsby, before moving north to Leuchars on November 3 1975.

The squadron gained its current role in 1990 when it began to re-equip with the Tornado.

[edit] Current role

Throughout its time at Leuchars the No 111(F) Squadron has been tasked with the maintenance of Quick Reaction Alert, which involves keeping aircraft at a high state of readiness to intercept, identify and, should it be necessary, destroy hostile aircraft approaching UK airspace. In recent years the Squadron has been involved in Operation Deny Flight over Bosnia, Operations Bolton and Resinate in the Middle East and regularly participates in major Air Defence exercises, both in the UK and abroad.

The squadron participated in Operation Telic where it formed part of the Tornado F3 Wing at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.