No. 27 Squadron RAF

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No. 27 Squadron RAF

Active	5 November 1915
Role	Transport and search and rescue
Garrison/HQ	RAF Odiham
Motto	"Quam celerrime ad astra" (With all speed to the Stars)
Equipment	Chinook HC.2
Battle honours	Western Front 1916-1918, Somme 1916, Arras, Ypres 1917, Cambrai 1917, Somme 1918, Malaya 1941-1942, Arakan 1942-1944*, North Burma 1944.
Insignia
Identification symbol	An elephant

No. 27 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the CH-47 Chinook HC.2 from RAF Odiham.

1 History
2 Chinook squadrons
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

Originally formed in WW1 with Martinsyde Elephant bombers, hence the use of an elephant for the squadron badge.

November 1947, reformed at RAF Oakington with Dakotas
Disbanded November 1950.
June 1953, No. 27 Squadron reformed with Canberra bombers
Disbanded December 1957.
April 1961, reformed at RAF Scampton with Vulcan bombers
December 1973, reformed at RAF Scampton with Vulcan bombers in the Maritime Radar Reconnaissance role.
March 1982 disbanded at RAF Scampton.
Reformed at RAF Marham with Tornados in 1983.
Reformed into Tornado-equipped No. 12 Squadron RAF in 1993
Reformed immediately as No. 27 (Reserve) Squadron, the Chinook/Puma Operational Conversion Unit, at RAF Odiham
Regained full squadron status in January 1998 equipped with Chinooks only.

Today the sqaudron operates 18 Chinooks. The Chinook HC.2, equivalent to the US Army CH-47D standard, began to enter RAF service in 1993.

In July 2006, 3 Chinook helicopters of No.27 Squadron deployed to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus to evacuate British citizens from Lebanon. The squadron also flew the EU foreign affairs representative Javier Solana to Beirut at the start of the crisis.