No. 28 Squadron RAF

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No. 28 Squadron RAF

Active	7 November 1915
Role	Transport, Joint Personnel Recover (JPR) and search and rescue
Garrison/HQ	RAF Benson
Motto	"Quicquid agas age" (Whatsoever you may do, do)
Equipment	Merlin HC.3
Battle honours	Italian Front and Adriatic 1917-1918, Piave, Vittoria Venito, Waziristan 1921-1925, North-West Frontier 1939, Burma 1942, Arakan 1943-1944, Manipur 1944, Burma 1944-1945.
Insignia
Identification symbol	In front of a demi-Pegasus, a fasces

No. 28 (Army Co-operation) Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Merlin HC3 from RAF Benson.

1 History
2 Other aircraft operated
3 Current role
4 See also

[edit] History

No. 28 (AC) Squadron was formed on 7 November 1915. After World War I No. 28 moved to India as an Army co-operation squadron. During World War II it flew the Lysander and from December 1942 the Hawker Hurricane fighter-bomber. By 1943 the Squadron was operating in Burma until 1945 when it started to re-equip with the Supermarine Spitfire. After WWII the squdaron operated as a fighter-reconnaissance unit as part of the Far East Air Force, moving to RAF Kai Tak, Hong Kong in 1949.

[edit] Other aircraft operated

The Squadron operated the Westland Wessex from 1972. With this helicopter it was based at RAF Sek Kong from 1978 until 1996. The squadron returned to Kai Tai from then until the British withdrawal in June 1997 and was the last RAF squadron to leave the territory.

[edit] Current role

The RAF ordered 22 Merlin HC.3s in March 1995, the first of which was received from GKNWestland now AgustaWestland on 7 March 2001. The squadron officially reformed on 17 July 2001.

The Squadrons first operational role was in support of SFOR at Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. They deployed on 1 April 2003, the day that they declared an initial operational capability.

Deployed Merlins from 28(AC)Squadron, using the historic No. 1419 Flight RAF are currently on Operation Telic at Basrah Air Station, Iraq.