No. 2 Squadron RAF
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| No. II (AC) Squadron | |
|---|---|
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| Active | 13 May 1912 (RFC) |
| Role | Reconnaissance |
| Garrison/HQ | RAF Marham |
| Motto | "Hereward" (Guardian of the Army) |
| Equipment | Tornado GR4A |
| Battle honours | Western Front 1914-1918, Neuve Chappelle, Ypres 1915, Somme 1916, France and Low Countries 1939-1940, Dunkirk, Normandy 1944, Arnhem, Gulf 1991, Iraq 2003 |
| Insignia | |
| Identification symbol |
Three concentric circles over all a Wake knot |
No. II (AC) Squadron of the Royal Air Force is currently one of two RAF squadrons operating in the reconnaissance role with the Tornado GR4A and GR4 and is based at RAF Marham, Norfolk.
Contents |
[edit] History
Formed on 13 May 1912, along with 1 Sqn and 3 Sqn, 2 Sqn was a founder member of the Royal Flying Corps. The squadron's first commander was Major C J Burke. Starting a role which continues to this day, the squadron spent World War I on reconnaissance duties in France flying, amongst other aircraft, the B.E.2.
The squadron gained the AC in its title in the inter-war years, flying Army Co-operation (AC) sorties during the troubles around the partition of Ireland in the early 1920s. After time in China during 1927 the squadron re-equipped with the Armstrong Whitworth Atlas again on Army Co-operation work.
At the outbreak of World War II the unit was flying Lysanders. In France until the Dunkirk evacuation, the squadron equipped with fighters - the Tomahawk in 1940, the Mustang in 1942 and Spitfire Mk 14s in 1944
In July 1944, II (AC) Sqn returned to France, and the reconnaissance role, with Spitfire PR Mk 11s as part of the Army of Occupation.
The squadron spent much of the Cold War in Germany, flying various fighter types, including latterly Phantoms and then Jaguars. Along with the rest of the RAF, II (AC) Sqn withdrew from Germany in the late 1990s - moving to RAF Marham with its Tornado GR1As. These were upgraded to the latest GR4 standard, with which the squadron deployed at part of Operation Telic over Iraq in 2003.
[edit] Previous Aircraft operated
- 1912 - Bristol Boxkite
- 1912 - Breguet Biplane
- 1912 - Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.1
- 1912 - Farman Longhorn
- 1912 - Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2
- 1912 - Henry Farman Biplane
- 1912 - Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2a
- 1914 - Farman Shorthorn
- 1914 - Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.1
- 1914 - Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c
- 1914 - Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.5
- 1915 - Vickers FB.5
- 1915 - Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2b
- 1915 - Bristol Scout
- 1916 - Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2d
- 1917 - Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2e
- 1917 - Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8
- 1920 - Bristol F.2b Fighter
- 1929 - Armstrong Whitworth Atlas
- 1933 - Hawker Audax
- 1937 - Hawket Hector
- 1938 - Westland Lysander I
- 1940 - Westland Lysander II
- 1940 - Westland Lysander III
- 1941 - Curtiss Tomahawk I
- 1941 - Curtiss Tomahawk II
- 1942 - North American Mustang I
- 1944 - North American Mustang IA
- 1944 - North American Mustang II
- 1944 - Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire XIV
- 1945 - Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire XI
- 1946 - Vickers-Supermarine Spitfite PR19
- 1950 - Gloster Meteor FR9
- 1951 - Gloster Meteor PR10
- 1956 - Supermarine Swift FR5
- 1961 - Hawker Hunter FR10
- 1970 - McDonell-Douglas Phantom FGR2
- 1976 - SEPECAT Jaguar GR1
- Tornado GR1A
[edit] Accolades
- 2nd Lt William Rhodes-Moorhouse, of 2 Sqn, was the first British airman to be awarded the Victoria Cross, during a raid on Kortrijk, Belgium on 26 April 1915.
- No 2 Sqn became the first RFC squadron to cross the Channel to France, at the outbreak of World War I
[edit] References
- G G Jefford, RAF Squadrons, second edition 2001, Airlife Publishing, UK, ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
