| No 3 Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 13 May 1912 (RFC) |
| Role | Air Defence and Early Warning |
| Garrison/HQ | RAF Coningsby |
| Motto | Latin: Tertius primus erit ("The third shall be the first") |
| Equipment | Typhoon F2, FGR4, T3 |
| Battle honours | Western Front 1914-1918, Mons, Somme 1918, Low Countries 1940, Battle of Britain 1940, Normandy 1944, Arnhem, France and Germany 1944-1945, Iraq 2003 |
| Insignia | |
| Identification symbol |
On a monolith, a cockatrice |
No 3 (F) Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Typhoon F2, FGR4 and T3 from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire.
No 3 (F) Squadron, which celebrated its 95th anniversary over the weekend of 11-13 May 2007, is unique in the RAF for having two official crests.
The main crest is the cockatrice on a monolith ('chicken on a brick'). Then there is the ground crew (Aircraft Engineers) crest having three vertical monoliths and two 'capping' monoliths ('The Wickets'), representing the association of Larkhill with Stonehenge.
The reasons for this distinction are hotly debated.
Contents |
No 3 Squadron (Royal Flying Corps) was formed at Larkhill on 13 May 1912 from No 2 Company of the Air Battalion Royal Engineers under the command of Major HRM Brooke-Popham. No 3 Squadron was actually the first squadron to receive heavier than air flying machines, hence the motto Tertius primus erit, meaning "The third shall be the first". In 1913, No 3 Squadron deployed to Halton in Buckinghamshire to support the land manoeuvres of the Household Division. A temporary airfield was set up on what later became RAF Halton's Maitland Parade Square. During the exercise, No 3 Squadron flew a number of reconnaissance sorties and staged the first confrontation between an airship and an aeroplane.[1]
Sent to France on the outbreak of the Great War First World War, the squadron initially operated in the reconnaissance role using a variety of aircraft types. The English ace James McCudden served as a mechanic and later observer with 3 Squadron from June 1913 to January 1916 before leaving to become a pilot. Cecil Lewis, author of Sagittarius Rising flew Morane Parasols with No 3 Squadron during the Somme offensive in the summer of 1916. Later in October 1917, with the introduction of Sopwith Camels, a fighter/scout role was taken on, with 59 enemy aircraft being claimed by the end of the war. The squadron disbanded in October 1919.[2][3]
There were nine flying aces among its ranks, including Douglas John Bell, George R. Riley, Will Hubbard, Adrian Franklyn, Hazel LeRoy Wallace, Lloyd Hamilton, David Hughes, Neil Smuts,[4] and William H Maxted [5]
It reformed in India in 1920 as a fighter squadron equipped with Sopwith Snipes, being disbanded again in October 1921. It was immediately reformed at RAF Station Leuchars, Scotland, as a naval observation squadron equipped with the Airco DH.9A, receiving the Westland Walrus and Avro Bison before being disbanded to form two independent flights in April 1923.[2][3]
It reformed as a fighter squadron with Snipes in April 1924, operating a succession of different types, based in the UK. The only highlight of these years was the 1935 deployment to the Sudan during the Italian invasion of Abyssinia.[3]
At the start of the Second World War No 3 Squadron was posted as part of Fighter Commandto RAF Station Biggin Hill equipped with the Hawker Hurricane. It briefly deployed to France in support of the British Expeditionary Force following the German attack on the West in 1940, being forced to withdraw after 10 days, having claimed 60 German aircraft for the loss of 21 of its own.
On 21 July 1940 "B" flight was detached to form the nucleus of the newly formed No. 232 Squadron. Once back up to strength, No. 3 Squadron was used as air defence for the Royal Naval base at Scapa Flow, remaining in Scotland until April 1941, based at RAF Station Wick in Northern Scotland.
The squadron then co-operated with "Turbinlite" seachlight equipped Douglas Havocs in the night fighter role.[3]
In February 1943 it re-equipped with the Hawker Typhoon for fighter-bomber and anti-shipping strikes. It re-equipped in March 1944 with the new Hawker Tempest fighter, operating over the Normandy beach-head and against German V1 flying bombs, claiming 288 V-1s shot down.[3]
It then deployed across the Channel, flying as part of the 2 TAF fighting through the low countries and into Germany. Amongst its pilots was F/L Pierre Clostermann, who flew with 3 Squadron from March 1945 until the end of the war in Europe.[2][3]
The squadron moved onto jets with the De Havilland Vampire during 1948, in Germany, where it had remained after moving there in the latter stages of the war. Sabres and Hunters replaced the Vampires during the 1950s, followed by Gloster Javelins and then a conversion onto Canberra bombers. Most of its time with Canberras was spent at RAF Geilenkirchen moving to RAF Laarbruch in January 1968.
3 Sqn's association with the Harrier began in the early 1970s with the Harrier GR1. The squadron received the later GR3 and GR5 model Harriers successively at RAF Station Gütersloh, finally receiving the GR7 and relocating to RAF Station Laarbruch in the 1992. In 1999, with the drawdown of the RAF in Germany, the Squadron moved back to the UK along with its sister squadron No IV (AC) Squadron RAF. The two squadrons operated at RAF Station Cottesmore, being joined by the other Harrier operator, No 1 Squadron RAF, in 2001.
As part of Joint Force Harrier, 3 Squadron operated alongside the Fleet Air Arm Sea Harriers, and was capable of deployment from the Royal Navy aircraft carriers. Operations included Operation Allied Force over Kosovo in 1999, Operation Palliser over Sierra Leone in 2000 and Operation Telic over Iraq in 2003. In August 2004, it was announced that 6 Harriers would be deployed to Afghanistan in support of NATO forces.
Its Harrier GR7s were passed to the Fleet Air Arm to be used by the recommissioned No 800 Naval Air Squadron when 3 Squadron re-equipped with the Eurofighter Typhoon. It became the first operational front line RAF Typhoon squadron on 31 March 2006 and was declared operational in 2007.
In March 2011 3 Squadron deployed to Southern Italy to take part in Operation Ellamy over Libya following UN Security Council Resolution 1973.
See alsoReferencesNotes
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