No. 1 Squadron RAF

No. 1 Squadron RAF
Official Squadron Badge of No. 1 Squadron RAF
Active	1 April 1911 (RE), 13 May 1912 (RFC), 1 April 1918 (RAF) to 1 November 1926 1 February 1927 – 28 January 2011, 15 September 2012 – present.
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Part of	No. 1 Group RAF
Base	RAF Lossiemouth
Motto(s)	Latin: In omnibus princeps ("First in all things")[1]
Aircraft	Typhoon FGR.4
Battle honours	First World War • Western Front 1915–1918* • Ypres, 1915* • Neuve Chappelle • Loos • Somme, 1916* • Arras • Ypres, 1917 • Lys • Amiens • Somme, 1918 • Hindenburg Line • Independent Force and Germany, 1918* Second World War • France and Low Countries, 1939–1940* • Battle of Britain, 1940* • Channel & North Sea, 1941–1945 • Home Defence, 1940–1945 • Fortress Europe, 1941–1944* • Arnhem • Normandy, 1944 • France and Germany, 1944–1945* • Biscay, 1944–1945 • Rhine Suez South Atlantic, 1982* Gulf War Kosovo War Iraq, 2003 Honours marked with an asterisk are those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry	A winged numeral "1"
Post 1950 squadron roundel
Squadron Codes	NA (Nov 1938 – Sep 1939)[2][3] JX (Sep 1939 – Apr 1951)[4][5]

No. 1 (F) Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was the first squadron to fly a VTOL aircraft.^[6] It currently operates Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth.

The squadron motto, In omnibus princeps ("First in all things") reflects the squadron's status as the RAF's oldest unit, having been involved in almost every major British military operation from the First World War to the present time. These include the Second World War, Suez Crisis, Falklands War, Gulf War, Kosovo War, and Operation Telic (Iraq).

History

1878 to 1918

No. 1 Squadron's origins go back to 1878 when its predecessor, No. 1 Balloon Company, was formed at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich as part of the Balloon Section.^[7] On 1 April 1911 the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers was created. The battalion initially consisted of two companies, with No. 1 Company, Air Battalion taking responsibility for lighter than air flying. The first Officer Commanding was Captain E. M. Maitland.

On 13 May 1912, with the establishment of the Royal Flying Corps, No. 1 Company of the Air Battalion was redesignated No. 1 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps. No. 1 Squadron was one of the original three Royal Flying Corps squadrons. Maitland continued as the new squadron's Officer Commanding and he was promoted to major several days after the establishment of the squadron. It retained the airships Beta and Gamma, adding Delta and Eta, as well as kites and a few spherical balloons. However, in October 1913 a sudden decision was made to transfer all the airships to the Naval Wing of the RFC (which became the Royal Naval Air Service by Admiralty dictat, not Cabinet decision, on 1 July 1914). While retaining kites 1 Squadron was reorganised as an 'aircraft park' for the British Expeditionary Force.^[8]

On 1 May 1914, Major Charles Longcroft was appointed as the new squadron commander. Apart from a few weeks as a supernumerary in August and September 1914, Longcroft continued as the squadron commander until January 1915.^[9]

27 December 1917: No.1 RAF Squadron with Nieuport 17s and Nieuport 24s at Bailleul. See^[10]

The squadron was reformed as an aircraft squadron in August 1914, and equipped with a mixture of Avro 504s and Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.8s, crossed over to France on 7 March 1915. It operated mainly in the reconnaissance rôle, with a few single seat fighters for escort purposes. It retained Morane Parasols for reconnaissance, until becoming a dedicated fighter squadron on 1 January 1917, flying Nieuport 17s and Nieuport 27.^[11]

The obsolete Nieuports were replaced by more modern S.E.5as in January 1918. On incorporation into the RAF on 1 April 1918 the squadron kept its numeral; No 1 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was displaced to become No. 201 Squadron RAF.^{[note 1]}

No. 1 Squadron had among its ranks no fewer than 31 flying aces. They included: future Air Commodore Philip Fullard, Percy Jack Clayson, William Charles Campbell, Louis Fleeming Jenkin, Tom Hazell, Harold Albert Kullberg, Gordon Olley, Robert A. Birkbeck, Guy Borthwick Moore, William Wendell Rogers, Charles Lavers, William Rooper, Edwin Cole, future Air Vice Marshal Quintin Brand, Eustace Grenfell, Harry Rigby, and Francis Magoun.^[12]

Between the wars

The squadron returned to the UK from France in March 1919, being formally disbanded on 20 January 1920. On the next day it reformed at Risalpur in the North West Frontier of India (now part of Pakistan), flying the Sopwith Snipe. and from January 1920. It moved to Hinaidi near Baghdad in Iraq in May 1921, to carry out policing duties, retaining its Snipes,^[13] although it also received one Bristol Jupiter engined Nieuport Nighthawk for evaluation.^[14] It remained in Iraq, carrying out strafing and bombing against hostile tribal forces until November 1926 when it was disbanded.^[15]

In early 1927 it was reformed at Tangmere, Sussex as a Home Defence Fighter Squadron, equipped with the Armstrong Whitworth Siskin.^[14] After receiving the Hawker Fury Mk.1 in February 1932, the squadron gained a reputation for aerobatics, giving displays throughout the United Kingdom and at the Zurich International Air Meeting in July 1937, where its display impressed but it was clear that it was outclassed by the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Dornier Do 17 also displayed at Zurich. The squadron re-equipped with the Hurricane Mk.I in October 1938.^[16]

Second World War

P/O "Taffy" Clowes climbing into his 1 Sqn Hurricane I at Wittering, in October 1940.

On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 the squadron was deployed to France as part of the RAF Advanced Air Striking Force. In October it flew over enemy territory for the first time and soon claimed its first victory, shooting down a Dornier Do 17 on 31 October.^[17] Further successes were made during the Phoney War, until the Battle of France erupted in May 1940. Within a week the squadron was bombed out of its base at Berry-au-Bac, north-west of Paris. A series of retreats followed, ending only when the squadron evacuated from France on 18 June,^[18] with a return to Tangmere on 23 June.^[19] (The autobiographical book Fighter Pilot by Paul Richey, a pilot with 1 Squadron during the Battle of France, is widely regarded as a classic of air warfare literature.)

In August 1940, the squadron entered the Battle of Britain and was heavily engaged until 9 September, when the squadron was transferred to 12 Group, and was sent to RAF Wittering to refit, rest and recuperate.

It returned to 11 Group in early 1941 and was employed in fighter sweeps and bomber escort duties. In February, it began "Rhubarb" (low-level sweeps over occupied territory) and night flying missions, and was re-equipped with the Hurricane IIA. The squadron carried out night intruder patrols until July 1942, when it was re-equipped with the Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber and relocated to RAF Acklington, Northumberland where it reverted to daytime operations.

The squadron was equipped with the Spitfire IX in April 1944, and in June began anti-V1 patrols, shooting down 39 flying bombs. Missions were also flown over the Falaise Gap, strafing targets of opportunity. Later in the year it reverted to bomber escort duties, based at Haldegham. It was involved in supporting Operation Market Garden : the parachute drops into the Netherlands, and later in support of the Allied counter-offensive in the Ardennes. The squadron dropped 250 lb bombs on to 'Key Points' (KPs), directed by radar to counter the adverse weather conditions. In May 1945 it converted to the Spitfire Mk.XXI, but these were only used operationally to cover landings on the Channel Islands.^[7]

Post war

In 1946 the Squadron returned to Tangmere and took delivery of its first jet aircraft, the Gloster Meteor. In October 1948, Major Robin Olds, USAF, under the U.S. Air Force/Royal Air Force exchange program, was posted in and flying the Gloster Meteor jet fighter. He eventually served as commander of the Squadron at RAF Station Tangmere, the first non-commonwealth foreigner to command an RAF unit in peacetime. During his time with 1 Sqn he was awarded the RAF's Distinguished Flying Cross.

The Squadron was then equipped with the Hawker Hunter F.5, which were flown from RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus during the 1956 Suez Crisis. The squadron disbanded on 23 June 1958. However, on 1 July 1958 the squadron was reformed by re-numbering No. 263 Squadron RAF at RAF Stradishall. It then moved to RAF Waterbeach from where, flying the Hunter FGA.9, it operated in the ground attack rôle as part of No. 38 Group RAF. The Squadron continued in this role for the next eight years, operating out of Waterbeach and then RAF West Raynham. Flight Lieutenant Alan Pollock of No. 1 Sqn was responsible for the infamous and very unofficial flying display on the 50th anniversary of the RAF in 1968.

Harrier

A 1 Sqn. Harrier GR7 at Aviano Air Base, Italy, in March 2007.

Under the command of Squadron Leader Bryan Baker, the squadron became the world's first operator of a V/STOL aircraft with the arrival of the Hawker Siddeley Harrier in 1969, declared operational the following year. A detachment from No. 1 Squadron was deployed to the British Fleet during the Falklands War, operating from HMS Hermes and flying ground attack missions against Argentine forces.^[20][21] It replaced its first generation Harriers with Harrier IIs from 23 November 1988, being declared fully operational on the Harrier GR.5 on 2 November 1989.^[22] During the Kosovo war the Squadron flew over 800 sorties as part of NATO's Operation Allied Force.

No. 1 Squadron left the "home of the Harrier" at RAF Wittering for RAF Cottesmore on 28 July 2000. Cottesmore became home to all operational RAF Harrier squadrons – No. 20 (Reserve) Squadron, later renumbered as No. 4 (R) Squadron, the Harrier Operational Conversion Unit remained at Wittering. The squadrons both flew missions during the Iraq War and were awarded the "Iraq 2003" battle honour.^[23]

One outcome of the Strategic Defence and Security Review by the coalition government in 2010 was the decision to take the RAF's Harriers out of service almost immediately. All Harrier units, including No .1 Squadron, ceased Harrier flying on 15 December 2010, and 1 Sqn formally disbanded on 28 January 2011.^[6]

Typhoon

Typhoon T.3 at the 2015 Malta International Airshow

On 15 September 2012, the squadron reformed on the Eurofighter Typhoon at RAF Leuchars.^[24][25] The squadron participated in multiple exercises in foreign countries including Exercise Shaheen Star in the United Arab Emirates during January 2013 and Exercise Bersama Shield in Malaysia during March 2013.^[26]

On 8 September 2014 the squadron was relocated to RAF Lossiemouth, to operate alongside No. 6^[27] and XV (Reserve) squadrons, as well as "D" Flight, 202 Squadron (SAR) and No. 5 Force Protection Wing.^[28]

Aircraft operated

Year of introduction

• Avro 504 −1915–1916
• B.E.8 – 1915–1916
• Morane Parasol – 1915–1916
• Nieuport 17 – 1916–1917
• Nieuport 27 – 1917–1918
• SE5a – 1918–1920
• Sopwith Snipe – 1920–1927
• Armstrong Whitworth Siskin – 1927–1933
• Hawker Fury – 1933–1937
• Hawker Hurricane – 1937–1943
• Hawker Typhoon – 1943–1944
• Supermarine Spitfire – 1944–1950
• Gloster Meteor – 1950–1957
• Hawker Hunter – 1957–1970
• Hawker Siddeley Harrier – 1969–1989
• BAE Harrier II – 1988–2010
• Eurofighter Typhoon – 2012 –

Commanding officers

According to Halley,^[19] Shaw^[29][30] and Franks & Connor^[31]

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to No. 1 Squadron RAF.

• Official website
• No.1 (F) Sqn Association