No. 32 Squadron
|
No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron |
|
|---|---|
_Squadron_MOD_45147917.jpg) BAe 125 CC1 of No. 32 Squadron in formation flight (2007) |
|
| active | January 12, 1916-29. December 1919 since April 1, 1923 |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Armed forces | United Kingdom Armed Forces |
| Armed forces | Royal Air Force |
| Type | Flying season |
| Insinuation | No. 2 Group RAF |
| Location | RAF Northolt |
| Nickname | "The Royal" / TR |
| motto | Adeste Comites |
| Butcher |
First World War (1916-1918) ↳ Arras ↳ Ypres ↳ Amiens World War II ↳ Battle of Britain (1940) ↳ Dieppe (1942) ↳ North Africa (1942/43) Second Gulf War (1991) Iraq War (2003–2011) Libya (2011) |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Wing Commander Stephen Courtnadge |
| Aircraft | |
|
Transport aircraft / helicopter |
BAe 146 CC2 / CC3 Leonardo AW109SP GrandNew |
The No. 32 Squadron is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Northolt Airport, northwest of London . Your job is to transport the British royal family and members of the government ; their mission is comparable to that of the Federal Ministry of Defense in Germany. In the First and Second World War she took part with fighter aircraft.
history
The No. 32 Squadron was set up in Netheravon on January 12, 1916, during the First World War , as part of the Royal Flying Corps and was used in France until the end of the war. It was dissolved on December 29, 1919, but was set up again in April 1923.
During the Battle of Britain during the Second World War, the squadron , equipped with the Hawker Hurricane since 1938 , was one of the most successful units with 102 kills and was mainly deployed from RAF Biggin Hill at the focus of the fighting. in April or July 1943 the conversion to the Supermarine Spitfire took place . As of December 1942, the squadron in North Africa fighting the Afrika Korps of the Wehrmacht . From September 1944 the unit was then used in Greece .
After the end of the Second World War, the Spitfire was replaced by de Havilland Vampire and de Havilland Venom , and until 1957 the locations of use were Palestine , Cyprus , Egypt , the Persian Gulf , Malta and Jordan . This was followed by the equipment with the English Electric Canberra before the squadron was disbanded as a combat unit on February 3, 1969 for the second time. In the same breath the Metropolitan Communications Squadron established on April 8, 1944 in No. 32 Squadron and took on the job of VIP transport.
From 1971 the first Hawker Siddeley HS.125 CC.1 was delivered for this order . In 1983 two BAe 146s that were initially leased were added, followed by a third in 1990. In 1995, the previously independent Queen's Flight with the No. 32 Squadron, as they partly operated the same model and the aircraft could now be used more flexibly for the transport of politicians and the royal family.
In the mid-2000s, the fleet consisted of five HS.125CC.1s and four BAe 146s. From 2011, the paintwork of the machines was changed, which until then were recognizable by their red rudder unit and a blue stripe along the fuselage due to safety considerations. The size of the fleet was later greatly reduced; in 2019 it still consists of four BAe 146 and one Leonardo AW109SP helicopter.
In October 2019, the Royal Air Force became aware of plans to sell the four BAe 146s for budget reasons. Neither a schedule nor a possible successor model have been named so far.
Individual evidence
- ↑ 32 Squadron. In: Royal Air Force. Ministry of Defense, accessed February 15, 2019 (British English).
- ↑ No. 32 Squadron (RAF) during the Second World War. In: History of War. Retrieved February 15, 2019 (UK English).
- ^ A short history of no. 32 Squadron Royal Air Force, 1916-1966. In: Imperial War Museum . Retrieved February 15, 2019 (UK English).
- ^ Royal Air Force No 32 (The Royal) Squadron celebrates its centenary. In: FlyingInIreland.com. March 4, 2016, Retrieved February 15, 2019 (UK English).
- ^ Matthew Stibbe: The Royal Squadron. In: Forbes . January 11, 2013, accessed February 15, 2019 .
- ^ Royal planes may lose Union Jack. In: BBC. April 15, 2014, accessed May 13, 2019 .
- ↑ Bob Fischer: The Royal Air Force sells its VIP-BAe 146. In: aerobuzz.de. October 7, 2019, accessed October 7, 2019 .