No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron Royal Air Force, also written XXXII Squadron Royal Air Force,[1] sometimes abbreviated as No. 32 (TR) Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF). No.32 is a current flying squadron which operates in the VIP and general air transport roles. It is based at RAF Northolt in Greater London, England.[1]
Originally formed in 1916[1] as part of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the squadron saw action during the First and Second World Wars with fighter aircraft, but was disbanded in 1969. The Metropolitan Communications Squadron, involved in the VIP transport role, was renamed as No. 32 Squadron at that time.[4] In 1995, the squadron was merged with the Queen's Flight, and incorporated 'The Royal' title into its name.[1] At this time, the squadron moved from RAF Benson in Oxfordshire to RAF Northolt in Greater London, where it remains.
The merger ended the RAF's provision of dedicated VIP transport aircraft; the squadron's aircraft are available to VIP passengers only if they are not needed for military operations. As of 2025[update], one flight within the squadron operates the Dassault Envoy IV CC1 fixed-wing aircraft.
History
Formation and First World War
A fleet of S.E.5a aircraft belonging to 32 Squadron (the wartime censor has scratched out registration numbers on the negative, but left the much more revealing squadron markings).
No. 32 Squadron was formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) on 12January 1916;108 years ago(1916-01-12), at Netheravon in Wiltshire,[1] and moved to France as a fighter squadron equipped with the Airco DH.2 in May.[5] On 1 July 1916, its commanding officer, Major (later Group Captain) Lionel Rees, was engaged in a combat with eight German Albatros two-seater aircraft, and although wounded in the leg, managed to scatter the German aircraft, driving down two of the enemy, for which action he was awarded the Victoria Cross.[5][6]
In May 1940, the squadron flew patrols over northern France, and took part in the defence of south-east England, based at RAF Biggin Hill, but operating daily from their forward airfield at RAF Hawkinge, near Folkestone, during the opening weeks of the Battle of Britain.[1] The squadron moved to northern England at the end of August 1940.[10] The squadron's Hurricanes saw little action throughout 1941, but did attempt, unsuccessfully, to escort the Fairey Swordfish biplanes of 825 Naval Air Squadron during their doomed attempt to stop the German warships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Prinz Eugen during the Channel Dash on 12 February 1942.[11] They then carried out a number of night intruder operations before being deployed overseas.[9]
Following Operation Torch, the Anglo-American invasion of North Africa, in December 1942, the squadron deployed with its Hurricanes to Algeria, converting to the Supermarine Spitfire by July 1943.[11] Operations included a deployment to Greece, where it took part in the Greek Civil War from September 1944 to February 1945.[9]
The Metropolitan Communications Squadron was formed on 8 April 1944 for VIP air transport by the renaming of No. 510 Squadron. Simultaneous with No.32 Squadron being disbanded in Cyprus in February 1969, the Metropolitan Communications Squadron was renamed No. 32 Squadron.[4] It operated a variety of aircraft, including Hawker Siddeley Andover CC.2s[1] and Westland Whirlwind HC.10 helicopters.[13]
32 Squadron acquired four Hawker Siddeley HS.125 CC1 (military aircraft registration numbers XW788 to XW791) business jets in 1971,[14] these were Viper powered -400B series.[4] These would be supplemented and then replaced by two HS.125 CC2 (-600B version, XX507 and XX508) delivered in 1973,[15] and six BAe 125 CC3 (Garrett-powered -700B version) delivered in 1982 and 1983 (ZD620, ZD621, ZD703, ZD704, ZE395, ZE396).[4][16][17]Aérospatiale Gazelle helicopters served with the squadron from 1976 onwards. These were replaced by initially two (later three) Eurocopter Twin Squirrels in 1996.[18]
The RAF leased two BAe 146 in 1983 (designated BAe 146 CC1) as a test of their suitability to replace the Andover, which were operated by No. 241 Operational Conversion Unit. Two BAe 146-100 (designated BAe 146 CC2) were purchased in 1984 for the Queen's Flight as a result, with delivery in 1986. A third BAe 146 CC2 was purchased in 1989 and delivered in 1990,[19] although it was subsequently sold in 2002. The BAe 146 provided a 60% increase in range compared with the Andover, and a larger interior capacity for more passengers.[20]
BAe 146 CC2 in 2008.
On 1 April 1995, the Queen's Flight, equipped with these BAe 146 CC2, and Westland Wessex HCC.4 helicopters (the latter operated from 1969 until 1998),[21] was merged into No. 32 Squadron, to become No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron, and moved to RAF Northolt from RAF Benson.[1][22] Since then, No. 32 Squadron's aircraft have served as transports in several recent conflicts, including Operation Granby ('Gulf War'), Operation Veritas ('Afghanistan'), and Operation Telic ('Iraq 2003'). This merger ended the RAF's provision of dedicated VIP transport aircraft: the aircraft of No. 32 Squadron are available to VIP passengers only if not needed for military operations. This was declared officially in 1999, with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) stating: "the principal purpose of 32 Squadron [is] to provide communications and logistical support to military operations; the Squadron's capacity should be based on military needs only; and any royal or other non-military use of ... spare capacity is secondary to its military purpose".[23]
The squadron's aircraft flew with a distinctive red livery until it was replaced in 2004.
Following a review by the MOD, in 2004, the squadron's aircraft lost their distinctive livery inherited from The Queen's Flight, featuring red flying surfaces. This was due to the concern over the aircraft's vulnerability to terrorist attack, to make the aircraft look more 'civilian'.[22]
BAe 146 C3 (cargo configuration) in Afghanistan.Former AgustaWestland AW109E Power Elite of No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron, at RIAT 2012.
Two additional BAe 146 were purchased in March 2012 from TNT Airways, and were refitted by Hawker Beechcraft on behalf of BAE Systems for tactical freight and personnel transport use.[26][27] The aircraft, designated as the BAe 146 C3, arrived in Afghanistan in April 2013.[28] On 16 March 2015, the squadron's final BAe 125 returned from operations in Afghanistan, and the type's retirement from the RAF was brought forward due to defence budget cuts.[29] Of the final four operational aircraft, three were put up for sale by the Ministry of Defence,[4] and one (ZD621) was placed on permanent display as a gate guardian at RAF Northolt.[16][30] The decision was made that the aircraft were to be retired from service seven years ahead of their original withdrawal date.[31]
In 2020, the squadron's two BAe 146 C3 were modified for use in the medical support role, to carry patients and medical personnel into and out of smaller airfields than the RAF's Voyager multi-role tanker transport aircraft.[36]
One of the BAe 146-100s (ZE701) has been retired to the British Airliner Collection at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, the other (ZE700) joined South Wales Aviation Museum (SWAM) at St Athan in March 2022.[6][38][39] The two BAe 146-200s (ZE707 and ZE708) have also been removed from service and sold to civilian airline Pionair Australia.[40]
In August 2023, it was announced that the Rotary Wing Command Support Air Transport contract, which provides the Squadron's AgustaWestland AW109SP GrandNew, would not be renewed and would end on 30 September 2023.[41] The Ministry of Defence later confirmed that the contract had been extended.[42] The new Labour government subsequently cancelled the extension of the contract in August 2024, with effect from December 2024.[43]
Squadron strength
Dassault Envoy IV CC1 (Falcon 900LX) of 32 Sqn RAF at RAF Northolt, in its 'Global Britain' livery, 2022.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has played a significant role in British military history. In particular, during the Second World War, the RAF established air superiority over Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, and led the Allied strategic bombing effort.
The Army Air Corps (AAC) is the aviation arm of the British Army, first formed in 1942 during the Second World War by grouping the various airborne units of the British Army. Today, there are eight regiments of the AAC, as well as two independent flights and two independent squadrons deployed in support of British Army operations around the world. Regiments and flights are located in the United Kingdom, Kenya, and Canada. Some AAC squadrons provide the air assault elements of 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, through Joint Aviation Command.
Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, used primarily for the transportation of troops & equipment. Flying squadrons comprise No. 33 Squadron flying the Puma, No. 22 Squadron which provides operational evaluation and training for all aircraft in Joint Aviation Command and No. 28 Squadron, which is the combined Puma and Boeing Chinook HC6A training unit. Other units include the Oxford University Air Squadron and No. 6 Air Experience Flight, both flying the Grob Tutor T1 light training aircraft used for student and cadet flying training. The National Police Air Service and the Thames Valley Air Ambulance are also based at the station, both operating Airbus H135 helicopters.
Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training using the Beechcraft Texan T.1 and BAE Systems Hawk T.2 and provides mountain and maritime training for aircrew using the Airbus Jupiter HT.1 helicopter.
Royal Air Force Northolt or more simply RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip, 2 nautical miles from Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, western Greater London, England, approximately 6 mi (10 km) north of Heathrow Airport. As London VIP Airport, the station handles many private civil flights in addition to Air Force flights.
Holbeach Air Weapons Range is a United Kingdom Ministry of Defence academic air weapons range (AWR) situated between Boston and King's Lynn in the civil parish of Gedney on The Wash, in Lincolnshire, eastern England.
An Air Experience Flight (AEF) is a training unit of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve whose main purpose is to give introductory flying experience to cadets from the Air Training Corps and the Combined Cadet Force. As of 2019, thirteen AEFs are active.
Number 230 Squadron Royal Air Force is a Royal Air Force (RAF) flying squadron, currently based at Medicina Lines in Brunei Darussalam, part of British Forces Brunei, operating the Westland Puma HC2. The squadron was previously part of Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG), operating the Puma HC1 there from 1980. Following the drawdown of the British Armed Forces in Germany at the end of the Cold War, the squadron disbanded on 30 April 1992. This was short-lived however, and the squadron reformed at RAF Aldergrove on 4 May 1992, again with the Puma HC1.
The Joint Aviation Command (JAC), previously known as Joint Helicopter Command (JHC), is a tri-service organisation uniting battlefield military helicopters of all three services of the British Armed Forces and unmanned aerial vehicles of the British Army for command and coordination purposes.
Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) is a unit of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and an element of the Joint Aviation Command of the British Armed Forces. Its primary role is to provide Rotary-Wing support to UK Commando Force and other UK force elements in the amphibious environment. CHF uses a combination of transport helicopters based at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset, England.
MOD Boscombe Down(ICAO: EGDM) is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the south-eastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Air transport of the British royal family and government is provided, depending on the circumstances and availability, by a variety of military and civilian operators. This includes an Airbus Voyager of the Royal Air Force (RAF), No. 10 Squadron, and the King's Helicopter Flight, which forms part of the Royal Household. Civil aircraft and scheduled commercial flights are also utilised. Historically, the aircraft for British royalty became known as the Queen's Flight or King's Flight.
The Westland Wapiti was a British two-seat general-purpose military single-engined biplane of the 1920s. It was designed and built by Westland Aircraft Works to replace the Airco DH.9A in Royal Air Force service.
United Kingdom military aircraft registration number, known as its serial number, or tail code is a specific aircraft registration scheme used to identify individual military aircraft belonging to the United Kingdom (UK). All UK military aircraft display a unique serial number, allocated from a unified registration number system, maintained by the Air Section of the Ministry of Defence. The same unified registration system is used for aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), and Army Air Corps (AAC). Military aircraft operated by government agencies and civilian contractors are sometimes also assigned registration numbers from this system.
The planning for the future of the Royal Air Force involves supporting ongoing British military operations and the introduction of new aircraft types including unmanned aerial vehicles and the BAE Systems Tempest sixth-generation fighter in the 2030s. Priorities include greater focus on network enabled capability and mixing crewed fighter jets with UAVs and swarming drones. The new initiative will focus on increasing interoperability with members of NATO and becoming carbon net-zero, with strategies such as using sustainable aviation fuels in aircraft.
AirTanker Services Limited, incorporated in England and Wales on 14 June 2007 with the company registration number 06279646, is a private limited company in the United Kingdom (UK), which operates a British airline known as AirTanker, and is also an aircraft leasing and operating company.
The UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) takes UK armed forces aircrew from initial training through elementary, basic, and advanced flying training phases, preparing them for their arrival at their designated operational aircraft units. It is operated by Ascent Flight Training, a consortium of Lockheed Martin and Babcock International under a 25-year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract for the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD), with oversight from the MoD. The airworthiness authority for each aircraft type, for example, is fulfilled by military and civilian staff within Defence Equipment and Support. Apart from the overall contract, the main elements of the system include fixed-wing elementary, multi-engine and fast-jet pilot training, rear crew training and rotary-wing (helicopter) training.
The Royal Air Force VIP Voyager, identified with the military aircraft registration ZZ336, and more recently named by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as Vespina since June 2020, refers to a customised RAF Voyager KC3 owned by AirTanker Holdings Limited and operated under lease by the Royal Air Force. It is the primary transport aeroplane for the British royal family, the Prime Minister, and British government ministers. The RAF operates a number of Voyagers which are militarised multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft; ZZ336 Vespina is a specific Voyager KC3 aircraft painted in a 'Global Britain' livery, and fitted with secure satellite communications system, missile detection, fifty-eight business-class seats, one hundred 'premium economy' standard seats, and media facilities, similar to other dedicated air transports of heads of state and government.
1 2 3 4 5 Barrass, Malcom B. (1 January 2024). "No 31 – 35 Squadron histories". RAFweb.org. Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
↑ "BAE Systems wins £15.5 million MOD contract for the Royal Air Force". BAESystems.com. Prestwick, Scotland: BAE Systems. 21 June 2012. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024. BAE Systems has been awarded a £15.5 million contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the conversion of two BAe 146-200QC (Quick Change) aircraft from commercial to military configuration for use by the Royal Air Force.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
↑ Peakman, Flt Lt Tim, ed. (29 April 2013). "BAe146 C Mk 3 – BAe146 C Mk3 touches down in Afghanistan". RAF.MoD.uk. Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013. The RAF BAe146 C Mk 3, from RAF Northolt's 32 (The Royal) Squadron, touched down for the first time in theatre at Camp Bastion, Helmand Province. A second Mk3 is due to arrive in theatre at the end of April. Although the Squadron have been operating the BAe146 CC Mk2 and HS125 in support of Operations Telic and Herrick for over a decade, the BAe146 Mk3 marks a departure from the traditional Command Support Air Transport (CSAT) tasking that the crews are used to.
↑ Sqn Ldr Tenniswood, ed. (18 March 2015). "End of an era - final 32 Sqn BAE125 returns from ops". RAF.MoD.uk. Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015. A Royal Air Force BAe125 aircraft has returned from operations for the final time marking the end of an era for 32 (The Royal) Squadron who have operated the aircraft type for more than 40 years.
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