5 May 1916 – 1 April 1918 (RFC) 1 April 1918 – 25 October 1919 (RAF) 15 January 1930 – 31 October 1945 15 November 1946 – 11 March 2005 1 September 2005 – present
* Honours marked with an asterisk may be emblazoned on the Squadron Standard
Insignia
Squadron badge
Lion rampant semée de lys. The badge combines features of the arms of France and Flanders, commemorating the squadron's battles on the Western Front during the First World War. Approved by King George VI.[1]
Squadron roundel
Squadron codes
DL (Apr 1939 – Sep 1939, Apr 1944 – Oct 1945) KL (Sep 1939 – Jun 1942) HF (Nov 1945 – Apr 1948) (Codes taken over from No. 183 Sqn) GA–GZ (Jaguars)
The squadron was previously a SEPECAT Jaguar strike fighter unit, based at RAF Coltishall, Norfolk, from April 1974 until it was disbanded on 11 March 2005.
History
World War I
Serny, France, November 1918. A score board recording the claims for enemy aircraft destroyed by No. 80 Wing RAF from July–November 1918, including 54 Squadron
No. 54 Squadron was formed at Castle Bromwich on 5 May 1916. Like many others formed at the same time, was tasked with Home Defence duties flying BE2Cs and Avro 504s. Four months later, however, it re-equipped with Sopwith Pups, being the first Royal Flying Corps Squadron to operate the Pup. It moved to France as a day fighter squadron in December 1916. It was initially used as for bomber escort, claiming its first kill, an Albatros D.III, in April 1917, but specialised in attacking enemy observation balloons during the Battle of Arras.[3][4]
The Pup soon became outclassed in air combat, however, and No. 54 concentrated on ground attack missions until it could re-equip with Sopwith Camels in December 1917, allowing to return to fighter duties, providing protection for Army co-operation squadrons. The German spring offensive saw a return to low level attack missions, carrying out both ground attack and fighter missions until the end of the War. In February 1919, the Squadron returned to RAF Yatesbury, reduced to cadre status and was disbanded on 25 October 1919.[4][5]
Between the wars
The Squadron was reformed at RAF Hornchurch on 15 January 1930 as a fighter squadron equipped initially with dual-control Siskin Trainers until Bristol Bulldog fighters were received in April that year.[6] The squadron had a brief stay at RAF Upavon in 1931, prior to returning to RAF Hornchurch.[7] The Bulldogs were replaced by Gloster Gauntlets, in September 1936 and Gladiators in April 1937,[8] before the Squadron's first monoplane, the Supermarine Spitfire, arrived in March 1939.[9]
World War II
Pilots of 54 Squadron, May 1941 gathered round a Supermarine Spitfire Mark IIA Rochford, Essex. On the wing sits their commanding officer, Squadron Leader, R F Boyd, with the squadron mascot "Crash". Boyd had at this time destroyed 14 enemy aircraft. At the end of July 1941, he was promoted wing leader of the Kenley Wing, and by the end of his tour in the summer of 1942 had increased his score to at least 22.5.
The early days of World War II were spent patrolling the Kent coast until, in May 1940, the unit provided air cover for the evacuation of Dunkirk, claiming 31 aircraft shot down for the loss of 4 pilots and seven Spitfires.[9]
From July, the Squadron was heavily engaged in the Battle of Britain, often using RAF Manston as a forward operating base. The fighting was intense, and losses were heavy, with the Squadron being withdrawn to RAF Catterick on 2 September 1940.[10][11] One notable pilot during the first year of the year was "Al" Deere, who claimed 11 German aircraft shot down,[12] while himself being shot down 7 times.[13]
No. 54 Squadron returned to Hornchurch in February 1941,[14] flying fighter sweeps and bomber escort missions over Northern France until November 1941, when it moved north to RAF Castletown, Caithness, undertaking coastal patrols over the Pentland Firth. In June 1942, the squadron was moved to RAF Wellingore, to prepare for moving to Australia.[15]
In mid-1942, the squadron joined No. 1 Wing (Spitfire Wing) of the Royal Australian Air Force, a Spitfire unit responsible for air defence duties against Japanese aircraft in the Darwin area. No.54 Squadron arrived at RAAF Station Darwin on 17 January. Initially, the wing as a whole suffered from the inexperience of its pilots and mechanical problems caused during the shipment of Spitfires. Although contact with the Japanese was generally brief, 54 Squadron pilots scored a number of kills. Following the end of the war, the squadron disbanded in Melbourne on 31 October 1945.[16]
Post World War II
On 15 November 1945 No. 183 Squadron RAF, a Hawker Tempest ground-attack unit based at RAF Chilbolton near Oxford, was renumbered to No. 54 Squadron and spent a year training pilots destined for overseas service before receiving Vampires and moving to RAF Odiham on 22 November 1947.[17]
Vampire fighters
In 1948, six Vampires from the Squadron made history when they completed the first crossing of the Atlantic by jet aircraft. Flying in 3 legs with over 8 hours in the air and accompanied by ground crew in Avro Yorks[18] Following a three-year stint with Meteors, which arrived in April 1952, Hunters arrived in March 1955, and the Squadron took up fighter duties with Hunter Mk 4s in September 1955. Reequipped with Mk 6s as part of No 38 Group, frequently deploying to trouble spots around the world as part of the Group's Offensive Strike Wing. The Squadron was the first jet RAF formation team to trail smoke with a team of six Vampires.[19]
Hawker Hunter FGA.9 ground attack aircraft of 54 Squadron in 1968 wearing the unit's blue rampant lion marking on its nose
In 1955, No 54 Squadron flew a formation of four Hawker Hunter F1 aircraft. The following year the Squadron team adopted the name The Black Knights – the pilots wore black flying suits. They re-equipped to Mk9s gradually as the squadron relocated from RAF Odiham [20] to RAF Stradishall in July 1959 with Hunter Mk9s and to RAF West Raynham, Norfolk, in 1963.[21]
The squadron was briefly disbanded on 1 September 1969, however was reformed the same day after being re-equipped with McDonnell-Douglas Phantoms at RAF Coningsby in 1969.[22]
SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1A of No. 54 Squadron in 1990 wearing the unit's 'Rampant Lion' symbol on its below fuselage equipment
By 1974 when twelve SEPECAT Jaguar aircraft were delivered the squadron had re-located to RAF Coltishall. From 1975[23] until at least 1994[24] (the last year for which data is available) the squadron's wartime role was as an operational squadron in the front line assigned to SACEUR with twelve Jaguar aircraft, eight WE.177 tactical nuclear bombs, and a variety of conventional weapons. In a high-intensity European war the unit's role was to support land forces on the Continent resisting an assault by the Red Army on Western Europe, first with conventional weapons and secondly with tactical nuclear weapons, should a conflict escalate to that stage, by striking beyond the forward edge of the battlefield into enemy-held areas. The apparent mismatch between aircraft numbers and nuclear bombs was a consequence of RAF staff planners concluding that with some aircraft held back from the conventional phase as a reserve, there would be one-third attrition of aircraft, leaving the remaining survivors numerically strong enough to deliver the squadron's entire stockpile of eight nuclear bombs.[25]
Post Cold War
Three 54 Sqn Jaguar GR1As over northern Iraq in 2002.
The squadron moved to RAF Coltishall in 1974 and, following the retirement of the WE.177 nuclear weapon in the late 1990s, took on a more expeditionary footing with a number of operational deployments including flights over Northern Iraq from Incirlik Air Base in Turkey and flights over the Balkans from Gioia del Colle Air Base in Italy. With the decision taken to run the Jaguar fleet down in anticipation of the arrival of its replacement, the Typhoon, No 54 Squadron was disbanded at RAF Coltishall on 11 March 2005.[22]
2005 - 2021: ISR Operational Conversion Unit (OCU)
Reformed as No. 54 (Reserve) Squadron at RAF Waddington on 1 September 2005 it re-roled as the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) OCU, responsible for training all mission crews for the E-3D Sentry AEW1, the Nimrod R1, Sentinel R.1, Shadow R1 and later the MQ-9A Reaper.[26]
From 2010, 54(R) Squadron became the home of the ISR Warfare School who are responsible for the delivery of the Qualified Weapons Instructor Course for ISR (QWI ISR).[2]
Since 2013, 54 Sqn has also trained crews for the newly acquired RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft.[2]
The squadron was formally titled No. 54 (Reserve) Squadron up until 2018, when the (Reserve) nameplate was removed from all training squadrons.[27]
In June 2021 Defence Secretary Ben Wallace established a new Advanced Air ISTAR Academy run by 54 Squadron as 'a national and international centre of excellence for remotely piloted air systems and for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance'.[31] In this capacity 54 Squadron continues to deliver OCU training for the RAF ISTAR Force as a Central Flying School (CFS) Approved Training Organisation (ATO).[32]
Number 17 Squadron, currently No. 17 Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was reformed on 12 April 2013 at Edwards Air Force Base, California, as the Operational Evaluation Unit (OEU) for the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning.
Number 6 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 at RAF Lossiemouth. It was previously equipped with the SEPECAT Jaguar GR.3 in the close air support and tactical reconnaissance roles, and was posted to RAF Coltishall, Norfolk until April 2006, moving to RAF Coningsby until disbanding for the first time in its history on 31 May 2007. The squadron officially reformed as a Typhoon squadron on 6 September 2010. No. 6 Squadron is unique in having two Royal standards, having been awarded its second one by King Abdullah I of Jordan in October 1950 due to its long period of service in the Middle East.
No. 303 Squadron RAF, also known as the 303rd "Tadeusz Kościuszko Warsaw" Fighter Squadron, was one of two Polish squadrons that fought during the Battle of Britain along with No. 302 Squadron, of 16 total Polish squadrons during the Second World War. Flying Hawker Hurricanes, the squadron claimed the largest number of aircraft shot down of the 66 Allied fighter squadrons engaged in the Battle of Britain, even though it joined the fray two months after the battle had begun.
Number 111 (Fighter) Squadron, also known as No. CXI (F) Squadron and nicknamed Treble One, was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1917 in the Middle East as No. 111 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps during the reorganisation of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force after General Edmund Allenby took command during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. The squadron remained in the Middle East after the end of the First World War until 1920 when it was renumbered as No. 14 Squadron.
No. 118 Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Air Force. Originally formed in 1918, it served as a fighter squadron in the Second World War, flying Spitfires and Mustangs. It flew jet fighters as part of RAF Germany in the 1950s, and Bristol Sycamore helicopters in Northern Ireland before finally disbanding in 1962.
133 Squadron RAF was one of the famous Eagle Squadrons formed from American volunteers serving with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War.
No. 74 Squadron, also known as 'Tiger Squadron' from its tiger-head motif, was a squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It operated fighter aircraft from 1917 to the 1990s, and then trainer aircraft until its disbandment in 2000. It was the Royal Air Force's member of the NATO Tiger Association from 1961 until the squadron's disbandment, it has since been replaced by No. 230 Squadron.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force flight which provides an aerial display group usually comprising an Avro Lancaster heavy bomber and two fighters, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft are regularly seen at events commemorating the Second World War and upon British State occasions, notably Trooping the Colour, celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday in 2006, and the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, and at air displays throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.
Number 56 Squadron, also known as No. 56 Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), nicknamed the Firebirds for their ability to always reappear intact regardless of the odds, is one of the oldest and most successful squadrons of the Royal Air Force, with battle honours from many of the significant air campaigns of both the First and Second World Wars.
No. 603 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. On reforming on 1 October 1999, the primary role of 603 Squadron was as a Survive to Operate squadron, as well as providing force protection.
No. 312 Squadron RAF was a Czechoslovak-manned fighter squadron of the Royal Air Force in the Second World War.
No. 313 Squadron RAF was a Czechoslovak-manned fighter squadron of the Royal Air Force in the Second World War.
Number 92 Squadron, also known as No. 92 Squadron and currently as No. 92 Tactics and Training Squadron, of the Royal Air Force is a test and evaluation squadron based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. It was formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps at London Colney as a fighter squadron on 1 September 1917. It deployed to France in July 1918 and saw action for just four months, until the end of the war. During the conflict it flew both air superiority and direct ground support missions. It was disbanded at Eil on 7 August 1919. Reformed on 10 October 1939,at Tangmere Airfield, the unit was supposed to be equipped with medium bombers but in the spring of 1940 it became one of the first RAF units to receive the Supermarine Spitfire, going on to fight in the Battle of Britain.
No. 607 Squadron is an auxiliary squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1930 as a bomber unit in the Auxiliary Air Force and changed in 1936 to the fighter role. It fought in that role during the Second World War in Europe and Asia. After the war, in 1946, the squadron reformed as a fighter unit. Awarded the title Royal Auxiliary Air Force by King George in 1947, 607 Sqn was disbanded with all the other flying units of the RAuxAF on 10 March 1957. It reformed on 5 January 2015, as a General Service Support Squadron (GSS).
Royal Air Force Chilbolton or RAF Chilbolton is a former Royal Air Force station in Hampshire, England. The airfield was located in Chilbolton approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southeast of Andover, about 62 miles (100 km) southwest of London.
No. 65 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force.
No. 225 Squadron RAF is a former Royal Air Force squadron.
Number 601 Squadron is a squadron of the RAF Reserves, based in London. The squadron took part in the Battle of Britain, during which the first Americans to fly in World War II were members of the squadron.
602 Squadron is a Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron. Originally formed in 1925 as a light bomber squadron, its role changed in 1938 to army co-operation and in 1939 to that of a fighter squadron.
Halley, James J. Famous Fighter Squadrons of the RAF: Volume 1. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Hylton Lacey Publishers Ltd., 1971. ISBN0-85064-100-4.
Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. ISBN0-85130-164-9.
Jefford, C.G. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). ISBN1-85310-053-6.
Rawlings, John. Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1969 (second edition 1976). ISBN0-354-01028-X.
Rawlings, John. "History of No. 54 Squadron". Air Pictorial, August 1971, Vol 33 No 8. pp.294–297.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
