| No. 679 (The Duke of Connaught's) Squadron | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1 April 2014 - present [1] |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Role | Helicopter Support Unit |
| Size | Squadron |
| Part of | 6 Regiment Army Air Corps |
| Garrison/HQ | Hampshire [1] |
No. 679 (The Duke of Connaught's) Squadron AAC is a British Army Reserve helicopter support squadron and is part of the 6 Regiment Army Air Corps. [1] The squadron provides groundcrews to support Apache AH1 helicopters. [1]
655 Squadron traces its lineage to No. 655 Squadron RAF formed on 30 November 1942 at Old Sarum Airfield, Wiltshire. [2] [3] The squadron's role was to provide targeting and direction information to the artillery on the ground. [4] A large number of the pilots were Army gunnery officers from the 80th (The Scottish Horse) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery. [4] On 12 August 1943, the squadron deployed in support of the 8th Army to North Africa and subsequently moved to Italy, where it remained supporting various formations until its disbandment on 31 August 1945. [3] [2] 'A' Flight had served in the Battle of Anzio. [4]
655 Light Aircraft Squadron was formed in April 1962 at Tofrek Barracks in Germany operating the Sud Aviation Alouette II helicopter. [3] [4] In April 1964, the squadron moved to Hammersmith Barracks at Herford and was renamed 655 Aviation Squadron. [5] [6] The squadron was employed by 4 Division Aviation Headquarters from 1964 to 1969. [3]
In 1971, the squadron was renamed as 655 (The Scottish Horse) Aviation Squadron in recognition of its historical linkage to The Scottish Horse. [3] On 1 January 1973, the squadron was renamed as 655 (The Scottish Horse) Squadron. [4]
The squadron completed four tours in Northern Ireland between 1973 and 1979. [4] In 1978, 666 Squadron AAC had been re-designated as 655 (The Scottish Horse) Squadron based at Topcliffe, Yorkshire. [3] [6]
In 1979, the squadron moved to Omagh in Northern Ireland as part of the Northern Ireland Regiment, where it carried out anti-terrorist duties in support of 3 Brigade. [3] The squadron operated the Westland Gazelle AH1 and Westland Scout AH1 helicopter. [4]
In the summer of 1982, the squadron moved to Shackleton Barracks, County Londonderry. [4] The Scout was replaced by the Lynx AH Mk1 helicopter which was faster and had greater endurance. [4] [3]
In the summer of 1991, the squadron moved to RAF Aldergrove to collocate with the rest of the Northern Ireland Regiment. [3] The squadron became equipped with the Lynx AH7 which had improved avionics, reduced noise, better hover capability and more advanced composite rotor blades. [3] [4] The Northern Ireland Regiment was renamed as 5 Regiment AAC in 1993. [7]
In March 2007, the squadron was disbanded as Operation Banner was drawing to a close and due to a need to reduce the Lynx fleet set to be retired in 2012. [8] [9]
On 1 April 2009, the squadron was reformed as a Territorial Army unit 655 (The Scottish Horse) Squadron (Volunteers) as part of 6 Regiment Army Air Corps (Volunteers) based at the Army Aviation Centre, AAC Middle Wallop. [3] [10] The squadron's role was to provide groundcrew individual reinforcements to army aviation units for exercises and operational deployment. [3]
D Company of 3rd Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (3 PWRR) was formed in 2005. [1] D Company was an infantry rifle company with a machine gun platoon based at Portsmouth. [11]
D Company had been reassigned in 2005 from C (Duke of Connaught's) Company of the Royal Rifle Volunteers. [1] C (Duke of Connaught's) Company had been reassigned in 1999 from C (DCO) Company of 6th/7th Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Regiment. [1] C (DCO) Company had been reassigned in 1992 from A (DCO) Company of 2nd Battalion, Wessex Regiment. [1] A (DCO) Company had been reassigned in 1971 from B Company of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Territorials. [1]
D Company had historical linkage to the 3rd Hampshire Volunteer Battalion formed in 1860 and which in 1908 became the 6th (Duke of Connaught's Own) Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment. [1]
On 1 April 2014, 679 (The Duke of Connaught's) Squadron was formed following the re-designation of 655 (The Scottish Horse) Squadron and the transfer of a re-roled D Company, 3 PWRR to the squadron as part of the Future Reserves 2020 re-organisation of the Army Reserves. [1] [12]
The squadron traces its lineage to No. 679 Squadron RAF formed on 1 December 1943 at RAF Ipswich. [13] The squadron operated the Miles Martinet, Hawker Hurricane, Fairey Barracuda and Vultee A-31 Vengeance aircraft types for anti-aircraft duties based at East Anglia. [13] 679 Squadron RAF disbanded on 26 June 1945. [13]
The squadron is a sub-unit of 6 Regiment AAC and consists of Squadron Headquarters (SHQ) and A Flight based at Duke of Connaught's Barracks in Portsmouth and B Flight based at the Army Aviation Centre.
The squadron is paired with the Army Aviation Centre where it provides ground support to the Apache. [14] The squadron is trained in the loading of missiles, rockets, ammunition and the refuelling of the aircraft from a Forward Arming and Refuelling Point (FARP). [15]
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, through Joint Helicopter Command.
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The rank of airtrooper is a private rank, the first rank awarded to a soldier of the British Army Air Corps.
Number 7 Flight Army Air Corps was an independent flight of the British Army's Army Air Corps, latterly based at the British garrison at Medicina Lines in Seria, Brunei, on the island of Borneo.
12 Flight Army Air Corps was an independent flight of the British Army's Army Air Corps.
The Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW) is a Royal Air Force (RAF) and British Army joint service organisation that coordinates the provision of aviation support to the United Kingdom Special Forces.
Wattisham Airfield is a British Army airfield and barracks located near the village of Wattisham in Suffolk, England. It is home to the Army Air Corps' Apache attack helicopter force. A helicopter repair facility provided by 7 Aviation Support Battalion, REME and 132 Aviation Supply Squadron, RLC is also based at the airfield.
No. 655 Squadron RAF was a unit of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Numbers 651 to 663 Squadrons of the RAF were air observation post units working closely with Army units in artillery spotting and liaison. A further three of these squadrons, 664–666, were manned with Canadian personnel. Their duties and squadron numbers were transferred to the Army with the formation of the Army Air Corps on 1 September 1957.
6 Regiment Army Air Corps is the sole Army Reserve regiment of the British Army Air Corps (AAC) falling under the Combat Arm of the British Army. The regiment consists of five Squadrons based around the south of the UK. 6 Regiment provides soldiers trained to assist Joint Helicopter Command on exercise and operations both in the UK and worldwide. The regiment provides support to support and attack helicopter in roles including Aviation Ground crew specialists, Aviation Communication Operators and Aviation Support Officers. The AAC regiment is supported by other Army Reserve elements including Royal Logistic Corps as chefs, Logistics and Supply, Adjutant General Corps as human resource specialists and Royal Army Medical Corps in the form of Combat Medical Technicians.
658 Squadron AAC is an Army Air Corps unit of the British Army that provides dedicated aviation support to the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment for domestic counter terrorism (CT) operations. The squadron is co-located with 22 SAS at Stirling Lines. The press has given the squadron, their helicopters, and the CT response force they enable, the nickname "Blue Thunder". The squadron is part of the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing.
3 RegimentArmy Air Corps is a regiment of the British Army and is part of the 1st Aviation Brigade Combat Team and Joint Helicopter Command (JHC). 3AAC is based at Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk, England. This regiment operates the AgustaWestland Apache AH1 and AH-64E Apache attack helicopters.
No. 657 Squadron AAC was a squadron of the British Army's Army Air Corps (AAC), part of the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing based at RAF Odiham. The squadron disbanded in May 2018 after the retirement of the Westland Lynx.
No. 660 Squadron AAC is a squadron of the British Army's Army Air Corps (AAC). The squadron traces its lineage to a Royal Air Force squadron that existed during the Second World War. In the late 1950s the squadron's numerical was transferred to the AAC and since its formation in 1969, it has operated as a British Army unit flying various types of battlefield helicopters. The squadron has been re-formed and disbanded on a number of occasions. The squadron is currently based at RAF Shawbury where it forms part of No. 1 Flying Training School, but it has been deployed operationally to Northern Ireland, Hong Kong and Brunei throughout its existence.
5 Regiment Army Air Corps is a regiment of the British Army and is part of the Joint Helicopter Command (JHC). The regiment is based in Northern Ireland at JHC Flying Station Aldergrove.
9 Regiment Army Air Corps is a regiment of the Army Air Corps (AAC), that currently serves as the Battlefield Helicopter Wing of No. 1 Flying Training School RAF.
The page contains the current structure of the British Army. The British Army is currently being reorganised to the Future Soldier structure.
No. 2 Wing AAC is a former Wing of the British Army's Army Air Corps which was based in the United Kingdom.
The following is a hierarchical outline for the structure of the British Army in 1989. The most authoritative source for this type of information available is Ministry of Defence, Master Order of Battle, and United Kingdom Land Forces, HQ UKLF, UKLF ORBAT Review Action Plan, HQ UKLF, 1990.
The 1st Aviation Brigade Combat Team is an aviation formation of the British Army. Most of its units are from the Army Air Corps (AAC). It was stood up on 1 April 2020 by combining the Wattisham Flying Station Headquarters, formerly the Attack Helicopter Force (AHF) at Wattisham and the Aviation Reconnaissance Force at the Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton. It reached initial operating capability on 1 April 2021 and full operating capability on 1 January 2023.
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