No. XXIV Squadron RAF

Infobox Military Unit

unit_name=No. XXIV Squadron RAF""'Italic text"


caption=Crest: A black cock
role=Air Transport
equipment=C-130 Hercules
garrison=RAF Lyneham
motto="In omnia parati"
Latin: "Prepared for all things"
identification_symbol=
dates=21 September 1915
battle_honours=Western Front 1916-1918, Somme 1916, Somme 1918, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, France and Low Countries 1939-1940, Malta 1942, North Africa 1942-1943, Italy 1943-1944, Burma 1944-1945, Gulf 1991

No. XXIV or 24 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the C-130J Hercules C.4 and C.5 from RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.

History

The squadron was founded as No. 24 Squadron Royal Flying Corps on 1 September 1915 at Hounslow. It arrived in France equipped with D.H.2 fighters in February 1916 - making it the world's first single-seat fighter squadron.

By early the DH.2 was outclassed and they were replaced by the Airco DH.5. The DH.5 did not prove suitable as a fighter but the squadron used it in a ground-attack role. One of the first actions was during the Battle of Messines and later in the Battle of Cambrai. The DH.5 was phased out of operations and the squadron were given then SE.5A in December 1917. After a few months in the ground-attack role the squadron returned to air combat operations. By October 1918 the squadron had destroyed 200 enemy aircraft. With the armistice the squadron returned to England and was disbanded in February 1919.

On 34657 February 1920 the squadron was re-formedb at RAF Kenley with an unusual task. It had to provide aircraft to transport VIPs and government officials and senior members of the three services. During the General Strike of 1926, because of the lack of a postal services, the squadron was used to deliver government dispatches around the country. It was soon in demand to provide air travel to royalty, when the Prince of Wales acquired his own aircraft they were looked after by the squadron.

During the 1920s the squadron used former wartime aircraft but it soon acquired more civil types better suited to the role. With the outbreak of the Second World War the squadron acquired more civil airliners which were impressed for wartime service. It provided a detachment in France to run a courier services, but with the withdrawal of British troops it was soon used to evacuate men back to England. Former British Airways and Imperial Airways aircraft were put to use on a network of communications flights including trips to Gibraltar and later Malta. The squadron also performed ambulance flights when required.

The squadron had grown into a large organization not only with a network of routes around the United Kingdom and eventually extended to India. It also operated VIP transports including Sir Winston Churchill's personal aircraft. It was decided to break the squadron up, the internal communication flight became 510 Squadron in October 1942. In June 1943 the Douglas Dakotas formed 512 Squadron. This left 24 Squadron to concentrate on the long distance routes using the Avro York and Douglas Dakotas. The long distance flights were taken over by other squadrons and No. 24 concentrated on short-range VIP duties using the Dakota.

After many years the squadron had to leave RAF Hendon in February 1946 as the airfield was now to small to operate the larger Avro Yorks and Avro Lancastrians. The squadron was also designated a "Commonwealth" squadron with crews from various Commonwealth countries joining the squadron strength. Although it had a VIP role it still became involved in the Berlin Airlift. When the squadron re-equipped with the Handley Page Hastings it soon lost the VIP business and became a standard Transport Command squadron.

In 1968 the squadron moved to RAF Lyneham and re-equipped with the Lockheed Hercules. The squadron is still at RAF Lyneham and although now equipped with the new Hercules version it will commemorate 40 years of Hercules operations in 2008.

Aircrafts operated

* 1915-1915 Curtiss JN.4
* 1915-1915 Caudron G.III
* 1915-1915 Avro 504
* 1915-1915 RAF BE.2C
* 1915-1915 Bleriot IX
* 1915-1915 Bristol Scout
* 1915-1915 Maurice Farman Longhorn
* 1915-1915 Maurice Farman Shorthorn
* 1915-1916 Vickers FB.5
* 1916-1917 Airco DH.2
* 1917-1918 Airco DH.5
* 1917-1919 RAF SE.5A The sopwith camel is cool
* 1920-1930 Bristol Fighter
* 1920-1927 de Havilland DH.9A
* 1927-1933 Avro 504N
* 1927-1933 de Havilland Moth
* 1927-1933 Westland Wapiti
* 1927-1933 Fairey IIIF
* 1930-1933 Hawker Tomtit
* 1931-1932 Avro Tutor
* 1933-1941 Hawker Hart
* 1933-1938 de Havilland Tiger Moth
* 1933-1938 Hawker Audax
* 1933-1944 de Havilland Dragon Rapide and Dominie
* 1937-1938 Miles Nighthawk
* 1937-1943 de Havilland Express
* 1938-1940 Miles Magister
* 1938-1938 Avro Anson I
* 1938-1944 Miles Mentor
* 1938-1942 Percival Vega Gull
* 1939-1940 de Havilland Leopard Moth
* 1939-1940 de Havilland Fox Moth
* 1939-1941 de Havilland Dragon
* 1939-1942 Lockheed Electra
* 1939-1942 Percival Q.6
* 1939-1940 de Havilland Puss Moth
* 1939-1944 de Havilland Flamingo
* 1939-1940 Airspeed Envoy
* 1940-1942 Miles Whitney Straight
* 1940-1940 Heston Phoenix
* 1940-1940 Savio-Marchetti SM 73
* 1940-1940 Douglas DC-3
* 1940-1940 Avro Anson I
* 1940-1940 Armstrong Whitworth Ensign
* 1940-1942 de Havilland Hornet Moth
* 1940-1944 Airspeed Oxford
* 1941-1943 Stinson Reliant
* 1941-1942 General Aircraft Cygnet
* 1941-1942 Blackburn Botha
* 1941-1945 Beech 17 Traveller
* 1941-1941 Parnall Heck III
* 1941-1942 de Havilland Leopard Moth
* 1941-1943 Lockheed Hudson I
* 1941-1942 Lockheed Hudson II
* 1942-1942 Messerchmitt Bf 108
* 1942-1943 Fokker XXII
* 1942-1943 Foster Wikner Wicko
* 1942-1942 Lockheed Hudson IV
* 1942-1945 Lockheed Hudson III
* 1942-1942 Heston Phoenix
* 1942-1943 Lockheed Hudson VI
* 1942-1944 Lockheed 12
* 1942-1943 Percival Proctor
* 1943-1944 Grumman Goose
* 1943-1944 Vickers Wellington XVI
* 1943-1944 Avro York I
* 1943-1952 Douglas Dakota
* 1944-1944 Avro Anson XX
* 1944-1945 Douglas Skymaster
* 1946-1949 Avro Lancastrian C2
* 1946-1951 Avro York C1
* 1950-1950 Vickers Valetta C1
* 1950-1950 Handley Page Hastings C1
* 1951-1968 Handley Page Hastings C2
* 1951-1968 Handley Page Hastings C4
* 1968- Lockheed Hercules Bold text

ee also

*List of RAF squadrons

References

*"The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985)", Orbis Publishing.
* G G Jefford, "RAF Squadrons", second edition 2001, Airlife Publishing, UK, ISBN 1-84037-141-2.

External links

* [http://www.raf.mod.uk/structure/24squadron.cfm RAF website]