No. 29 Squadron RAF
| No. 29 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active |
|
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Type | Operational Conversion Unit |
| Role | Typhoon training |
| Part of | No. 1 Group RAF |
| Home station | RAF Coningsby |
| Motto(s) | Impiger et Acer (Latinfor 'Energetic and keen')[1] |
| Aircraft | Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 |
| Battle honours |
|
| Insignia | |
| Squadron tail badge |  |
| Squadron badge heraldry | Aneaglein flight, preying on abuzzard- representing air combat. |
| Squadron roundel |  |
| Squadron Codes | YB(Dec 1938 – Sep 1939) RO(Sep 1939 – Apr 1951) BA–BZ(1987 – present) |
No. 29 Squadronof theRoyal Air Forcewas first raised as a unit of theRoyal Flying Corpsin 1915, and is one of the world's oldest fighter squadrons. The secondBritishsquadron to receive theEurofighter Typhoon,it is currently theoperational conversion unit(OCU) for the Typhoon.
History
[edit]First World War
[edit]This unit was first raised as a reserve squadron, initially equipped with theRoyal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c,in November 1915. In early 1916 however No. 29 became the fourth squadron to receive theAirco DH.2"pusher"fighter, and arrived in France on 25 March 1916[2]– helping to end theFokker Scourgeand establish Alliedair superiorityin time for theBattle of the Somme.[3]
By late 1916 the DH.2 was outclassed bynew German fighters,but No. 29 kept its pushers until March 1917, when it was re-equipped withNieuport 17s.These were replaced with later Nieuport types, such as theNieuport 24bis,as these became available. Due to a shortage of theRoyal Aircraft Factory S.E.5athe squadron retained its Nieuports until April 1918. At this time the squadron finally received the S.E.5a, which it retained for the rest of the war.[4]
The award of aVictoria Cross– the highest award for valour "in the face of the enemy" in the British Empire – to CaptainJames McCuddenof 29 Squadron was gazetted on 2 April 1918, for McCudden's "conspicuous bravery, exceptional perseverance and a high devotion to duty", between August 1917 and March 1918.[5]
October 1918 was a bitter month for the squadron; an American volunteer, Lieutenant Joseph Patrick Murphy was the first to fall on 8 October and become aprisoner of war.[6]British AceClaude Melnot Wilsonwas next to fall, on 14 October[7]andGuy Wareingwas shot down on the 27 October.[8]
After a short period with the army of occupation in Germany, the Squadron returned to the UK in August 1919 and was disbanded on 31 December 1919.[4]The squadron ended the war having claimed 385 victories. Apart from those already mentioned, the 26 aces who served with the squadron included:
- Edgar O. Amm
- Norman Brearley
- Sydney Brown
- Edgar G. Davies
- Francis James Davies
- Thomas Sinclair Harrison
- D'Arcy Fowlis Hilton
- Ernest Charles Hoy
- Arthur G. Jones-Williams
- Camille Lagesse
- William Molesworth
- James Dennis Payne
- Arthur Reed
- Charles G. Ross
- Reginald H. Rusby
- Alfred Shepherd
- Christoffel Venter
- Walter Bertram Wood
Inter-war years
[edit]
The squadron was reformed on 1 April 1923, initially equipped withSopwith Snipes.These were replaced byGloster Grebesin January 1925, In turn, these were replaced by theArmstrong Whitworth SiskinIIIA in March 1928 andBristol Bulldogsin June 1932.[4]In March 1935, nearly twenty years after it was first raised as a single-seat fighter squadron, the squadron received two-seaterHawker Demons,which it operated until 1938. This included service in Egypt from October 1935 to 1936, during theAbyssinian crisis.[4]As part of the Royal Air Force’s modernisation and expansion in the late 1930s, No. 29 receivedBristol Blenheim IFheavy fighters in December 1938.[4]
Second World War
[edit]
No 29 began theSecond World Warwith its Blenheims, which at the period operated as day fighters – especially on convoy protection patrols. From June 1940 it became anight fightersquadron, receiving some of the firstBeaufightersin November, though it was February 1941 before the squadron was fully equipped with the new fighter.[4]Various marks of thede Havilland Mosquitowere flown by the squadron from May 1943 culminating in the Mosquito NF30.[4]
Post-war
[edit]During the immediate post-war years the squadron remained a night/all weather fighter unit. The Mosquitoes continued to serve until replaced byGloster Meteor NF11sin August 1951.[4]In November 1957 the squadron moved toRAF Acklingtonin Northumberland where it was re-equipped withGloster Javelins.[4]In July 1958 toRAF Leucharsin Scotland.[4]In February 1963 No 29 moved toCyprusand in December 1965 went toNdolainZambiafor nine months on detachment during theRhodesian crisis.[4]A single aircraft was written off when all undercarriage legs failed to come down on 2 June 1966.[9]
From May 1967 the squadron operated theEnglish Electric Lightning F.3based atRAF WattishamnearStowmarketinSuffolk[4]until December 1974 when they re-equipped with theMcDonnell F-4 Phantomand moved toRAF ConingsbyinLincolnshire.[4]In May 1982, a detachment of 3 Phantom FGR2’s were deployed at Wideawake airstrip onAscension Islandduring theFalklands War.On completion of repairs to the runway atStanleyin August 1982, the squadron deployed 10 aircraft south to the islands, the first arriving on 17 October 1982 flown by the then officer commanding Wing CommanderIan Macfadyen.[10]
In 1987, 29 Squadron was one of the first RAF units to receive theTornado F3,deploying toSaudi Arabiaafter theIraqi invasion of Kuwaitin August 1990 and participating inOperation Desert Storm.[11]No. 29 flew the Tornado until disbanding in 1998, as part of theStrategic Defence Review.[4]The squadron was reformed in 2003, this time as the Typhoon operational conversion unit (OCU).[4]
Badge
[edit]The badge of the squadron shows an eagle in flight preying on a buzzard, symbolising air combat. The motto in Latin isImpiger et acer- 'Energetic and keen'.[12]
Squadron markings and the "misspelled Roman numeral" tradition
[edit]Since the late 1920s, the squadron marking has been three (red) Xs (XXX). Since this closely resembles theRoman numeralfor "29" (XXIX) there is a belief among current squadron personnel that this originated as a "misspelling" of the Roman numeral. Although various versions of the tradition are put forward, the most common explanation is that a mis-understood instruction to ground crew to paint "2 X's in front of theroundeland IX behind it "meaning" X,X,(roundel), and 'IX' or 'one-X' "resulted in" XX(roundel)'one times' X ". In fact, the marking was always applied as" XXX(roundel)XXX "or as" XXX(roundel) "on smaller types, such as Siskins. Another version is that the original adoption of" XXX "for the 1930s squadron marking was nothing to do with Roman numerals, but was a reference to thebrewers' mark for "extra strong",frequently applied to kegs of beer, and that it is only a coincidence that this resembles the numeral for "29" (XXIX).[13]
However, as the original squadron markings on theGloster Grebeconsisted of FOUR Xs, it is likely both versions above are apocryphal, and the four Xs were just a suitable geometric shape that were shortened to three to fit the smaller space on theArmstrong Whitworth Siskin.[14][15]
Summary of aircraft operated
[edit]- Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c1915–1916
- Airco DH.21916–1917
- Nieuport 17/24bis1917–1918
- Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a1918–1919
- Sopwith Snipe1923–1925
- Gloster Grebe1925–1928
- Armstrong Whitworth SiskinIII a 1928–1932
- Bristol Bulldog1932–1935
- Hawker Demon1935–1938
- Bristol Blenheim1939–1940
- Bristol Beaufighter1940–1943
- De Havilland Mosquito1943–1951
- Gloster Meteor NF111951–1958
- Gloster JavelinFAW.9 1957–1967
- English Electric Lightning F31967–1974
- McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR21974–1987
- Panavia Tornado F31987–1998
- Eurofighter Typhoon F22003–present
- Eurofighter Typhoon FGR 42007–present
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^Pine, L.G. (1983).A dictionary of mottoes(1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p.106.ISBN0-7100-9339-X.
- ^Jones 1928, p. 147.
- ^Jones 1928, pp. 158–160.
- ^abcdefghijklmno"No 26 - 30 Squadron Histories".No 26 - 30 Squadron Histories.Retrieved23 June2019.
- ^"No. 30604".The London Gazette(Supplement). 29 March 1918. p. 3997.
- ^The Jasta War Chronology, Franks, Bailey, and Duiven 1998, p. 269
- ^Shores, Frank & Guest 1990, p. 386
- ^Shores, Frank & Guest 1990, p. 375
- ^Ranter, Harro."Incident Gloster Javelin FAW.9 XH890, 02 Jun 1966".aviation-safety.net.
- ^Horseman, Martin, ed. (February 1983). "RAF Phantoms deployed to Falklands".Armed Forces.Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 46.ISSN0142-4696.
- ^"1990/91 The Gulf War - Operation Granby and RAF Tornado Dawn Tabuk".World Air War History.Retrieved7 June2019.
- ^"No. 29 Squadron".Lightning Association.Retrieved23 June2019.
- ^Robertson 1957, p. 68.
- ^"Glebe 11 300".Retrieved4 November2020.
- ^"Glebe 04 300".Retrieved4 November2020.
Bibliography
[edit]- Bowyer, Chaz; Franks, Norman (1971). "No. 29 Squadron RFC/RAF, 1915–1919".Cross & Cockade Great Britain Journal.2:93–121.
- Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank; Duiven, Rick.The Jasta War Chronology: A Complete Listing of Claims and Losses, August 1916 - November 1918.Grub Street, London., 1998.ISBN9781898697848.
- 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.
- Jones, H. A.The War in the Air: Being the Story of the Part Played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force: Volume II.History of the Great War. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1928.
- 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.
- Robertson, Bruce.Aircraft Camouflage and Markings, 1907–1954.Letchworth, Harleyford Publications, 1957.
- Shores, Christopher; Franks, Norman & Guest, Russell.Above The Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920.London: Grub Street, 1990.ISBN0-948817-19-4.
External links
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