| No. 3 Squadron |
|
| Active |
18 May 1912 (RFC) |
| Role |
Air Defence and Early Warning |
| Garrison/HQ |
RAF Coningsby |
| Motto |
Tertius primus erit
(Latin: "The third shall be the first") |
| Equipment |
Typhoon F2 |
| Battle honours |
Western Front 1914-1918, Mons, Somme 1918, Low Countries 1940, Battle of Britain 1940, Normandy 1944, Arnhem, France and Germany 1944-1945, Iraq 2003 |
| Insignia |
Identification
symbol |
On a monolith, a cockatrice |
No. 3 (F) Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Typhoon F2/FGR4 and T1 from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire.
History
Foundation and First World War
No. 3 Squadron (Royal Flying Corps) was formed at Larkhill on 13 May 1912 from No 2 Company of the Air Battalion Royal Engineers. 3 Sqn was actually the first squadron to receive heavier than air flying machines, hence the motto "Tertius primus erit", meaning "The third shall be the first". In 1913, 3 Squadron deployed to Halton in Buckinghamshire to support the land manoeuvres of the Household Division. A temporary airfield was set up on what later became RAF Halton's Maitland Parade Square. During the exercise, 3 Squadron flew a number of reconnaissance sorties and staged the first confrontation between an airship and an aeroplane.[1]
Sent to France on the outbreak of the First World War, the squadron initially operated in the reconnaissance role using a variety of aircraft types. Later, with the introduction of Sopwith Camels, a fighter/scout role was taken on.
Inter War
The inter-war years saw the squadron operate a variety of different types, based in the UK. The only highlight of these years was the 1935 deployment to the Sudan during the Italian invasion of Abyssinia.
Second World War
At the start of the Second World War 3 Sqn was based in Scotland with the Hawker Hurricane, as part of Fighter Command. The squadron took part in the Battle of Britain, and later in the war, equipped now with Tempests, it shot down several hundred German V1 flying bombs over England.
Post War
The squadron moved onto jets with the De Havilland Vampire during 1948, in Germany, where it had remained after moving there in the latter stages of the war. Sabres and Hunters replaced the Vampires during the 1950s, followed by Gloster Javelins and then a conversion onto Canberra bombers. Most of its time with Canberras was spent at RAF Geilenkirchen moving to RAF Laarbruch in January 1968.
3 Sqn's association with the Harrier began in the early 1970s with the Harrier GR1. The squadron received the later GR3 and GR5 model Harriers successively at its Gutersloh base, finally receiving the GR7 and relocating to Laarbruch in the 1990s. In the 1999, with the drawdown of the RAF in Germany, 3 Sqn moved back to the UK along with its sister 4 Sqn. The two squadrons operated at RAF Cottesmore, being joined by the other Harrier operator, 1 Sqn, in 2001.
No. 3 Sqn, as part of Joint Force Harrier, operated alongside the Fleet Air Arm Sea Harriers, and itself was capable of deployment from the Royal Navy aircraft carriers. Operations have included Operation Allied Force over Kosovo in 1999, Operation Palliser over Sierra Leone in 2000 and Operation Telic over Iraq in 2003. In August 2004 it was announced that 6 Harriers will be deployed to Afghanistan in support of NATO forces.
No. 3 Sqn became the first operational front line squadron equipped with the Eurofighter Typhoon on March 31, 2006. 3(F) Sqn was declared operational in 2007. Its Harrier GR7s have now been passed to the Fleet Air Arm to be used by the recommissioned 800 Naval Air Squadron.
In 2007 No. 3 (F) Squadron celebrated its 95th anniversary over the weekend of 11, 12 & 13 May at RAF Coningsby.
No 3 Sqn is unique in the RAF having 2 official crests; the main one, the cockatrice on a monolith ('chicken on a brick') and the ground crew (Aircraft Engineers) having 3 vertical monoliths and 2 'capping' monoliths ('The Wickets') representing the association of Larkhill with stonehenge. The reasons for this distinction is hotly debated.
Previous aircraft operated
See also
|
|
|
Currently active
squadrons |
|
|
Inactive
squadrons |
|
|
Article XV
squadrons
(Dominions) |
|
|
Squadrons formed with
non-UK personnel |
|
|
External links
References
- ^ Finn, C. J. et al (2004). Air Publication 3003 - A Brief History of the Royal Air Force. p. 331. HMSO.
|
