Mission Statement of The

1st RAF Squadron

The 1st RAF Squadron is run and organized as much as possible like a True World War Two Fighter Squadron

If you do not want this type of atmosphere please refrain from applying to The No 1 RAF Squadron!

Motto: Motto: In omnibus princeps - First in all things......... BADGE:........ A winged numeral ‘1’ - approved July 1936 by HRH King Edward VII as the authorised version of a badge which had originated during World War I featuring a wreathed roundel from which sprouted a pair of Royal Flying Corps wings and on which the figure '1' was superimposed.........BATTLE HONOURS:........ Western Front 1915-1918, Neuve Chappelle, Ypres 1915, Loos, Somme 1916, Lys, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, Germany 1918, Kurdistan 1922-1925, Iraq 1923-1925, France & Low Countries, Battle of Britain, Channel & North Sea 1941-1945, Home Defence 1940-1945, Fortress Europe 1941-1944, Biscay 1944-1945, Normandy 1944, France and Germany 1944-1945, Arnhem, Rhine, South Atlantic 1982........HISTORY ........No. 1 Sqn was one of the three RFC Squadrons formed on 13 May 1912. The Squadron took over the balloons, airships and kites of No. 1 Airship Company of the Royal Engineers at Farnborough. These were relinquished in May 1914 for a variety of fixed wing aircraft, before the Squadron moved to France in March 1915 as a reconnaissance unit. In 1917 the Squadron re-equipped with Nieuport Scout fighters replaced themselves by SE5As in January 1918 and these were used in low-level strafing attacks against enemy positions. In 1920, No.1 Squadron reformed in India with Snipes, which later saw action in Iraq and the Middle East. After a brief disbandment, the Squadron reformed at Tangmere in 1927 with Siskins. These were replaced with Furys in 1932 and in October 1938 the first Hurricanes arrived. The Squadron was one of the first to deploy to France in 1939, and one of the last to return in June 1940. After fierce fighting in the Battle of Britain, the Hurricanes and later the Typhoons were used in intruder missions over France. During 1944, the Squadron downed 39 V1 flying bombs over British soil. After the War, the Squadron briefly became a Training Unit before receiving Meteor jets. During 1956 the Squadron took part in the Suez campaign with Hunters, these aircraft remaining with the Squadron until 1969 when the Harrier arrived. The Squadron deployed on HMS Hermes during the Falklands conflict. Today, the Squadron flies the Harrier GR7 and T10 versions at RAF Wittering. ......... No 1 Squadron flew in the following aircraft in World War Two:........ Hawker Hurricane......Supermarine Spitfire......and Typhoons.