Number 72 (Fighter) Squadron of the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
is a training squadron that is currently based at
RAF Valley
Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...
using the
Beechcraft Texan T.1 to deliver Basic Fast Jet Training (BFJT).
It was previously based at
RAF Linton-on-Ouse
RAF Linton-on-Ouse was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station at Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, England, north-west of York. It had satellite stations at RAF Topcliffe and Dishforth Airfield (British Army).
The station opened in 1937. With t ...
using the
Short Tucano T.1, a modified version of the Brazilian
Embraer EMB-312 Tucano training aircraft. No. 72 Squadron started its service life supporting the
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
on operations in
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
and afterwards was quickly disbanded. In its second incarnation the squadron was a real fighter unit, transitioning from
Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s.
Developed private ...
biplanes to
Gloster Javelin all-weather jets, in between flying the
Supermarine Spitfire during the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
. The jets went in 1961 and from then until 1 April 2002 the squadron flew
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
s in the transport role.
The squadron nickname, "Basutoland", is derived from the fact that during both world wars, the Basutoland Protectorate, now
Lesotho, donated aircraft to RAF, which were assigned to No. 72 Squadron.
History
First World War
No. 72 Squadron was formed on 28 June 1917 at
Upavon
Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain ...
as a squadron of the
Royal Flying Corps.
[Jefford 2001, p. 50.] On Christmas Day, the squadron left for the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
and regrouped at Basra on 2 March. Here, they split in three flights, each assisting the Army in their various missions, and were disbanded in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
on 22 September 1919.
Second World War
No. 72 Squadron was reformed at
RAF Tangmere
RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, and one of several stations near Chichester, West Sussex. The famous Second World War aces Wing Commander Douglas Bader, a ...
on 22 February 1937 from 'B' flight of
No. 1 Squadron.
In 1939, the squadron was outfitted with
Supermarine Spitfires which replaced the
Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s.
Developed private ...
s that came with the flight from No. 1 Squadron. These were used in Air defence and convoy protection duties following the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. Then, in 1940, the squadron moved to assist in the
evacuation of Dunkirk.
During the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
, No. 72 Squadron spent the early days at
RAF Acklington
Royal Air Force Acklington, simply known as RAF Acklington, is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station located south west of Amble, Northumberland and north east of Morpeth, Northumberland.
The airfield was operational initia ...
as part of
No. 13 Group, before moving south during September to aid the main defence force. The squadron was then moved to North Africa to support the
Tunisian campaign
The Tunisian campaign (also known as the Battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. Th ...
before being supplied with the updated Spitfire Mk.IX in 1942. They then assisted the
British 8th Army as they advanced through Italy and France up until the German surrender. At this point they were moved to Austria. It was here they were disbanded on 30 December 1946 at
Zeltweg
Zeltweg is a town in Styria, Austria. It is located in the Aichfeld basin of the Mur River in Upper Styria. Larger municipalities in the vicinity are Judenburg, Knittelfeld and Fohnsdorf.
History
Some farms were recorded at Zeltweg in the Duchy ...
.
Post-War jets
The squadron was reformed on 1 February 1947 at
RAF Odiham
RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook, and of the King’s Helicopter Flight (TKHF) . ...
by renumbering
No. 130 Squadron.
They took over No. 130 Squadron's
de Havilland Vampire F.1s, making no haste to remove that units 'AP' code. The Vampire soldiered on for three versions until it gave way to the
Gloster Meteor F.8 in 1952, and when the squadron was given a night-fighter role in February 1956 these were replaced with Meteor NF.12s and Meteor NF.14s. In April 1959, the squadron got the all-weather fighter role and was given
Gloster Javelin FAW.4s and later Javelin FAW.5s. These were flown until the squadron was disbanded at
RAF Leconfield
Royal Air Force Leconfield or more simply RAF Leconfield is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leconfield (near Beverley), East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
The site is now used by the MoD Defence School of Transport Leconfield or ...
on 30 June 1961.
Helicopters
On 15 November 1961, No. 72 Squadron was reformed at
RAF Odiham
RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook, and of the King’s Helicopter Flight (TKHF) . ...
, but now as a helicopter unit.
[Rawlings 1982, p. 89.] They were equipped with twin-rotor
Bristol Belvederes HC.1s until the
Westland Wessex HC.2 replaced these aircraft in August 1964. For the next thirty-eight years they continued to use these aircraft and in that time the squadron saw action in Malaya, provided post-disaster assistance following the ''
Torrey Canyon'' tanker disaster in 1967 and supported the security forces in Northern Ireland from 1969.
During the mid 1970s the squadron also operated a SAR 'D' flight at
RAF Manston
Royal Air Force Manston or more simply RAF Manston is a former Royal Air Force station located in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site was split between a commercial airport Kent International Airpo ...
. From January 1997 the Wessex was partly supplanted with the more modern
Westland Puma HC.1. The squadron's Wessex HC.2s departed
RAF Aldergrove on 25 March 2002, shortly before their retirement. No. 72 Squadron was then disbanded on 1 April 2002 at Aldergrove.
[
]
Training – Tucano to Texan
On 12 July 2002, No. 1 Flying Training School
The No. 1 Flying Training School (1 FTS) is the oldest military pilot training school in the world, currently used to deliver rotary training to aircrew of the British armed forces.
History
First formation (1919 – 1928)
On 23 December 1919 ...
divided its strength between two new reserve squadrons – No. 72 (Reserve) Squadron and No. 207 (Reserve) Squadron, with both units operating the Short Tucano
The Short Tucano is a two-seat turboprop basic trainer built by Short Brothers in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a licence-built version of the Brazilian Embraer EMB 312 Tucano.
On 14 February 1986, the prototype conducted its maiden flig ...
T.1 at RAF Linton-on-Ouse
RAF Linton-on-Ouse was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station at Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, England, north-west of York. It had satellite stations at RAF Topcliffe and Dishforth Airfield (British Army).
The station opened in 1937. With t ...
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...
. No. 72 (Reserve) Squadron became No. 72 Squadron after the (Reserve) suffix was rescinded across the RAF on 1 February 2018. The final Tucano Basic Fast-jet Training (BFJT) course graduated on 25 October 2019, which was marked with a nine-ship flypast over the local area. No. 72 Squadron disbanded on 31 October 2019.
On 28 November 2019, the squadron stood-up at RAF Valley
Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...
operating the Beechcraft Texan T.1.
On 13 November 2020, No. 72 Squadron became No. 72 (Fighter) Squadron to reflect its former role as a fighter unit.
Aircraft operated
See also
* List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
References
;Citations
;Bibliography
* Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. ''Squadron Codes, 1937-56''. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. .
* Delve, Ken. ''The Source Book of the RAF''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1994. .
* Docherty, Tom. ''Swift to Battle: No. 72 Fighter Squadron RAF in Action, Volume 1: 1937 to 1942, Phoney War, Dunkirk, Battle of Britain, Offensive Operations''. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen and Sword, 2009. .
* Docherty, Tom. ''Swift to Battle: No. 72 Fighter Squadron RAF in Action, Volume 2: 1942 to 1947, North Africa, Malta, Sicily, Southern France and Austria''. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen and Sword, 2009. .
* Docherty, Tom. ''Swift to Battle: No. 72 Fighter Squadron RAF in Action, Volume 3: 1947 to 1961, Cold War Operations''. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen and Sword, 2010. .
* Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. ''Combat Codes: A full explanation and listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied air force unit codes since 1938''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. .
*
* Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918-1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. .
* Jackson, Ashley, ''The British Empire and the Second World War'' (London/New York: Hambledon Continuumn, 2006).
* Jefford, C.G. ''RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 2001. .
* Rawlings, John D.R. ''Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. .
* Rawlings, John D.R. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (new edition 1976, reprinted 1978). .
* Robinson, Anthony. ''RAF Fighter Squadrons in the Battle of Britain''. London: Arms and Armour Press Ltd., 1987 (Reprinted in 1999 by Brockhampton Press, .)
* Sturtivant, Ray, ISO
ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization.
ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance
* Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007
* Iso ...
and John Hamlin. ''RAF Flying Training And Support Units since 1912''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2007. .
External links
Official RAF No.72 Squadron Website
No.72 Squadron in art
Photographs of No.72 Squadron's farewell visit and flypast at RAF North Weald, March 2002
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 72 Squadron Raf
072 Squadron
072 Squadron
Military units and formations established in 1917
1917 establishments in the United Kingdom
Military history of Basutoland during World War II