Number 8 Squadron (sometimes written as No. VIII 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) a ...

last operated the Boeing E-3D Sentry AEW1 ( AWACS) from

RAF Waddington Royal Air Force Waddington otherwise known as RAF Waddington is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located beside the village of Waddington, south of Lincoln, Lincolnshire in England. The station is the RAF's Intelligence Surveillance Target ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

. As of 2020, the RAF AWACS fleet was made up of three Sentry AEW1s, down from seven originally ordered in the late 1980s. Pursuant to the 2021 defence review, the E-3D Sentry aircraft made its final flight in U.K. service in August 2021. It was announced in July 2019 that from the early 2020s the squadron will be the first to operate the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail AEW1, the planned replacement for the RAF's E-3D Sentry fleet. The squadron will then reform at

RAF Lossiemouth Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland. Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the ...

History

First World War

As No. 8 Squadron of the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

(RFC) it was formed at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfie ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

on 1 January 1915, equipped with the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c. The squadron moved to Gosport later in January for further training, and crossed to France on 15 April 1915.Rawlings 1982, p. 19. While its main equipment was the B.E.2c, it also operated a fighter flight between May 1915 and early 1916 equipped with a mixture of aircraft, including the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.8 and the

Bristol Scout The Bristol Scout was a single-seat Rotary engine, rotary-engined biplane originally designed as a racing aircraft. Like similar fast, light aircraft of the period it was used by the RNAS and the Royal Flying Corps, RFC as a "Scout (aircraft), ...

, while it also evaluated the prototype

Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.9 The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.9 was a British experimental reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. Design The intention of the designers was to combine the high performance of tractor configuration aircraft with a good field of fire for the o ...

, a modified B.E.2 that carried the observer/gunner in a nacelle ahead of the aircraft's propeller.Bruce 1982, pp. 379, 382, 384. Operating from airfields near

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...

, the squadron was initially used for bombing and long-range reconnaissance, carrying out flights of up to behind the front lines.Ashworth 1989, p. 43. In February 1916 it moved to Bellevue and specialised in the Corps Reconnaissance role, carrying out contact patrols and artillery spotting in close co-operation with the army.Halley 1980, p. 29. The squadron flew in support of the Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916 and the Battle of Arras in April–May 1917. It received the improved B.E.2e from February 1917, but despite this, losses were heavy as all marks of B.E.2 were outclassed. Armstrong Whitworth FK.8s replaced the B.E.2s in August 1917.Halley 1980, p. 30. In June 1918, No 8 Squadron, part of the

since 1 April 1918 and commanded by Major T. Leigh-Mallory, was allocated to the

Tank Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...

, flying contact patrols in support of the Tank Corps attacks during the Battle of Amiens, and becoming expert in spotting and destroying German anti-tank guns. The FK.8s and some tanks were equipped with

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The mos ...

sets, although wireless communications between tanks and aeroplanes remained at a very basic stage for the rest of the war.Fuller 1920, pp. 242–4, 248. On 12 August 1918, Captain Ferdinand West of 8 Squadron was flying a F.K.8 on a contact patrol when he was attacked by seven German fighters. Despite a severe leg wound, West managed to manoeuvre his aircraft so that his observer could drive off the attacking fighters, before making a forced landing behind Allied lines and insisting in reporting the results of the flight. He was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

for this action.Fuller 1920, pp. 246–7. In December 1918, a few weeks after the

Armistice with Germany The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

that ended the First World War, the Squadron re-equipped with Sunbeam Arab-engined

Bristol F.2 Fighter The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane Fighter aircraft, fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit ...

s. It served briefly in Germany as part of the British Army of Occupation, before moving back to the United Kingdom in July 1919 and disbanding on 20 January 1920."8 Squadron"
. ''Royal Air Force''. Retrieved 16 September 2012.

Reformation

8 Squadron reformed at

Helwan Helwan ( ar, حلوان ', , cop, ϩⲁⲗⲟⲩⲁⲛ, Halouan) is a city in Egypt and part of Greater Cairo, on the bank of the Nile, opposite the ruins of Memphis. Originally a southern suburb of Cairo, it served as the capital of the now ...

, near

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medite ...

, as a day-bomber squadron equipped with the

Airco DH.9A The Airco DH.9A was a British single-engined light bomber designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. It was a development of the unsuccessful Airco DH.9 bomber, featuring a strengthened structure and, crucially, repla ...

on 18 October 1920. It moved to

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

in the Air Policing role, with the security of Iraq the responsibility of the RAF, in February 1921.Ashworth 1989, pp. 43–44. The squadron was deployed to

Kirkuk Kirkuk ( ar, كركوك, ku, کەرکووک, translit=Kerkûk, , tr, Kerkük) is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate, located north of Baghdad. The city is home to a diverse population of Turkmens, Arabs, Kurds, ...

in July 1922, where it operated against a Kurdish rebellion and Turkish infiltration, and helping to evacuate forces allied to the British from the city of

Sulaymaniyah Sulaymaniyah, also spelled as Slemani ( ku, سلێمانی, Silêmanî, ar, السليمانية, as-Sulaymāniyyah), is a city in the east of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, not far from the Iran–Iraq border. It is surrounded by the Azmar, G ...

in September 1922.""Exile" - Between The Wars - 1920-1939: No 8 Squadron is Posted Overseas"
''8 Squadron Royal Air Force''. 4 September 2006. Retrieved 16 September 2012. In November–December 1923 the squadron was deployed against

Marsh Arabs The Marsh Arabs ( ar, عرب الأهوار ''ʻArab al-Ahwār'' "Arabs of the Marshlands"), also referred to as the Maʻdān ( ar, معدان "dweller in the plains") or Shroog (Iraqi ar, شروق, "those from the east")—the latter two often ...

in the

Mesopotamian Marshes The Mesopotamian Marshes, also known as the Iraqi Marshes, are a wetland area located in Southern Iraq and in southwestern Iran. The marshes are primarily located on the floodplains of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers bound by the cities of Basra, ...

. In February 1927, in response to unrest in

Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people ...

, 8 Squadron was deployed to

RAF Khormaksar Royal Air Force Khormaksar or more simply RAF Khormaksar was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Aden, Yemen. Its motto was "Into the Remote Places". During the 1960s, it was the base for nine squadrons and became the RAF's busiest-ever station ...

, where it continued in the air policing role. The squadron replaced its elderly DH.9As with new

Fairey III The Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both landplane and seaplane variants. First flying on 14 September 1917, examples were still in u ...

F light bombers from January 1928. It flew operations against Zaidi in February 1928 and against the Subaihi tribe, who were refusing to pay taxes and revolting, from January to March 1929. Operations against the Subaihi involved destroying crops with incendiary bombs and bombing villages after giving warning so they could be evacuated. This pressure eventually forced the Subaihi to sue for peace, with the rebel chiefs paying fines. More peaceful operation carried out by the squadron included survey flights, casualty evacuation and carrying mail, while the squadron carried out a long-distance return trip from Aden to Cairo and back in 1932."8 Squadron Moves to Aden"
. ''8 Squadron Royal Air Force''. 4 September 2006. Retrieved 16 September 2012.Thetford ''Aeroplane Monthly'' May 1994, pp. 34–35. In April 1935, it re-equipped again with

Vickers Vincent The Vickers Vildebeest and the similar Vickers Vincent were two very large two- to three-seat single-engined British biplanes designed and built by Vickers and used as light bombers, torpedo bombers and in army cooperation roles. First flown ...

s, a general purpose aircraft based on the

Vickers Vildebeest The Vickers Vildebeest and the similar Vickers Vincent were two very large two- to three-seat single-engined British biplanes designed and built by Vickers and used as light bombers, torpedo bombers and in army cooperation roles. First flown ...

biplane torpedo bomber replacing the Fairey IIIFs. The squadron started to receive

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until t ...

twin-engined

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing conf ...

bombers in April 1939, but it retained a flight of Vincents for operations over the rough interior of the

Aden Protectorate The Aden Protectorate ( ar, محمية عدن ') was a British protectorate in South Arabia which evolved in the hinterland of the port of Aden and in the Hadhramaut following the conquest of Aden by the Bombay Presidency of British India ...

.Ashworth 1989, p. 44.

Second World War

On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on Britain and France. No 8 Squadron flew its first combat missions of the war on 12 June, when nine Blenheims bombed an airfield at Assab in Italian-occupied

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

, across the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

from Aden, with 5 Vincents attacking the same airfield that night.Shores 1996, p. 18–19. On 5 August 1940, Italy invaded British Somaliland, and 8 Squadron's Blenheims flew missions against advancing Italian troop columns. The Italians heavily outnumbered the British and Commonwealth defences, and the port of

Berbera Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It a ...

was occupied by the Italians on 19 August."The Ethiopian Campaign - 1940-1941"
. ''8 Squadron Royal Air Force'', 4 September 2006. Retrieved 19 September 2012.Shores 1996, pp. 45–54. The squadron's long association with the Middle East gave rise to the adoption of the Arabian Khunjah as the unit's badge. The unit continued to be based at

in Aden equipped with

s. Vickers Wellington XIIIs were flown from December 1943 until May 1945.Halley, 1988, p. 35

Post-War (1945–1971)

On 15 May 1945 No. 8 Squadron was reformed by renumbering No. 200 Squadron at RAF

Jessore Jessore ( bn, যশোর, jôshor, ), officially Jashore, is a city of Jessore District situated in Khulna Division. It is situated in the south-western part of Bangladesh. It is the administrative centre (headquarter) of the eponymous district ...

in India. Consolidated Liberator VIs were flown. The squadron again disbanded on 15 November 1945. The unit was reformed at Khormaksar on 1 September 1946 by renumbering No. 114 Squadron and the role of fighter bomber was adopted, initially with Mosquito FB.6 aircraft. These were replaced by the

Hawker Tempest The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the ''Typhoon II'', was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to a ...

, and the Bristol Brigand. Jet equipment was received in 1953 with the De Havilland Vampire FB.9. Continued updating of equipment brought the De Havilland Venom FB.1 and FB.4 and the

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls- ...

, flown from 1960 until 1967. The squadron disbanded on 21 December 1971.

Shackletons and Sentries (1972–2021)

The squadron reformed at

RAF Kinloss Royal Air Force Kinloss or RAF Kinloss is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north east of Scotland. The RAF station opened on 1 April 1939 and served as a training establishme ...

on 1 January 1972 in the

Airborne Early Warning Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

(AEW) role using Avro Shackleton AEW.2s. It moved to

on 14 August 1973, where it stayed until 1991 when it moved to

near Lincoln and re-equipped with

Boeing E-3 Sentry The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-weath ...

. The squadron was deployed over the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

in the early 1990s; it also saw action over

in 2009 and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is border ...

in 2010 and was then involved in

Operation Ellamy Operation Ellamy was the codename for the United Kingdom participation in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. The operation was part of an international coalition aimed at enforcing a Libyan no-fly zone in accordance with the United Natio ...

in 2011 during the

Libyan Civil War Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. T ...

. In early 2015, No. 8 Squadron deployed with two Sentries to

RAF Akrotiri RAF Akrotiri ( el, Βασιλική Πολεμική Αεροπορία Ακρωτηρίου) is a large Royal Air Force base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which com ...

, Cyprus, to participate in Operation Shader. Two Sentries (''ZH101'' and ''ZH103'') deployed to RAF Akrotiri in late May/early June 2021 to support Carrier Strike Group 21 as it passed through the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

. The E-3D's final operational sortie was carried out on 30 July, with ''ZH103'' returning to Waddington on 2 August followed by ''ZH101'' on 4 August. The Sentry AEW1s were officially retired by the RAF on 28 September 2021.

Future

It was announced in July 2019 that from the mid-2020s the squadron will be the first to operate the Boeing E-7 Wedgetail, the planned replacement for the RAF's E-3D Sentry fleet.

Aircraft operated

RAF - E-3D Sentry - Waddington Airshow 2012 (7495847112)

Aircraft operated include: * Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2 (1915–1917) *

Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 The Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 was a British two-seat general-purpose biplane built by Armstrong Whitworth during the First World War. The type served alongside the better known R.E.8 until the end of the war, at which point 694 F.K.8s remained ...

(1917–1918) * Bristol Fighter (1918–1920) *

(1920–1927) *

F (1927–1935) *

(1935–1942) *

(1939–1943) *

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and prim ...

(1943) *

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its ...

(1944–1945) * Consolidated Liberator (1945) *

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...

(1946–194) *

(1947–1949) * Bristol Brigand (1949–1952) * de Havilland Vampire FB.9 (1952–1955) * de Havilland Venom FB.1/FB.4 (1955–1960) * Gloster Meteor FR.9 (1958–1961) *

(1960–1971) * Avro Shackleton AEW.2 (1973–1991) * Boeing E-3D Sentry AEW1 (1991–2021)

''Magic Roundabout'' and the RAF

Avro 696 Shack WL795 8 Sq GC 310776 edited-2

8 Squadron's

Avro Shackleton The Avro Shackleton is a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber, which itself had been a devel ...

airborne early warning Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

aircraft were named after characters from ''

The Magic Roundabout ''The Magic Roundabout'' is an English-language children's television programme that ran from 1965 to 1977. It used the footage of the French stop motion animation show ''Le Manège enchanté'' but with completely different scripts and characte ...

'' and '' The Herbs'':"Airborne Early Warning: The Shackleton Years 1972–1991 – The Importance of Airborne Early Warning"
Retrieved 23 August 2013. * WL741: PC Knapweed * WL745: Sage * WL754: Paul * WL756: Mr Rusty * WL757: Brian * WL790: Mr McHenry (later renamed Zebedee) (now in

Pima Air and Space Museum The Pima Air & Space Museum, located in Tucson, Arizona, is one of the world's largest non-government funded aerospace museums. The museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres (320,000 m²) on a campus occ ...

, Arizona, USA) * WL793: Ermintrude * WL795: Rosalie * WR960: Dougal (now in the

Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, England, traces the development of science, technology and industry with emphasis on the city's achievements in these fields. The museum is part of the Science Museum Group, a non-departmental pub ...

in the UK) * WR963: Parsley (later Ermintrude II) * WR965: Dill (later Rosalie II) (sometimes referred to as Dylan) – crashed on

Isle of Harris Harris ( gd, Na Hearadh, ) is the southern and more mountainous part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Although not an island itself, Harris is often referred to in opposition to the ''Isle of Lewis'' as t ...

on 30 April 1990, killing all ten on board.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Ashworth, Chris. ''Encyclopedia of Modern Royal Air Force Squadrons''. Wellingborough, UK:PSL, 1989. . * Bruce, J. M. ''The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing)''. London: Putnam, 1982. . * Fuller, J. F. C
''Tanks in the Great War: 1914-1918''
New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1920. * Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians), 1980. . * Halley, James, J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918-1988''. Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, 1988. Tonbridge, Kent. . * Lewis, Peter. ''Squadron Histories: R.F.C, R.N.A.S and R.A.F., 1912–59''. London: Putnam, 1959. * Rawlings, John D. R. ''Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Jane's Publishing Company, 1982. . * Shores, Christopher. ''Dust Clouds in the Middle East: The Air War for East Africa, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Madagascar, 1940–42''. London: Grub Street, 1996. . * Thetford, Owen. "By Day and By Night: Fairey IIIF and Gordon in Service". ''

Aeroplane Monthly ''Aeroplane'' (formerly ''Aeroplane Monthly'') is a British magazine devoted to aviation, with a focus on aviation history and preservation. __TOC__ ''The Aeroplane'' The weekly ''The Aeroplane'' launched in June 1911 under founding edit ...

'', Vol 22 No 5, May 1994. pp. 32–38. ISSN 0143-7240.

External links

Royal Air Force website – 8 Squadron

8 Squadron Association
{{Royal Air Force Military units and formations established in 1915 008 Squadron 008 Squadron 1915 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations in Aden in World War II R