349th Squadron (french: 349^e escadrille, nl, 349^ste Smaldeel) is a fighter

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

in the

Air Component The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne bel ...

of the

Belgian Armed Forces The Belgian Defense Forces ( nl, Defensie; french: La Défense) is the national military of Belgium. The King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium became indepen ...

. The squadron traces its origins to No. 349 (Belgian) 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) and ...

, founded in 1942 as part of the Free Belgian forces during

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 opposin ...

. It was transferred to the re-established Belgian Air Force in 1946, together with 350th Squadron. Considered an "honorary" squadron, it retained its original name and numbering and has been flying under the Belgian flag ever since. Today it is part of the 10th Tactical Wing, operating the

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

from

Kleine Brogel Peer () is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. On January 1, 2006, Peer had a total population of 15,810. The total area is 86.95 km² which gives a population density of 182 inhabitants per km� ...

airbase.

History

Royal Air Force (1942–46)

No 349 (Belgian) Squadron was formed as a

squadron by Belgian personnel at RAF Ikeja (near

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

on 10 November 1942.The Belgian RAF section during WWII
unitedkingdom.diplomatie.belgium.be, 06 July 2018 The squadron was equipped with the

Curtiss Tomahawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...

for local defence duties but the squadron did not become operational as such. The pilots were used for ferrying aircraft to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

instead. The squadron was disbanded in May 1943 and the personnel transferred to the UK. On 5 June 1943, the Squadron was reformed at RAF Station Wittering, operating the Supermarine Spitfire V and became operational at

RAF Digby Royal Air Force Digby otherwise known as RAF Digby is a Royal Air Force station located near Scopwick and south east of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, in Lincolnshire, England. The station is home to the tri-service Joint Service Signals Organi ...

in August 1943. The squadron moved to southern England to operate over France as bomber escorts and low-level sweeps. In early 1944, it began training as a fighter-bomber unit and then operated as such in occupied Europe. During the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

, it carried out beachhead patrols and were used as bomber escorts. In August 1944 the squadron moved to France, in the fighter-bomber role, and carried out armed reconnaissance behind enemy positions, attacking targets of opportunity (mainly vehicles). In February 1945, the squadron returned to England to convert to 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 ...

. This did not go well: conversion ended in April, and the squadron reacquired Spitfire IXs, operating from the Netherlands. It moved to Belgium and was disbanded as an RAF-squadron on 24 October 1946 on transfer to the

Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...

, keeping the number. The last Belgian pilot to fly for the original 349th squadron during D-day,

Joseph Moureau Joseph "Jeff" Moureau (13 April 1921 – 28 October 2020) was a Belgian fighter pilot of the 349th (Belgian) Squadron belonging to the Royal Air Force during World War II.

, died in 2020 at the age of 99.https://www.brusselstimes.com/news/belgium-all-news/138229/last-belgian-military-pilot-to-fly-on-d-day-passes-away-aged-99-british-royal-air-force-raf-spitfire-jeff-moureau-world-war-ii-349th-squadron-junker-ju88-bomber-sobelair-sabena/
brusselstimes.com, 29 October 2020 During the second world war a total of 521 Belgian officers served in the RAF, suffering 128 loses.

Aircraft operated during RAF service

Commanding officers

Belgian Air Force (1946 to present)

Belgian military F-16 Fighting Falcon conducts a combat patrol over Afghanistan

In 1946, the unit was integrated in the Belgian Air Force. From 1998, the unit was commanded by future Belgian astronaut

Frank De Winne Frank, Viscount De Winne (born 25 April 1961, in Ledeberg, Belgium) is a Belgian Air Component officer and an ESA astronaut. He is Belgium's second person in space (after Dirk Frimout). He was the first ESA astronaut to command a space mission whe ...

. From 1957 to 1964, the squadron operated the

Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck (affectionately known as the "Clunk") is a Canadian twinjet interceptor/ fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Avro Canada. It has the distinction of being the only Canadian-designed fighter to e ...

. In 1999, the squadron participated in the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

. In 2004, it was the first squadron to be deployed to Siauliai airbase, Lithuania in the context of the

Baltic Air Policing The Baltic air-policing mission is a NATO air defence Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) in order to guard the airspace above the three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Mission Within the Alliance, preserving airspace integrity is con ...

operation. In 2005 and 2008 it was deployed to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

as part of the

ISAF ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

mission in

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 bordere ...

. In 2011, it was part of

Operation Unified Protector Operation Unified Protector was a NATO operation in 2011 enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973 concerning the Libyan Civil War and adopted on 26 February and 17 March 2011, respectively. These resolutions imposed ...

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. The ...

. 349th Sqn was the first operational F-16 squadron in NATO.

References

Bibliography

* Donnet, Mike and Leon Branders. ''Ils en Etaient !''. Brussels, Belgium: Pierre De Meyere, Editeur, 1979. * Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918-1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. . * 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. . * Lallemant, Lt. Colonel R.A. ''Rendez-vous avec la chance'' (in French). Paris: Robert Laffont, 1962. * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (new revised edition 1976, reprinted 1978). . *

External links

349 Squadron History at raf.mod.uk

{{RAF Squadrons Fighter Squadron, 349 349 349 Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1943 Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 Military units and formations established in 1946