| No. 30 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active |
|
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Type | Flying squadron |
| Role | Tactical air transport |
| Part of | Air Mobility Force |
| Station | RAF Brize Norton |
| Mottos | Ventre a terre (French for 'All out') |
| Aircraft | Airbus A400M Atlas C1 |
No. 30 Squadron is a squadron of theRoyal Air Force which operates theAirbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft and is based atRAF Brize Norton,Oxfordshire.
The squadron was first formed as a unit of theRoyal Flying Corps in 1915, serving through the rest of theFirst World War inEgypt andMesopotamia, carrying out reconnaissance, bombing and air-to-air combat duties. After the end of the war, the squadron continued to serve in Iraq, attacking rebels against theBritish rule in Iraq and later rebels against the Iraqi government.
In November 1914 as war with theTurkish Empire became increasingly likely, theRoyal Flying Corps despatched a flight of aircraft from Britain toEgypt to provide defence to theSuez Canal. Initial equipment consisted ofFarman Longhorn andShorthorn biplanes, which were soon supplemented by theRoyal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 andFarman HF.20 sent from India.[1][2] The flight, based atIsmailia Airfield, was redesignated No. 30 Squadron on 24 March 1915.[3][4]
On 24 August 1915, theMesopotamian Half Flight, a unit of theAustralian Flying Corps stationed inMesopotamia (nowIraq) was formally attached to No. 30 Squadron. For several months the Half-Flight, underCaptainHenry Petre, and equipped with a mixture of Farman Shorthorns, Farman Longhorns and theCaudron G.3, had been flying operations in support of theIndian Army, againstTurkish ground forces, during theMesopotamian campaign.[5][6][7]
On 26 August 1915, a second flight, equipped withMartinsyde Scouts, arrived atBasrah to join the No. 30 Squadron forces operating in Mesopotamia. The Martinsydes suffered from poor engine reliability in the heat and dusty conditions encountered.[8][9] Despite this, a forward deployed detachment of the squadron supported the army's advance along theTigris river, with reconnaissance by the squadron's aircraft helping the British and Indian forces to win theBattle of Es Sinn and captureKut al-Imara in September 1915.[10][11] In October 1915, the rest of the squadron moved to Mesopotamia, being relieved in Egypt byNo. 14 Squadron.[12] On 7 November, the squadron was reorganised with headquarters and B-Flight atBasra and A-Flight deployed forward at Azizaya.[13]
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No. 30 squadron continued to support British forces as they advanced towardsBaghdad, until the advance was stopped by theBattle of Ctesiphon on 22–25 November 1915.[14] An airreconnaissance mission on the eve of the battle carried out byMajor H. L Reilly of the squadron spotted that the Turkish positions in front ofCtesiphon had been heavily reinforced, but his aircraft was shot down by ground-fire and Reilly captured. It has been suggested in the Official Histories of the Air War and the Campaign in Mesopotamia, that if Reilly had successfully returned with his intelligence to the British lines,Major GeneralTownshend, commander of the British force, would have aborted the attack.[15][16] After Ctesiphon, the British column retreated to Kut al-Imara, pursued by the Turkish Army, andKut was besieged from 7 December 1915. Those aircraft that could evacuate left Kut earlier that day, but most of the personnel of the forward deployed A- and B-Flights of the squadron, along with three unserviceable aircraft, were trapped in the besieged town.[17]
While reduced in serviceable strength to only a single B.E.2, the squadron provided reconnaissance support to the force sent to relieve the troops trapped at Kut.[18] The squadron was reinforced by four more B.E.2 in February 1916.[19] The relief column failed to break through to Kut, and in April 1916, the squadron, with eight B.E.2, together with sevenRoyal Naval Air Service aircraft, carried out one of the earliest air supply mission when it air-dropped food and other supplies to the besieged garrison. While 19,000 lb (8,600 kg) of food was dropped between 15 and 29 April, this was insufficient to feed the trapped troops and the civilian population of the town, and Townshend surrendered on 29 April.[20][3] The squadron built up its strength over the summer, and by August had thirteen B.E.2, which were supplemented by sixMartinsyde Elephant scouts in September 1916.[21] The squadron supported the resumed British offensive that started in December 1916,[22] which resulted in the Britishcapture of Baghdad on 11 March 1917, with the squadron moving to Baghdad airfield later that day.[23] In April 1917, the Ottoman air defences were strengthened by the arrival ofHalberstadt fighters from Germany, which outclassed the squadrons B.E.2. In response, twoBristol Scout fighters joined the squadron, with the promise that the more capableSpad VII would follow.[24][25][26]
In August 1917,No. 63 Squadron arrived in Mesopotamia, so that No. 30 Squadron was no longer the sole source of air support for the British forces.[27] In September of that year, the promised Spads arrived to replace the squadron's Bristol Scouts, while from October theRoyal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 arrived to supersede the obsolete BE.2, which were phased out by February 1918.[2] In December 1917 and January 1918, the squadron received twoAirco DH.4 bombers, but both had been lost by the end of January 1918.[28]
No. 30 Squadron was sent toIran in 1919 as part of theNorperforce.[29] In April 1919, the squadron was reduced to acadre at Baghdad, but not disbanded, and in February 1920, it returned to full strength at Baghdad as an Army co-operation squadron equipped with the RE.8, with these gradually being replaced byAirco DH.9A light bombers,[30][31] with re-equipment being complete by early 1921.[32]
From June 1920, the squadron, along with the rest of the RAF's strength in Iraq,[a] was deployed against anIraqi revolt against British rule.[34] In May–June 1921, No. 30 andNo. 47 Squadron's DH.9A supported the establishing of a permanentCairo–Baghdad land route, providing an air escort for vehicle convoys creating a visible track across the desert, while from 21 June that year the two squadrons began air-mail runs along the Cairo-Baghdad route.[35]
In early 1924, aircraft from the squadron were deployed toKirkuk for operations againsta revolt led by theKurdish leader SheikhMahmud Barzanji. The city ofSulaymaniyah, the base of Mahmud's operations was bombed, and Mahmud withdrew into the mountains.[36] The squadron again saw action in the summers of 1925 and 1926 as Mahmud's rebellion reignited, attacking rebel-held villages.[37] In late February 1938, a flight of No. 30 Squadron aircraft joined 'Akforce', a force of aircraft set up to stopIkhwan nomadic raiders fromSaudi Arabia attacking Iraq andKuwait, these operations continuing until June.[38]
In 1929, No. 30 Squadron replaced the DH.9A with theWestland Wapiti.[30][32] In September 1930, Mahmud again raised a rebellion against the British and Iraqis, and the quadron supported Iraqi Army operations against the rebels. The campaign against Mahmud continued until May 1931, when Mahmud surrendered. Wapitis of No. 30 Squadron flew 2,204 hours between October 1930 and May 1931 in operations against Mahmud.[39]
In March 1932, the Iraqi Army launched an offensive against arevolt by the supporters ofAhmed Barzani in Southern Kurdistan. No. 30 Squadron initially provided reconnaissance support to the Iraqi Army columns, but after one column was heavily attacked and forced to retreat, the RAF launched a series of air attacks against Barzani's forces until Barzani crossed the border into Turkey.[40] In April–August 1935 the squadron receivedHawker Hardys (a general purpose version of theHawker Hart light bomber, modified for operations in thetropics), being the first squadron to receive the Hardy.[32][41]
In 1936, the squadron moved to the RAF's new base in Iraq,RAF Habbaniya.[42] It re-equipped with modernBristol Blenheim Imonoplane bombers in 1938.[43]
In August 1939, as war loomed, the squadron moved back toRAF Ismailia in Egypt and carried out escort missions in the Western Desert and provided fighter defence ofAlexandria.[44][45][b] In November 1940, it was sent to Greece to operate its Blenheims in both the bomber and fighter roles, with the first of its Blenheims arriving atEleusis airfield nearAthens on 3 November,[46] with forward deployments of the bombers to an airfield atParamythia, while the squadron's fighter Blenheims remained back at Eleusis to protect Athens.[47] In March 1941, the squadron was redesignated a fighter unit.[48] On 5 April, five Blenheims were detached toCrete, and tasked with maritime reconnaissance, convoy escort and night fighting.[49] More of the squadron's Blenheims were sent toMaleme Airfield on Crete on 17 April.[50] By the middle of May, German air attacks on Crete had made the squadron's operations from the island untenable, and on 15 May the squadrons remaining three airworthy Blenheims were evacuated to Egypt.[51][52] Despite this, 229 officers and men from No. 30 andNo. 33 Squadrons remained at Maleme when the Germans launched anattack on the airfield by airborne troops on 20 May.[53] Many of these airmen, despite being poorly armed took part in the defence of Maleme before the survivors attempted to evacuate viaSfakia. Losses were heavy.[54]
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After the losses during the fall of Greece and theBattle of Crete, the squadron was rebuilt as a fighter unit equipped withHawker Hurricanes and employed on night defence of Alexandria and shipping protection patrols before moving on to operations in the Western Desert.[55][56]
When the situation in the Far East worsened, the squadron was ordered to reinforce allied forces inJava, but by the time the squadron left Egypt, Java, had already fallen, and the squadron was ferried by theRoyal Navy aircraft carrierHMS Indomitable toCeylon arriving on 6 March 1942, just in time to assist in resisting theJapanese carrier strike against the island.[57] This raid took place on 5 April 1942 with twenty-one aircraft being launched from its base atRAF Ratmalana whilst under heavy fire from Japanese aircraft. Seven of the squadron's Hurricanes were lost, with five of its pilots being killed or dying later of wounds received during the battle. It claimed fourteen Japanese aircraft shot down, together with six probably destroyed and five damaged, out of a total claim for the whole of the island's defences of twenty-four shot down, seven probables and nine damaged. In fact, the Japanese lost seven aircraft, with a further fifteen damaged.[58][59]
On 28 January 1944, the squadron left Ceylon for the Burma front, flying escort missions forDouglas Dakota andCurtiss C-46 transport aircraft over theKaladan valley.[60] In March, it added night ground-attack sorties against river craft to its escort duties,[51] and moved toComilla on 10 April 1944.[61]
On 25 May 1944, the squadron was pulled out of the front line back toYelahanka nearBangalore for re-equipment with AmericanRepublic P-47 Thunderbolts.[62] It returned to action in October,[63] carrying out bomber and transport escort,[64] and ground attack with guns, bombs andnapalm.[65][66] It operated in support ofXV Corps of theBritish Indian Army until the end of March.[67] Operating fromAkyab, the squadron supportedOperation Dracula, the Anglo-Indian amphibious landings atRangoon on 1 May.[68] Following the capture of Rangoon, with a lull of operations, the squadron was pulled out of the front line to prepare forOperation Zipper, the planned British invasion of Malaya,[69] but the Japanese surrender on 15 August meant that the squadron was not needed to support the landings.[70]
After the Japanese surrender, No. 30 Squadron remained in India and in March 1946 its Thunderbolts were replaced by theHawker Tempest F.2. The squadron lost its aircraft on 1 December 1946, before being disbanded on 1 April 1947 atAgra.[71]
On 24 November 1947, the squadron was reformed atRAF Oakington, Cambridgeshire in the transport role, operating as part ofRAF Transport Command. It flew the Dakota on numeroushumanitarian supply flights during theBerlin Airlift. It re-equipped with theVickers Valetta transport aircraft came in December 1950. The heavier four-engineBlackburn Beverley was flown between April 1957 and September 1967.
From November 1959, the squadron operated out ofRAF Eastleigh inKenya, before moving on toRAF Muharraq in Bahrain in October 1964.[72]
The Squadron temporarily disbanded in September 1967, but quickly reformed in June 1968 atRAF Fairford in Gloucestershire equipped with the turbine-propeller poweredLockheed C-130 Hercules tactical transport aircraft, maintaining the units transport role. The squadron moved toRAF Lyneham, also in Wiltshire in September 1971.[6]
During 2008, the squadron's A-Flight was based atRAF Al Udeid in Qatar operating the Hercules C4.[73]
The squadron flew its last Hercules flight on 8 December 2016.[74] It then took on an administrative role and later reformed on 28 September 2021 to become the second frontline squadron operating theAirbus A400M Atlas C1.[75]
Thesquadron's badge features adate palm tree, signifying the squadron's long service in theMiddle East. It was approved byKing George VI in May 1938.[76]
The squadron's motto isVentre a terre (French for 'All out').[77]
A memorial to the airmen of No. 30 Squadron andNo. 33 Squadron who died during theBattle of Crete in 1941 is located betweenMaleme and Tavronitis (35°31′31″N23°49′43″E / 35.525363°N 23.828619°E /35.525363; 23.828619) on the Greek island ofCrete. It overlooks the Iron Bridge across the River Tavronitis and theMaleme Airport runway.[78]
A memorial to all who have served with No. 30 Squadron was unveiled in September 2008 at theNational Memorial Arboretum inStaffordshire. It was designed and made from Chinesegranite by Johnson Stonemason ofWestbury.[79]
No. 30 Squadron has received the followingbattle honours. Those marked with an asterisk (*) may be emblazoned on thesquadron standard. List from from Ashworth except where stated.[80]
