| No. 1312 Flight Royal Air Force | |
|---|---|
 1312 FltC-130K Hercules taking-off fromRAF Stanley | |
| Active | 19 Apr 1944 – 21 Jul 1944 14 Sep 1954 – 01 Apr 1957 20 Aug 1983 – present[1][2] |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Type | independent aircraftflight |
| Role | Transport (1944; 1954–1957) Aerial refuelling and transport (1983–present) |
| Size | two fixed-wing aircraft |
| Part of | British Forces South Atlantic Islands |
| Based at | RAF Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands[3] |
| Motto | 'Uphold the Right'[1] |
| Website | 1312 Flight |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Transport | Airbus A400M Atlas C1[3] |
| Tanker | Airbus Voyager KC3[3] |
No. 1312 Flight Royal Air Force, commonly abbreviated to1312 Flt RAF, is an independent aircraftflight of theRoyal Air Force (RAF). Currently based atRoyal Air Force Station Mount Pleasant (more commonly known as RAF Mount Pleasant, and also known as Mount Pleasant Airport, MPA, and Mount Pleasant Complex)[3][4] inEast Falkland, 1312 Flt are supporting at present the defence of theFalkland Islands and other nearby British Overseas Territories.[3]
The Royal Air Force contribution toBritish Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI) is based at Mount Pleasant; the primary frontline component isNo. 1435 Flight, with its fourEurofighter Typhoon FGR4[4] advanced multi-role combat aircraft. 1312 Flight providesaerial refuelling,air transport,search and rescue, andmaritime patrol.[3] The latter is an important mission to the Falkland Islands government, as itsAirbus A400M Atlas C1 (and its precessorLockheed C-130K Hercules) verifies that allfishing vessels are licensed; at£1,000 per licence per season - an important source of income. The flight motto is 'Uphold the Right'; the motto of the Falkland Islands is 'Desire the Right'.
No 1312 (Transport) Flight was first formed on 19 April 1944 (81 years ago) (1944-04-19), atRAF Llandow,[1] south Wales. It originally operated sixAvro Ansons to collect and deliver aircrew involved in theferrying replacement aircraft to operational squadrons. After June 1944, it was involved intransporting wounded serviceman back to England from France, until it was disbanded on 21 July 1944 (81 years ago) (1944-07-21).[1][5][6]
1312 was re-formed on 14 September 1954 (71 years ago) (1954-09-14), atRAF Abingdon, asNo 1312 (Transport Support) Flight;[1] operating theHandley Page Hastings, and later theVickers Valetta, disbanding on 1 April 1957 (68 years ago) (1957-04-01).[1][2][6]
No 1312 (In Flight Refuelling) Flight re-formed again on 20 August 1983 (42 years ago) (1983-08-20) atRAF Stanley,[1] before moving to the newly openedRAF Mount Pleasant in 1986, where it remains current.[1][3][7] The original task was to operate theLockheed C-130K Hercules C1K on air-to-air refuelling missions, but this was later replaced by aVickers VC10 K4[8] (borrowed from101 Squadron) andC-130K Hercules C1s from theLyneham Wing.[6] On 31 August 2013, the VC10 was replaced by aLockheed TriStar K1 from216 Squadron.
Presently, 1312 Flt utilise aircraft and crew fromRAF Brize Norton. Specifically,No. 70 Squadron provide anAirbus A400M Atlas C1, whilstNo. 10 and 101 Squadron provide anAirbus Voyager KC3.
Whilst it is common forRAF stations andRAF flying squadrons to be authorised to display an officialheraldic badge following Royal approval, historically, it was extremely rare forRAF Flights to be granted authority for such. However, in recent times, the Royal Air Force has been more accommodating in granting Flights with their own unit badge such as theBattle of Britain Memorial Flight.
The quest for an official heraldic badge for 1312 Flight began sometime 2000. No 1435 Flight's badge contained aCassin's Falcon (aPeregrine falcon, common in the Falklands), so in keeping with the larger transport aircraft operated by 1312, a larger bird, theUpland Goose was chosen. 'Uphold the Right' was selected as the official motto, in keeping with other MPA units, and the Falkland Island's own motto, 'Desire the Right'.[1] The badge was eventually awarded August 2002, and received its Royal approval in 2003.[1]
| from | to | aircraft | version |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Apr 1944 | 21 Jul 1944 | Avro Anson | MkI MkX |
| 14 Sep 1954 | 1 Apr 1957 | Handley Page Hastings | C.1 C.2 |
| Feb 1955 | 1 Apr 1957 | Vickers Valetta | C.1 |
| 20 Aug 1983 | 31 Mar 1996 | Lockheed C-130K Hercules | C1K |
| 31 Mar 1996 | 31 Aug 2013 | Vickers VC10[4] Lockheed C-130K Hercules[4] | K4[8] C1 |
| 31 Aug 2013 | Feb 2014 | Lockheed TriStar Lockheed C-130K Hercules | K1 C1[9] |
| Feb 2014 | Mar 2018 5 Apr 2018 | Airbus Voyager Lockheed C-130J Hercules[10] | KC3[11] C4/C5 |
| Mar 2018 | present | Airbus Voyager[3] Airbus A400M Atlas[3] | KC3 C1 |
| name | from | to | station | location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No 1312 (Transport) Flight | 19 April 1944 | 21 July 1944 | RAF Llandow | Glamorgan,Wales |
| No 1312 (Transport Support) Flight | 14 September 1954 | 1 April 1957 | RAF Abingdon | Oxfordshire,England |
| No 1312 (In Flight Refuelling) Flight | 20 August 1983 | 1986 | RAF Stanley[3] | Stanley, Falkland Islands |
| 1986 | present | RAF Mount Pleasant[3] | East Falkland, Falkland Islands |
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Media related toNo. 1312 Flight RAF at Wikimedia Commons
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