| No. XIX Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active |
|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Type | Non-flying squadron |
| Role | Control and Reporting Centre |
| Part of |
|
| Station | RAF Boulmer |
| Nicknames |
|
| Motto | Possunt quia posse videntur (Latin for 'They can because they think they can') |
| Equipment | UK Air Surveillance Command and Control System |
| Insignia | |
| Roundel |  |
| Tail codes | WZ (Oct 1938 – Sep 1939)[2][3] QV (Sep 1939 – Sep 1945)[4][5] A (1989–1991)[6] |
No. 19 Squadron, also known asNo. XIX Squadron is asquadron of theRoyal Air Force. It operates the UK'sControl and Reporting Centre atRAF Boulmer, Northumberland. The squadron provides surveillance of UKairspace, and tacticalcommand and control ofRAF andNATO aircraft, including the UK's contribution to NATO'sQuick Reaction Alert mission.
Formed on 1 September 1915 as aRoyal Flying Corps squadron, it served during theFirst World War. It was the first squadron to operate theSupermarine Spitfire, which it flew for the majority of theSecond World War. AsNo. 19 (Fighter) Squadron, it operated several aircraft types during the Cold War, including theGloster Meteor F.4 and theMcDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR.2. In 1992, it began flying theBAe Hawk fromRAF Valley in Anglesey and was designated asNo. 19 (Reserve) Squadron, before disbanding on 24 November 2011. It reformed to take on responsibility for theControl and Reporting Centre in 1 April 2021.
No. 19 Squadron of theRoyal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed on 1 September 1915, from members ofNo. 5 Squadron, atCastle Bromwich, near Birmingham.[7][8] It trained on a variety of aircraft before being deployed to France in July 1916, flying theRoyal Aircraft Factory B.E.12 and later re-equipping with the more suitable French-builtSPAD S.VII.[9]
From November 1917, the squadron started to receiveSopwith Dolphins to replace its Spads, being fully equipped with the Dolphin by January 1918 and flying its first operational patrol with the new fighter on 3 February.[10][11] By the end of the war, No. 19 Squadron had had twenty-twoflying aces among its ranks, includingAlbert Desbrisay Carter,John Leacroft,Arthur Bradfield Fairclough,Oliver Bryson,Gordon Budd Irving,Frederick Sowrey, futureAir CommodorePatrick Huskinson,Cecil Gardner,Roger Amedee Del'Haye, futureAir Chief MarshalJames Hardman,Finlay McQuistan,Alexander Pentland,John Candy,Cecil Thompson andJohn Aldridge.[12]
Commanding officers during this time includedH.D. Harvey-Kelly who was the first RFC pilot to land in France in theFirst World War. At least one No. 19 Squadron airman, a Canadian, George Robert Long, was captured on 6 October 1917 in theLille area and spent the rest of the war in a number ofprisoner of warcamps, includingHolzminden. It was his very first flight, in a Spad VII, when the squadron was operating from the asylum ground inBailleul. He was shot down by Gefreiter J. Funk, flying with Ja30. He had first been a member of theCanadian Expeditionary Force in the infantry and was wounded a number of times. He wasn't repatriated until 14 December 1918, when he return home toOttawa.[13]
No. 19 Squadron disbanded after the First World War on 31 December 1919.[14] On 1 April 1923, the squadron reformed atRAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire, operating theSopwith Snipe, initially as part ofNo. 2 Flying Training School (No. 2 FTS).[14][15] After becoming independent of No. 2 FTS, the squadron remained at Duxford flying a several fighters including theGloster Grebe,Armstrong Whitworth Siskin Mk.IIIa andBristol Bulldog Mk.IIa.[8] In May 1935, it became the first squadron to be equipped with theGloster Gauntlet, which it flew until March 1939.[16]
In 1938, the squadron became the first in the RAF to operate theSupermarine Spitfire Mk.I,[17][18] when K9789 was delivered on 4 August.[19] The squadron lost its first Spitfire whenK9792 crashed on landing at Duxford on 20 September 1938, having only been delivered on 16 August.[20]
At the outbreak of theSecond World War in September 1939, No. 19 Squadron was still stationed at RAF Duxford and was part ofNo. 12 Group,RAF Fighter Command.[21] Flying aceDouglas Bader was posted to the squadron in February 1940.[22] In May and June 1940, the squadron provided air cover over the beaches ofDunkirk in France during theevacuation of allied forces.[15]
In June 1940, the squadron began to the receive Spitfire Mk.Ib, which were armed with theHispano cannon. However due to reliability issues, the unit soon reverted to the Spitfire Mk.Ia.[8] The squadron formed part of theDuxford Wing, No. 12 Group's 'Big Wing' formation during theBattle of Britain.[23]
Later versions of the Spitfire were flown until the arrival in early 1944 of theNorth American Mustang Mk.III for close-support duties[24] AfterD-Day on 6 June 1944, the squadron briefly went across theEnglish Channel before starting long-range escort duties off the coast of Norway fromRAF Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, as part ofRAF Coastal Command .[25] The squadron converted to the Mustang Mk.IV in April 1945 while based at Peterhead.[26]
Relocating south toRAF Acklington, Northumberland on 13 May 1945, the squadron exchanged its Mustangs for the Spitfire Mk.XVI.[26][27]
While atRAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire in October 1946, No. 19 (Fighter) Squadron converted to thede Havilland Hornet Mk.I which was operated until January 1951, when the squadron received its first jet aircraft – theGloster Meteor F.4.[28] The F.4 variant was soon exchanged for the Meteor F.8 in April 1951 which were flown until October 1956 when the squadron received theHawker Hunter F.6 .[15] The squadron moved toRAF Leconfield, Yorkshire in 1959, later converting to theEnglish Electric Lightning F.2 in November 1962.[28]
In September 1965, the squadron and her sister unit,No. 92 (F) Squadron, were forward deployed toRAF Gütersloh, close to the inner German border, as part of NATO'sSecond Allied Tactical Air Force.[15] Subsequently, the squadron re-equipped with the longer-range Lightning F.2A.[29]
No. 19 (F) Squadron disbanded on 31 December 1976, and reformed the next day atRAF Wildenrath, North Rhine-Westphalia,[24] with theMcDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR.2 still in the air defence role.[29]
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Because of restricted airspace in thenWest Germany, both No. 19 Squadron and No. 92 Squadron deployed regularly out of theatre for annual Missile Practice Camps at RAF Valley, using theAberporth Range in Wales; toRAF St Mawgan in Cornwall;RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus for Armament Practice Camps (gunnery); to the Italian Air Force'sDecimommanu Air Base in Sardinia to use the NATO Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrumented Range; and latterly toEglin Air Force Base, Florida andNellis Air Force Base, Nevada to participate respectively in multi national Exercise Green Flag andExercise Red Flag.[30]
On 17 August 1990, No. 19 (F) Squadron and No. 92 (F) Squadron, re-positioned toRAF Akrotiri to provide air defence for the island afterNo. 5 (AC) Squadron andNo. 29 (F) Squadron, both operating thePanavia Tornado F.3, were deployed from Akrotiri toDhahran Airfield in Saudi Arabia as part of the military build-up following the IraqiInvasion of Kuwait (and ahead ofOperation Granby.[31] The squadron operated the Phantom from Akrotiri until 28 February 1991, whena ceasefire was agreed between thecoalition forces and Iraq.[15]
On 9 January 1992, the squadron disbanded as part of post-Cold War force reductions, with its aircraft being scrapped.[28][32] The last Phantom departed on 16 January 1992, to be gifted to theKbely Military Museum in Prague, piloted by RAF Wildenrath Station CommanderGroup Captain Geoff Brindle.[33]
In September 1992, the No. 19 Squadron number plate was assigned to the formerNo. 63 Squadron, a BAE Hawk squadron atRAF Chivenor, Devon, becoming No. 19 (Reserve) Squadron. The squadron was a 'shadow' identity ofNo. 2 Tactical Weapons Unit. Following the closure of Chivenor to jet flying, the squadron was moved to RAF Valley in September 1994 to provide advanced fast jet training on the Hawk.[34]
As a consequence of the UK'sStrategic Defence and Security Review in 2010, the Air Force Board decided in 2011 that No. 19 Squadron's training role with the Hawk T2 at Valley should be transferred to a resurrectedNo. 4 (R) Squadron. No. 19(R) Squadron, one of the last surviving Battle of Britain squadrons, disbanded on 24 November 2011, 96 years after it was first formed.[35]
The disbandment event, held at RAF Valley, was led by Officer Commanding No. 19 Squadron,Wing Commander Kevin Marsh. In attendance were theChief of Air Staff,Air Chief MarshalStephen Dalton, Air Chief MarshalWilliam Wratten andFlight Lieutenant Ken Wilkinson – a No. 19 Squadron Spitfire pilot who flew during the Battle of Britain.[36]
On 1 April 2021, the RAF awarded the No. 19 Squadron number plate to theControl and Reporting Centre (CRC) based atRAF Boulmer in Northumberland.[37] The squadron's reformation was celebrated officially at a joint reformation parade with No. 20 Squadron on 15 June 2022, which was held atAlnwick Castle.[38]
The No. 19 Squadron CRC operates the UK Air Surveillance and Control System (ASACS), which is used to monitor all aerial activity in UK airspace, detecting and identifying aerial threats, and building arecognised air picture for defence and national security purposes. The CRC also supports the RAF'sQuick Reaction Alert mission, which hasEurofighter Typhoon FGR4 aircraft on standby to launch and intercept any threats. The system uses a combination of fixed and mobile ground based radars, aircraft, andcommand and control facilities at Boulmer.[37][39]
List of aircraft operated by No. 19 Squadron:[40][41]
Thesquadron's badge features between wings elevated and conjoined in base, a dolphin, head downwards.[1][42]
The squadron's motto isPossunt quia posse videntur (Latin for 'They can because they think they can').[43]
No. 19 Squadron has received the followingbattle honours. Those marked with an asterisk (*) may be emblazoned on thesquadron standard.[44]
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