No. 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron RAuxAF
Active	14 June 1929 – 20 April 1945 10 May 1946 – 10 March 1957 June 2001 – present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Auxiliary Air Force
Role	Logistics
Part of	No 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing, RAF A4 Force
Mottos	Latin:Nil Time ("Fear nothing")[1][2][3]
Colors
Battle honours	France & Low Countries, 1940 Battle of Britain, 1940 Home Defence, 1940–45 Fortress Europe, 1940–44 Channel & North Sea, 1940–44 France & Germany, 1944 Normandy, 1944 All these honours are emblazoned on the squadron standard[4]
Commanders
Honorary Air Commodore	Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester[5]
Notable commanders	Christopher Frederick "Bunny" Currant Joseph Berry
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry	A boar's head couped[3] The boar's head is taken from the arms of Gloucester; the animal is also noted for its courage[1][2]
Squadron Codes	ZH (Apr 1939 – Sep 1939)[6][7] SD (Sep 1939 – Apr 1945 and 1949 – 1951)[8][9] RAB (May 1946 – 1949)[10][11]

No. 501 Squadron was the 14th of the 21 flying units in theRoyal Auxiliary Air Force,^[12] the volunteer reserve part of the BritishRoyal Air Force. The squadron won sevenbattle honours,^[4] flyingHurricane,Spitfire andTempest fighter aircraft duringWorld War II, and was one of the most heavily engaged units inRAF Fighter Command. In particular, the Squadron saw extensive action during theBattle of France andBattle of Britain. At present the unit is not flying any more and has a logistics role as part ofNo 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing.

The squadron was originally formed as a day-bomber unit namedNo 501 (City ofBristol) Squadron^[1] as part of the Special Reserve squadrons on 14 June 1929, made up of volunteers and regulars, flyingD.H.9As, which were later replaced withWestland Wapitis and later still withWestland Wallaces. In 1936 it became "No 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron", changing the name to embrace a larger area of recruitment.^[3] On 1 May 1936 it was transferred to theAuxiliary Air Force and in July of that year the squadron converted toHawker Harts. In March 1938 these were exchanged forHawker Hinds, but at the end of 1938 No. 501 squadron was transferred fromRAF Bomber Command toRAF Fighter Command,^[1] andHawker Hurricanes began to arrive in March 1939.

When war was declared in September 1939, 501 Squadron was based atRAF Filton, near Bristol.

On 10 May 1940, with the attack on France, the Squadron became part of theAdvanced Air Striking Force^[13] and moved to France where it saw extensive action, stationed at airfields asBétheniville,Anglure,Le Mans andDinard. SgtJ.H. "Ginger" Lacey of 501 Squadron shot down three enemy aircraft in a single day to win the Croix de Guerre. (He later returned to England with five victories.) After the retreat from France throughSaint Helier,Jersey, its battle-hardened pilots were reorganised atRAF Croydon and then moved on toRAF Middle Wallop and laterRAF Gravesend (nowGravesend Airport). It subsequently served atRAF Kenley, south London, commanded by S/L Harry Hogan, until 17 December 1940 by which time the squadron had claimed 149 enemy aircraft destroyed. Success came at a high cost; in addition to the heavy losses suffered in France, the squadron lost 19 pilots killed during the Battle of Britain,more than any other squadron.

The squadron re-equipped with theSupermarine Spitfire in April 1941 and the squadron moved to Northern Ireland in October 1942. In April 1943 the squadron returned to Tangmere for bomber escort work – some pilots being issued with the Spitfire Mk IXc. Between November 1943 and October 1944 the squadron formed part ofAir Defence of Great Britain (ADGB). ForOperation Overlord (the Allied invasion of Normandy) it flew theSpitfire V LF operating fromRAF Friston inADGB, though under the operational control ofRAF Second Tactical Air Force.^[14]

During August 1944, the squadron began converting to theTempest Mk.V atRAF Manston, for the purposes ofOperation Diver – the interception ofV-1 missiles. On 23 August, a Tempest flight from the eliteFighter Interception Unit (FIU) was merged into 501 Squadron and S/LJoe Berry of FIU was appointed commanding officer of the combined unit.^[15]

The squadron was disbanded atRAF Hunsdon at the end of the war on 20 April 1945. During World War II the pilots of No. 501 Squadron had flown 11,140 operational sorties,^[16] in which they shot down 201 enemy aircraft and at least 84 V-1s.^[17]

The squadron included several notable pilots of World War II, including Sergeant PilotAntoni (Toni) GłowackiVM,CV and 3 bars,DFC,DFM, who shot down five German aircraft on 24 August 1940 to become the first of only two pilots to achieve"Ace-in-a-day" status during theBattle of Britain.^[19][20] Among others who achievedfighter ace status wereKen Mackenzie,^[21]"Ginger" Lacey,^[22]Stanisław Skalski,^[23]Robert Dafforn,^[24]Paul FarnesDFM,Kenneth Lee,^[25]Donald McKay, andPercy Morfill. Lacey was one of the highest scoring pilots in the Battle of Britain.^[26] Squadron LeaderJoseph Berry, DFC & 2 bars, was the top scoringV-1 (flying bomb) ace of the squadron, though he claimed only 10 of his 61 victories whilst flying with 501 Squadron.^[27] In addition to these unmanned missiles he also shot down three enemy aircraft.^[28]

The squadron was reformed on 10 May 1946 as an Auxiliary Air Force fighter squadron atRAF Filton. In February 1957, Flt Lt John Crossley flewVampire FB.9 jet WR260 beneath theClifton Suspension Bridge, before a fatal crash intoLeigh Woods.^[29][30] This was the last recorded – and only jet aircraft – flight under that bridge. The Squadron was disbanded in March 1957, along with all the other Auxiliary units.

In June 2001 No. 501 squadron was reformed in the Force Protection role as 501 (Operational Support) Squadron in 2001 atRAF Brize Norton. 501 Squadrons Gunners provide a reserve of trained manpower for 1 Squadron RAF Regiment, No 4 Force Protection Wing. In 2003, its personnel deployed as part ofOperation Telic, theliberation of Iraq. The squadron continues to deploy personnel on Force Protection duties in this region. In 2006 the first 501 Squadron Gunners deployed with 2 Squadron RAF Regiment to Afghanistan, carrying out force protection duties of Kandahar airfield and surrounding areas. This has been continued with members of both Regiment and FP roles mobilising with 1 Squadron RAF Regiment tour of the region (8 August to 9 March). Between November 2006 and April 2007 501 Squadron Gunners also deployed with the Queens Colour Squadron, 63 Squadron RAF Regiment to Basra Iraq.Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 501 (County of Gloucester) Squadron has been newly re-formed to expand the RAF Reserves Logistics capability, recruiting Logistics Officers, Drivers and Suppliers as part ofNo 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing of the RAF A4 Force.

*=Remained in service after replacement as main equipment

Wikimedia Commons has media related toNo. 501 Squadron RAF.

• Royal Air Force website
• History of No.'s 500–520 Squadrons at RAF Web
• ARRSE-Pedia: The source for the otherwise unsupported facts that need additional citations
• Hawker Hurricane of 501 Squadron

• Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
• Military units and formations established in 1929
• Fighter squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II
• Military history of Bristol
• Military units and formations in Gloucestershire
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1957
• Squadrons of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force

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