| No. 51 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 15 May 1916 – 1 April 1918 (RFC) 1 April 1918 – 13 June 1919 (RAF) 5 March 1937 – 30 October 1950 21 August 1958 – present |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Type | Flying squadron |
| Role | Signals intelligence |
| Size | Three aircraft |
| Part of | No. 1 Group |
| Home station | RAF Waddington |
| Nickname(s) | 'York's own squadron' |
| Motto(s) | Swift and Sure[1] |
| Aircraft | Boeing RC-135W Airseeker |
| Battle honours | Home Defence (1916–1918)*, Channel and North Sea (1940–1943),Norway (1940)*, France and Low Countries (1940),Ruhr (1940–1945)*, Fortress Europe (1940–1944), German Ports (1940–1945), Invasion Ports (1940),Biscay Ports (1940–1944),Berlin 1940–1944,Baltic 1940–1944*, Biscay 1942,Italy (1943)*, France and Germany (1944–1945)*,Normandy (1944),Walcheren,Rhine,South Atlantic 1982,Gulf (1991),Kosovo,Iraq (2003–2011),Libya (2011) *Honours marked with an asterisk may be emblazoned on the Squadron Standard |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron badge heraldry | Agoosevolant, chosen as a play on the word 'Anson', the aircraft which the squadron was flying when the badge was being designed, as 'Anser' is theLatin word for Goose, and it was felt that a heavywild fowl was appropriate for a bomber squadron. Approved byKing George VI in December 1937. |
| Squadron codes | UT (Aug 1939 – Sep 1939) MH (Sep 1939 – May 1945) LK (? – Jan 1944) ('C' Flt which became 578 Sqn) C6 (Jan 1944 – May 1945) ('C' Flt) TB (May 1945 – Dec 1949) MH (Dec 1949 – Oct 1950) |
Number 51 Squadron is a squadron of theRoyal Air Force. Since 2014 it has operated theBoeing RC-135W Rivet Joint, fromRAF Waddington,Lincolnshire.
It had previously flown theHawker Siddeley Nimrod R.1 from 1974 until 2011.[2] Following the Nimrod's retirement, crews from No. 51 Squadron trained alongside theUnited States Air Force on the RC-135W Rivet Joint, which was being acquired by the RAF under the Airseeker project.[3][4][5]
51 SquadronRoyal Flying Corps flewB.E.2 andB.E.12 aircraft; the squadron formed atThetford,Norfolk, before moving its headquarters to the airfield that later becameRAF Marham. The squadron's primary role during theFirst World War was defence of theUK againstGermanZeppelin raids. It also used theAvro 504K to give night flying training to new pilots. The squadron disbanded in 1919.[6]
The squadron was reborn when 'B' Flight of58 Squadron was renumbered as 51 Squadron at Driffield in March 1937, flyingVirginias andAnsons. At this time the squadron badge was being chosen and agoose was chosen as a play on words: the squadron was flying the Anson and theLatin for goose isAnser. It was also appropriate for a bomber unit to have a heavy wild fowl to represent it.[7]
51 Squadron droppedleaflets over Germany on the very first night of theSecond World War, using theWhitley aircraft.[8]
In February 1942, led by the legendaryPercy Pickard, 51 Squadron carried 119 paratroops and an RAF flight sergeant skilled in electronics toBruneval, France, in converted Whitleys. The men then carried out a very successful raid on a German radar installation, removing parts of a new type known as aWürzburg, which they took back to Britain.[9]
A brief period as part ofCoastal Command patrolling against the U-boats in theBay of Biscay preceded the re-equipment with theHalifax in 1942. 51 spent the rest of the war in Europe flying as part ofNo. 4 Group RAF,RAF Bomber Command'sstrategic bombing offensive against the Nazis, operating fromRAF Snaith in East Yorkshire.[10]
The squadron became part ofTransport Command withStirlings and laterYorks following the end of the European war, transporting men and material to India and theFar East. The squadron disbanded in 1950, after taking part in theBerlin Airlift.
The squadron again reformed in the 'Special Duties' role whenNo. 192 Squadron RAF was renumbered atRAF Watton on 21 August 1958, moving to nearbyWyton in April 1963.[11] It was only following the end of theCold War that the signals intelligence role of the squadron was publicly recognised. Signals intelligence encompasses both Electronic Intelligence (Elint) and Communications Intelligence (Comint). The squadron flew this role usingde Havilland Comets.[12] The Comets were replaced by a modified version of theHawker-Siddeley Nimrod in 1974.[13]
One of the three Nimrods on strength was retired at the end of November 2009[14] with the other two remaining in service until June 2011.[2] The Nimrods were replaced by threeBoeing RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft. In January 2011 personnel from 51 Squadron began training atOffutt Air Force Base in the US for conversion to the RC-135. Crews were to be deployed on joint missions with the USAF 343rd Reconnaissance Squadron until the new aircraft became available.[15] The first RC135W (ZZ664) was delivered to the Royal Air Force on 12 November 2013,[16] and entered operational service in 2014, taking part inOperation Shader againstISIL in Iraq and Syria.[17]
Aircraft operated have included:
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