Flying squadron of the Royal Air Force
Military unit
No. 84 Squadron
of the
Royal Air Force
is at present a
Search and Rescue
Squadron based at
RAF Akrotiri
, using the
Westland/Airbus Helicopters Puma HC Mk.2
helicopter. The squadron transitioned from the previously operated
Bell Griffin HAR.2
to the Puma HC.2 in 2023.
[1]
As of 2016
[update]
, 84 Squadron is the only serving RAF squadron never to have been based in the United Kingdom.
[2]
It is currently one of the two operational parts of the
RAF Search and Rescue Force
left in service (the other being the
RAF Mountain Rescue Service
) after the stand-down of the UK effort on 5 October 2015.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
First World War
[
edit
]
No. 84 Squadron of the
Royal Flying Corps
(RFC) was formed on 16 February 1917 at East Boldre (Beaulieu)
[4]
under the command of
Major
Hazelton Nicholl
.
It was equipped with a variety of types for training purposes, including
Avro 504
Ks, a
Curtiss JN
,
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2s
,
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12s
,
Nieuport 12s
and
Sopwith 1½ Strutters
.
The squadron started to receive its intended operational equipment, the
Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a
single-seat fighter, in July 1917, although at first its SE.5as suffered engine problems, delaying the squadron's work up. On 8 August, Nicholl was replaced as commanding officer by the experienced major
Sholto Douglas
, who had already commanded
43 Squadron
.
The squadron moved to
France
for service over the
Western front
in September 1917, equipped with SE.5as.
Initial operations were patrols and escort duties over
Flanders
,
and when the
Battle of Cambrai
took place in November?December that year, the squadron flew top cover for aircraft carrying out ground attack and artillery spotting duties, while countering German attempts to attack British troops.
From December 1917, the squadron joined the 5th Brigade of the Royal Flying Corps, operating in support of the British
Fifth Army
.
In January 1918, it added ground-attack operations to its normal fighter duties, with the squadron heavily committed to ground-attack duties during the
German spring offensive
from March 1918.
One speciality of the squadron was the destruction of German
observation balloons
,
with one of the squadron's pilots,
Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor
, claiming 16 destroyed as well as 22 enemy aeroplanes. Beauchamp-Proctor was awarded the
Victoria Cross
for his efforts.
In total the squadron had claimed 129 German aeroplanes and 50 balloons destroyed by the end of the war on 11 November 1918.
The squadron deployed to Germany as part of the
British occupation forces
until August 1919 when discarded its SE.5as and returned to the
United Kingdom
as a
Cadre
in August 1919. It was disbanded on 30 January 1920.
The squadron's aces during the First World War included Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor,
Hugh Saunders
and
Walter A. Southey
.
Between the wars
[
edit
]
The squadron was reformed on 13 August 1920 at
Baghdad
in
Iraq
, moving to
Shaibah
in September, where it remained for the next 20 years.
Its initial equipment was
DH.9As
(until January 1929) and these were replaced by
Wapitis
(beginning July 1928),
Vincents
(December 1935)
and
Blenheims Mk.Is
(February 1939).
One of the squadron's artefacts is a pair of pink frilly knickers known as 'Jane's Panties'. These were presented to the squadron in 1936 by Jane Newman (a debutante from Australia) who was rescued by 84 squadron when her aircraft crashed in the Western Desert.
[4]
This story may more accurately relate to the location and rescue by
Vickers Vincent
aircraft of 84 Squadron of
Imperial Airways
Handley Page
H.P. 42E
G-AAUC Horsa which forced landed on 29 August 1936, in the
Arabian Desert
south of
Salwa Wells
in
Qatar
, having overflown
Bahrain
airport. Miss Jane Wallace Smith, an American novelist is named as the presenter of the undergarments to the squadron.
Second World War
[
edit
]
The squadron flew its first combat operation of the war on 15 August 1940, when six 84 Squadron Blenheims, which were being ferried from Iraq to
Aden
to reinforce the Blenheim squadrons based there, encountered an Italian
Savoia-Marchetti SM.81
near
Kamaran Island
and shot it down.
[19]
It moved to
Heliopolis
in
Egypt
in September 1940, operating from forward bases at
Fuka
and
Qotaifiya
for operations against the Germans from October 1940.
The
Italian invasion of Greece
in October 1940 resulted in Britain diverting much of its aerial strength to support the Greeks, and 84 Squadron was moved to Greece in November 1940.
The squadron operated from
Menidi
near
Athens
, initially bombing Italian forces on the Albanian front, but as the Italian offensive stalled in December 1940, switched to attacks against the port of
Valona
and the airfield at
Berat
, both in Italian-occupied
Albania
.
In April 1941
German forces invaded Greece
, quickly over-running the Greek and British defences, and the few surviving Blenheims were evacuated via Crete on 21 April.
The squadron moved to
RAF Aqir
in
Palestine
on 27 April as a result of tensions between Britain and Iraq.
When
hostilities
broke out on 2 May, with Iraqi forces threatening the RAF base at
Habbaniya
, west of
Baghdad
, 84 Squadron supported the forces sent to relieve Habbaniya,
and when Germany and Italy sent air reinforcements to Iraq via airfields in Vichy-French Syria, carried out attacks on these airfields.
Operations against Iraqi forces continued until 31 May when the pro-German Iraqi Prime-Minister,
Rashid Ali
fled and an armistice was signed.
The squadron then took part in the
invasion of Syria and Lebanon
,
taking part in attacks on Vichy French airfields and reconnaissance missions.
In 25?28 August 1941, the squadron took part in the
Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran
.
By November, it had returned to Egypt and operations over the Western Desert.
The
Japanese invasion of Malaya
resulted in 84 Squadron being one of a number of squadrons ordered to reinforce British and Commonwealth forces in the Far East,
with the squadron arriving in
Sumatra
in late January 1942.
The squadron evacuated to
Java
in February 1942 following the Japanese
Invasion of Sumatra
,
but lost its remaining Blenheims and twenty of its personnel during the
Battle of Kalijati
when Japanese troops attacked and captured the base of the RAF's bombers in Java.
In March 1942, eleven members of 84 Squadron commandeered a lifeboat and sailed away from Java to escape the advancing Japanese forces. They made land 47 days later in north-western Australia. The lifeboat was named 'Scorpion' in honour of the Squadron Badge.
The squadron reformed at
Karachi
on 17 March 1942, moving to
Drigh Road
airfield on 1 April, equipping with more Blenheims and moving to
Quetta
in June, where it discarded its Blenheims. In December 1942, the squadron, now based at
Vizagapatam
on the East coast of India (now known as Visakhapatnam), received its planned operational equipment, the
Vultee Vengeance
dive bomber
.
Training was delayed by slow deliveries of Vengeances, and while other squadrons began operations in March, 84 Squadron moved to
Ceylon
in April, to guard the island against potential Japanese attack.
The squadron relieved
45 Squadron
based at
Kumbhirgram
in
Assam
on 10 February and flew its first operational mission with the Vengeance on 16 February.
It flew its Vengeances in support of the
second Chindit operation
behind Japanese lines
and against the
Japanese offensive against Imphal and Kohima
.
After the Japanese retreat from Imphal and Kohima, it was decided to withdraw the Vengeance from operational service in Burma, as more versatile fighter bombers were becoming available in increasing numbers and the Vengeance would not be able to carry out its normal dive-bombing attacks once the
monsoon
season was underway.
84 Squadron flew its last bombing raid with the Vengeance on 16 July.
After withdrawal from the front line, the squadron discarded its Vengeances, and used
Airspeed Oxfords
to train its aircrews on twin-engined aircraft in preparation for operating
De Havilland Mosquitos
,
but it did not receive Mosquitos until February 1945.
It was still training when the Second World War ended in September 1945.
Postwar
[
edit
]
The squadron moved to
Singapore
in September 1945,
but in November a detachment was sent to Java in response to the
Indonesian war of independence
, flying reconnaissance and bombing missions against Indonesian republican forces.
The rest of the squadron moved to Java in January 1946, remaining there until May, when it moved to
Kuala Lumpur
in
Malaya
.
By this time the squadron's Mosquitos were suffering structural problems caused by gluing failures,
and in November 1946 the squadron re-equipped with the
Bristol Beaufighter
which it flew until March 1949, re-equipping with
Bristol Brigands
at
RAF Habbaniya
in Iraq,
becoming the first squadron equipped with Brigands.
In February 1950, four Brigands were detached to
Mogadishu
, joining a detachment from
8 Squadron
flying support for the British withdrawal from Somalia.
In April 1950, the squadron was transferred to
RAF Tengah
on Singapore to take part in Operation Firedog, the RAFs response to the
Malayan Emergency
.
The Brigands were employed on strikes against insurgent strongholds with guns, rockets and bombs. Operations were affected by a number of problems with the Brigand, including the loss of several aircraft due to cannon explosions, which resulted in the aircraft being prohibited from firing their guns for several months, problems with the aircraft's propellers, which again caused the loss of several aircraft, and the development of skin cracks, which caused the Brigand's bombload to be restricted. In January 1953, following the crash of a Brigand after one of its wings had failed during a dive, the squadron's Brigands were permanently grounded.
The squadron was disbanded on 20 February 1953, but on the same day,
204 Squadron
, a transport squadron equipped with
Vickers Valettas
based at
RAF Fayid
in Egypt, was renumbered to No. 84 Squadron.
The squadron was used mainly for routine transport flights around the Middle East,
until British forces left Egypt in March 1956, with the squadron moving to
RAF Nicosia
in
Cyprus
.
The squadron took part in
Operation Musketeer
, the Anglo-French invasion of Egypt during the
Suez Crisis
, in November 1956, its Valettas carrying out paratroop drops.
The squadron moved to
RAF Khormaksar
,
Aden
in January 1956, carrying out transport operations around the Arabian peninsular, and in particular, supporting the British Army in the
Aden Protectorate
.
In June 1958 it received a flight of four-engined
Blackburn Beverley
heavy transports to supplement its Valettas, and in August 1960 the squadron's Valetta flight was detached to become
No. 233 Squadron RAF
.
In late 1967, the Beverley was replaced by the
Hawker Siddeley Andover
, and when UK forces left Aden the squadron moved to
RAF Sharjah
, then in the
Trucial States
(now the
United Arab Emirates
). The squadron was disbanded at
Muharraq
on 31 October 1971.
Cyprus
[
edit
]
The squadron was reformed on 17 January 1972 from
1563 Flight
and a detachment from
230 Squadron
with
Westland Whirlwind HAR.10s
assigned to
British Forces Cyprus
at
RAF Akrotiri
, with a detachment at
Nicosia International Airport
. Duties included support of
United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus
(UNFICYP) operations and search and rescue duties for the whole of southern Cyprus.
To meet this dual role, the squadron was divided into two flights, with "A" flight, based at Akrotiri for search and rescue duties, with its helicopters painted in overall yellow, and "B" flight for UN support at Nicosia with camouflaged helicopters marked with pale blue bands matching the blue berets of UN peacekeepers,
but with no RAF roundels or titles displayed on the B Flight helicopters.
After the
1975 Defence Review
resulted in the withdrawal of the RAF's fixed-wing squadrons from the Mediterranean, 84 Squadron was the only RAF squadron permamently based on Cyprus, sharing Akrotiri with RAF fighter squadrons visiting the island to attend Armament Practice Camps.
The squadron later (December 1981) replaced the Whirlwind with the
Westland Wessex
HC.2
and later still (June 1984) with the
Westland Wessex
HU.5C. It was the last squadron to use the Westland Wessex.
[2]
The Wessex HU.5C was retired during February 1995.
The two flights were combined when the squadron shrunk in size to five helicopters after re-equipment with the Wessex, but its helicopters retain aircraft the light blue band around their tail.
No. 84 Squadron was the first RAF contingent into Beirut in the
Lebanese Crisis
of 1983. This resulted in the evacuation of the peace-keeping element from the city.
The responsibility for civil search and rescue duties was eventually transferred to the
Cyprus Police Aviation Unit
.
In January 2003 the squadron discarded its Wessexes, replacing them with four contractor owned but military flown
Bell Griffin HAR.2
helicopters, with the main duties being search and rescue in support of British forces on Cyprus, also carrying out transport operations for British army units based on the island.
On 31 March 2023, the squadron replaced its Griffins with
Westland/Airbus Helicopters Puma HC.2s
.
[1]
Symbols
[
edit
]
The squadron's badge, approved by
George VI
in December 1936 is the scorpion,
[2]
and its motto is
Scorpiones pungunt
, Latin for "Scorpions sting".
Aircraft operated
[
edit
]
According to Jefford, the following is a comprehensive list of aircraft operated by 84 Squadron.
Notable squadron members
[
edit
]
- William Sholto Douglas
, World War I ace
- Andrew Beauchamp-Proctor
,
VC
, World War I ace
- George Augustus Vaughn, Jr.
, World War I ace
- Walter Southey
, World War I ace
- Carl Frederick Falkenberg
, World War I ace
- Robert Grosvenor
, World War I ace
- Sidney Highwood
, World War I ace
- Hugh Saunders
, World War I ace
- John Victor Sorsoleil
, World War I ace
- Edwin A. Clear
, World War I ace
- Norman Mawle
, World War I ace
|
- Roy Manzer
, World War I ace
- John S. Ralston
, World War I ace
- Frederick Elliott Brown
, World War I ace
- William Henry Brown
, World War I ace
- Kenneth Leask
, World War I ace
- Percy Hobson
, World War I ace
- Cecil Thompson
, World War I ace
- Air Marshal
George Owen Johnson
, World War I ace
- John McCudden
, World War I ace
- James Martin Child
, World War I ace
|
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Ashworth, Chris (1989).
Encyclopedia of modern Royal Air Force squadrons
. Cambridge: Patrick Stephens.
- Bevington-Smith, Eric (August?November 1981). "The RAF In Greece 1940?41".
Air Enthusiast
. No. Sixteen. pp. 26?32.
ISSN
0143-5450
.
- Bowyer, Chaz.
Mosquito Squadrons of the Royal Air Force
. London: Ian Allan Ltd., 1984.
ISBN
0-7110-1425-6
.
- Bruce, J. M. (1982).
The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing)
. London: Putnam.
ISBN
0-370-30084-X
.
- Calvert, Denis J. (August 1981). "Whirlwinds over Cyprus".
Aircraft Illustrated
. Vol. 14, no. 8. pp. 369?371.
ISSN
0002-2675
.
- Crouchman, Alan F. (September?October 1999). "Last of the 'Colonial Policemen'? Bristol's Occasionally Self-Destructive Brigand".
Air Enthusiast
. No. 83. pp. 22?59.
ISSN
0143-5450
.
- Degraef, Stefan; Borremans, Edwin (2006). "Unit Report: No. 84 Squadron: SAR over Cyprus".
International Air Power Review
. Vol. 20. pp. 76?79.
ISSN
1473-9917
.
- Green, W; Swanborough, G (1976).
Royal Air Force Yearbook 1976
. Bromley: Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.
- Halley, James J. (1980).
The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force
. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd.
ISBN
0-85130-083-9
.
- Jackson, Robert (1980).
Suez 1956: Operation Musketeer
. London: Ian Allan.
ISBN
0-7110-0944-9
.
- Jefford, C. G. (2001).
RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912
. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing.
ISBN
1-84037-141-2
.
- Jones, H. A. (1934).
The War in the Air: Being the story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force: Vol. IV
. Oxford: The Clarendon Press.
- Jones, H. A. (1937).
The War in the Air: Being the story of the part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force: Vol. VI
. Oxford: The Clarendon Press.
- Laming, Tim
(1994).
The Royal Air Force Manual
. London: Cassell.
ISBN
1-85409-190-5
.
- March, Peter R. (1996).
Royal Air Force Yearbook 1996
.
Fairford
, UK: Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.
- Moyes, Philip (1964).
Bomber Squadrons of the R.A.F. and their Aircraft
. London: Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.
- Myall, Eric (1990). "R.A.F. Search & Rescue (Overseas)".
Aeromilitaria
. No. 3. Air-Britain. pp. 67?70.
- Neate, Don (1994).
Scorpions Sting: The Story of No. 84 Squadron Royal Air Force
. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd.
ISBN
0-85130-222-X
.
- Parry, Simon W. (2002).
Beaufighter ? in focus
. Walton-on-Thames, UK: Red Kite.
ISBN
9780953806126
.
- Pine, L. G. (1983).
A dictionary of mottoes
. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
ISBN
0-7100-9339-X
.
- Philpott, Ian (2008).
The Royal Air Force 1930 to 1939, Volume II Rearmament
. Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword.
ISBN
978-1-84415-391-6
.
- Pitchfork, Graham (2008).
The Royal Air Force Day by Day
. Stroud, UK: History Press.
ISBN
978-0-7509-4309-3
.
- Rawlings, John D. R. (1969).
Fighter Squadrons of the R.A.F. and their Aircraft
. London: Macdonald & Co., (Publishers) Ltd.
- Rawlings, John D. R. (1982).
Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft
. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd.
ISBN
0-7106-0187-5
.
- Sharp, C. Martin; Bowyer, Michael J. F. (1995).
Mosquito
. Wilmslow, UK: Crecy Publishing Ltd.
ISBN
0-947554-41-6
.
- Shores, Chris; Smith, Frank (November 1977 ? February 1978). "Diving Vengeance".
Air Enthusiast
. No. 5. pp. 29?43.
- Shores, Christopher F.; Franks, Norman L. R.; Guest, Russell (1990).
Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915?1920
. London: Grub Street.
ISBN
0-948817-19-4
.
- Shores, Christopher (1996).
Dust Clouds in the Middle East: The Air War for East Africa, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Madagascar, 1940?42
. London: Grub Street.
ISBN
1-898697-37-X
.
- Shores, Christopher (2005).
Air War For Burma: The Allied Air Forces Fight Back in South-East Asia 1942?1945
. London: Grub Street.
ISBN
1-904010-95-4
.
- Shores, Christopher; Cull, Brian; Izawa, Yasuho (1992).
Bloody Shambles: Volume One: The Drift to War to the Fall of Singapore
. London: Grub Street.
ISBN
0-948817-50-X
.
- Shores, Christopher; Cull, Brian; Izawa, Yasuho (1993).
Bloody Shambles: Volume Two: The Defence of Sumatra to the Fall of Burma
. London: Grub Street.
ISBN
0-948817-67-4
.
- Shores, Christopher; Massimello, Giovanni; Guest, Russell (2012).
A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940?1945: Volume One: North Africa: June 1940 ? January 1942
. London: Grub Street.
ISBN
978-1-908117-07-6
.
- Wilson, Keith (2015).
RAF in camera, 1950s
.
Barnsley
, UK: Pen & Sword.
ISBN
9781473827950
.
External links
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