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RAF Squadrons (Numbers 1-9)
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Peter Padley
Former Warrant Officer Class One (Garrison Sergeant Major) Peter A Padley MBE
Served in the British Army from 1962 until 2000 as a member of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME).
Served with a variety of units including Parachute and Commando Forces on active duty and operations in many theatres around the world.
Former Parachute Instructor and founder member of 3 military Parachute Teams.
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1 Squadron
No. 1(Fighter) Squadron predates the Royal Flying Corps with its origins in No 1 Balloon Company of the Royal Engineers in 1878. It became the No 1 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps in 1912 and upgraded to aircraft in 1914. It is an Offensive Support squadron flying Harrier GR7’s and is based at RAF Cottesmore in Leicestershire. It is currently declared to the Tri-Service Joint Rapid Defence Force and is assigned to the NATO Supreme Allied Commander.
2 Squadron No. 2 Squadron was one of the original Squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps formed in 1912 and became the first squadron to cross the channel. It is currently an Offensive Support squadron flying Tornado GR4’s and is based at RAF Marham in Norfolk. The squadron specialises in low level reconnaissance.
3 Squadron No. 3 Squadron was one of the three founder squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps Squadrons formed in 1912 at Larkhill. It is currently an Air Defence and Airbourne Early warning Squadron flying Typhoons and is based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.
4 Squadron No. 4 Squadron was one of the original Squadrons of the RFC formed in 1912. It is an Offensive Support squadron flying Harrier GR7’s and is based at RAF Cottesmore in Leicestershire. The squadron currently specialises in close air support (CAS) and reconnaissance, as well as training NATO Forward Air Controllers.
5 Squadron No. 5 Squadron was formed in 1913 at Farnborough. It is currently a reconnaissance squadron flying ASTOR (Airborne Stand-Off Radar) Sentinel R1’s and is based at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.
6 Squadron (Disbanded 2007) No. 6 Squadron was formed in 1914 at Farnborough. The squadron was disbanded in 2007 but prior to that flew Jaguar GR3/3A’s and was based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.
7 Squadron Formed at Farnborough in May 1914 7 Squadron was the last Royal Flying Corps (RFC) squadron to be formed before the start of WWI. However, shortly after formation the squadron was disbanded with aircraft and aircrew being sent to other RFC squadrons to bring them up to operational strength for wartime operations.
The Squadron reformed in September 1914 and eventually moved to France the following April. Equipped with the Royal Aircraft Factory RE 5 and Vickers Gunbus the squadron was tasked with both fighter and reconnaissance roles. During WWI the squadron was equipped with a variety of aircraft enabling them to carry out many roles including Bomber/Ground Attack, Fighter and Reconnaissance sorties. One of the squadron pilots, Captain John Aiden Little, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross in July 1915 for his determination and gallantry in continuing with a reconnaissance mission after his aircraft was hit by ground fire, where he sustained a broken thigh, and in rescuing his observer, Lt. RM Peck, after landing his aircraft in Allied lines.
Disbanded in December 1919 7 Squadron was again reformed, this time with the Vickers Vimy Heavy Bomber, in June 1923. The squadron flew a variety of bombers and at the start of WWI was flying the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Bomber until re-equipped with the Short Stirling Bomber in 1940. The squadron remained in the bomber role until May 1943 when it re-equipped with the Avro Lancaster and was transferred to the Pathfinder Force, a role it was to continue until the end of WWII.
After WWII, equipped with the Avro Lincoln Bomber, 7 Squadron saw service in the Far and Middle East areas of operations before being disbanded in January 1956 but the following December was reformed at RAF Honington flying the Vickers Valiant as part of the Strategic Bomber Force until 1962 when the squadron was again disbanded. Reformed in 1970 the squadron flew the English Electric Canberra as a flying target squadron until being re-equipped with the Boeing Chinook HC 1 heavy lift helicopter in September 1982. Since re-equipping with the Chinook, 7 Squadron have served in most ‘trouble’ spots around the world, including the former Republic of Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and Iraq. It was one of 7 Squadron’s Chinook’s that crashed into a hillside on the Mull of Kintyre in June 1994 killing 25 passengers and the crew of 4. The squadron is currently part of the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW) working in support of United Kingdom Special Forces.
