15 Air Assault Support Squadron is a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

logistic squadron, currently under

13 Air Assault Support Regiment RLC 13 Air Assault Support Regiment RLC is a regiment of the Royal Logistic Corps of the British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and ...

History

The Squadron was formed at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

on May 8, 1878, with a group of men and their horses. Soon afterwards, the horses were replaced with mules and the Company found itself employed on transport duties throughout the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. The company was deployed to the Egyptian Campaign of 1882-1883, and to South Africa from 1889 to 1902 where they deployed on supply tasks during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. The company also fought in

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

in 1904 prior to its return to Britain. When

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out, 15 Company was deployed to France, equipped with horse transport, in support of the British Expeditionary Force. The Company disbanded in 1919 on its return to Britain. The Unit was reformed in 1922 as 15 Motor Transport Company

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

and stationed at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

World War II

Again the company disbanded before reforming to enter World War II. In the beginning of the war, their duties were UK-based, operating with requisitioned civilian vehicles. In January 1942, the company received a fleet of

AEC Matador The AEC Matador was a heavy 4×4 truck and medium artillery tractor built by the Associated Equipment Company for British and Commonwealth forces during World War II. AEC had already built a 4×2 lorry, also known as the Matador (all AEC lorries ...

s and deployed on operations in the tank transporting role. The Unit was renamed 24 Company RASC and served in the Middle East, including transport duties at the

Battle of El Alamein There were two battles of El Alamein in World War II, both fought in 1942. The Battles occurred in North Africa, in Egypt, in and around an area named after a railway stop called El Alamein. * First Battle of El Alamein: 1–27 July 1942 * Secon ...

. After the defeat of the Afrika Korps, the Unit reverted to 15 Company and returned to Britain prior to its involvement in the

invasion of Europe Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

in 1944.

Post World War II

After World War II, 15 Company was disbanded for a third time, only to reappear at York in 1951 as a General Transport (GT) Company. In 1961 the Company disbanded for a fourth time, yet its title was revived when 122 (Tipper) Company RASC, based in Scarborough Barracks

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; wep, Ossenbrügge; archaic ''Osnaburg'') is a city in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, was renamed 15 Company RASC. The Unit took on the GT role for a second time in January 1965 when they exchanged Tipper and assault vehicles for 4 ton vehicles. Four months later, equipped with AEC Mk 1 10 ton cargo vehicles, the Unit changed its title on disbandment of the RASC to become 15 Squadron Royal Corps of Transport (RCT). The Unit saw a period of stability and celebrated its centenary in 1978 in Osnabrück.

1980s

The Squadron returned to the UK in 1983 and was based in Gaza Barracks, Catterick as part of the 2nd Infantry Division Transport Regiment; its vehicle fleet was also changed from the 10 ton AEC to Bedford TM 8 tonne, 4 x 22,000-litre Truck Tanker Fuel (TTFs) and associated Materials Handling Equipment (MHE). In 1990, the Squadron deployed to

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

in support of the UNFICYP under the command of Major Steve Bragg and was mainly made up of Territorial Army (TA) personnel. The regular troops were deployed on

Operation Granby Operation Granby, commonly abbreviated Op Granby, was the code name given to the British military operations during the 1991 Gulf War. 53,462 members of the British Armed Forces were deployed during the conflict. The total cost of operations wa ...

(Gulf War 1) as sub-units of other squadrons.

1990s

In 1993, the Logistic Support Review and

Options for Change Options for Change was a restructuring of the British Armed Forces in summer 1990 after the end of the Cold War. Until this point, UK military strategy had been almost entirely focused on defending Western Europe against the Soviet Armed Forces, ...

saw the amalgamation of the RCT with the other Corps to become the Royal Logistic Corps. At the same time, 24 Airmobile Brigade was established in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

requiring a Combat Service Support (CSS) Battalion. 15 Squadron already had a troop in support of the Airmobile Brigade, however now the whole unit become a second-line transport sub-unit of the CSS Battalion. The fleet consisted of DROPS MMLC, 14, 8 and 4 ton General Service Vehicles, Truck Tanker Fuel (TTFs), Unit Bulk Refuel Equipment (UBRE) and various Material Handling Equipment (MHE). The Squadron was again re-roled and renamed 15 Attack Support Squadron due to the formation of 16 Air Assault Brigade and the arrival of the

Attack Helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...

(AH). In April 2000, the Squadron deployed on a six-month tour of Northern Ireland on

Operation Banner Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007, as part of the Troubles. It was the longest continuous deployment in British military history. The British Army was initial ...

. The Squadron acquired a new fleet of Multi Wheel Drive (MWD) fuel vehicles for the transportation of aviation fuel.

CSS to 16 Air Assault Brigade

In 2001, the Squadron deployed to Macedonia on Operation Bessemer to assist with disarming the Macedonian population. The Squadron deployed again to support the Brigade in 2001 upon short notice to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

as part of

Operation FINGAL Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

in support of US

War on Terrorism The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant I ...

. A period of stability was established until

Operation TELIC Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

in 2003 where the Regiment deployed to

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. In March 2006, the Squadron deployed as 15 Close Support Squadron to Operation HERRICK 4, providing intimate CSS support to the 3 PARA battlegroup based in Helmand Province. In 2007 the Squadron was redesignated 15 Air Assault Close Support Squadron and now constantly maintains a parachute element for insertion onto a Drop Zone. The Squadron deployed to Afghanistan in March 2008 on Op HERRICK 8, where it conducted numerous Combat Logistic Patrols to

Sangin Sangin ( ps, سنگين) is a town in Helmand province of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 20,000 people. It is located on in the valley of the Helmand River at altitude, to the north-east of Lashkargah. Sangin is notorious as on ...

Musa Qaleh ; "Fortress of Moses") is a town and the district centre of Musa Qala District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is located at and at an altitude of 1,043 m in the valley of Musa Qala River in the central western part of the district. Its popula ...

and Now Zad. Members of the Squadron were responsible for the protection and transportation of a turbine to the

Kajaki Dam The Kajaki Dam is one of the two major hydroelectric power dams of Helmand Province, Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. The dam is located on the Helmand River 100 miles (161 km) north-west of Kandahar and is operated by the Helmand an ...

during Operation OQAB TSUKA (Eagles Summit in Pashtu). The squadron disbanded in 2013, in the re-organisation of the army.

Future Soldier

The squadron was reformed in April 2022, as the Gurkha-manned 15 Air Assault Support Squadron, through the renaming and re-subordination of 60 Close Support Squadron from 4 Regiment RLC.

References

External links

Royal Logistic Corps specialist regiments
{{DEFAULTSORT:15 Air Assault Close Support Squadron Rlc Squadrons of the Royal Logistic Corps