No. 230 Squadron is an RAF squadron, currently based at

RAF Benson Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, us ...

. The squadron was part of

Royal Air Force Germany The former Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG) was a command of the Royal Air Force and part of British Forces Germany. It consisted of units located in Germany, initially as part of the occupation following the Second World War, and later as part o ...

, operating the Puma HC.1 there from 1980. Following the drawdown at the end of the Cold War, the squadron disbanded on 30 April 1992. This was short-lived however and the squadron reformed at

RAF Aldergrove Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station Aldergrove or more simply JHC FS Aldergrove is located south of Antrim, Northern Ireland and northwest of Belfast and adjoins Belfast International Airport. It is sometimes referred to simply as Alde ...

on 4 May 1992, again with the Puma HC.1. The squadron is well experienced in night flying; almost a third of flights are undertaken after dark. The 2004 ''Future Capabilities'' chapter of the UK Defence White Paper, ''

Delivering Security in a Changing World The 2003 Defence White Paper, titled ''Delivering Security in a Changing World'', set out the future structure of the British military, and was preceded by the 1998 Strategic Defence Review (SDR) and the 2002 SDR New Chapter, which responded to t ...

'' announced a plan to reduce the squadrons Puma force by 6 helicopters. It was announced in late 2008 that the squadron was to move to

by 2010. The Squadron re-equipped with Puma HC Mk2 in 2014 following removal from service of the Puma HC Mk1.

History

First formation

No. 230 Squadron was formed on 20 August 1918 at

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northea ...

, consisting of three Flights. No.327 and 328 Flight used Felixstowe F.2 and F.2A flying boats and

Fairey III The Fairey Aviation Company Fairey III was a family of British reconnaissance biplanes that enjoyed a very long production and service history in both landplane and seaplane variants. First flying on 14 September 1917, examples were still in u ...

s for maritime reconnaissance, whilst No.487 Flight flew

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the ...

s on escort duties. At the end of World War I the squadron was retained as one of the few RAF coastal units. In 1920 the squadron got Felixstowe F.5 flying boats, and it moved to RAF Calshot in May 1922, where on 1 April 1923 it was renumbered to 480 Flight RAF.

First reformation

On 1 December 1934 No. 230 Squadron was reformed at

RAF Pembroke Dock Royal Air Force Pembroke Dock or more simply RAF Pembroke Dock was a Royal Air Force Seaplane and Flying Boat station located at Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales. The Royal Navy contingent left in 1926 with the Royal Air Force occupying the ...

with

Short Singapore The Short Singapore was a British multi-engined biplane flying boat built after the First World War. The design was developed into two four-engined versions: the prototype Singapore II and production Singapore III. The latter became the Roya ...

flying boats. The Squadron used the Singapore till 1938, serving from

Aboukir Abu Qir ( ar, ابو قير, ''Abu Qīr'', or , ), formerly also spelled Abukir or Aboukir, is a town on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, near the ruins of ancient Canopus, Egypt, Canopus and northeast of Alexandria by rail. It is located o ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

Lake Timsah Lake Timsah, also known as Crocodile Lake ( ar, بُحَيْرة التِّمْسَاح); is a lake in Egypt on the Nile delta. It lies in a basin developed along a fault extending from the Mediterranean Sea to the Gulf of Suez through the Bit ...

and after a short return to the UK, RAF Seletar. On 22 June 1938 the first

Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North Ea ...

flying boat arrived,Rawlings 1969, p. 242. the aircraft the Squadron would be equipped with for the next 20 years, in fact until 28 February 1957 when the Squadron was disbanded at Pembroke Dock.Rawlings 1969, p.244.

Second reformation

On 1 September 1958 No. 215 Squadron RAF at Dishforth was renumbered 230 Squadron, flying

Scottish Aviation Pioneer The Scottish Aviation Pioneer was an STOL aircraft manufactured by Scottish Aviation in Scotland. It was used for casualty evacuation and communications and could accommodate a pilot and up to four passengers. Design and development The Pion ...

light transport aircraft in support of the Army. In November that year, the squadron moved to

RAF Nicosia Royal Air Force Station Nicosia or RAF Nicosia was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station on the island of Cyprus, built in the 1930s. The station served as Headquarters Royal Air Force Cyprus from 8 June to 29 July 1941. The original principal air ...

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 ge ...

as a response to the

Cyprus Emergency The Cyprus Emergency ( gr, Απελευθερωτικός Αγώνας της Κύπρου 1955–59), also known as the Greek Cypriot War of Independence or Cypriot War of Independence, was a conflict fought in British Cyprus between November 1 ...

, flying reconnaissance operations against EOKA Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrillas as well as its normal communications duties. The squadron returned to Britain in April 1959, with its new base being

RAF Upavon Royal Air Force Upavon or RAF Upavon is a former RAF station in Wiltshire, England. It was a grass airfield, military flight training school, and administrative headquarters of the Royal Air Force. The station opened in 1912 and closed in 1993 ...

.Rawlings 1982, p. 157. In 1960, the squadron supplemented its Pioneers with larger

Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer The Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer was a British STOL transport aircraft built by Scottish Aviation Limited at Prestwick Airport, Scotland, during the 1950s. It was designed for both civil and military operators. It was conceived as a twin-eng ...

aircraft, and in May that year the squadron moved to

RAF Odiham RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook, and of the King’s Helicopter Flight (TKHF) . ...

.Halley 1988, pp. 297–298. In September 1960, the squadron's 'A' Flight was detached to

British Cameroon British Cameroon or the British Cameroons was a British mandate territory in British West Africa, formed of the Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Today, the Northern Cameroons forms parts of the Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states of Ni ...

, flying internal security patrols as the colony prepared for the

1961 British Cameroons referendum A United Nations referendum was held in British Cameroons on 11 February 1961 to determine whether the territory should join neighbouring Cameroon or Nigeria. This followed an earlier plebiscite in Northern Cameroon in 1959 which voted to post ...

. The flight returned to its parent formation in September 1961. Westland Whirlwind HAR.10

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

s began to arrive in June 1962, becoming the squadron's standard equipment by the end of the year. In January 1963 No.230 Squadron moved to

RAF Gütersloh Royal Air Force Gütersloh, more commonly known as RAF Gütersloh, was a Royal Air Force Germany military airfield, the nearest Royal Air Force airfield to the East/West German border, in the vicinity of the town of Gütersloh. It was const ...

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 ...

, with a detachment at Nicosia. The squadron returned to Odiham in December 1964 before being transferred to Borneo, due to the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation in February 1965. In October 1966 the squadron again returned to Odiham, resuming its detachment at Nicosia. In November 1971 began to convert to the Westland Puma HC.1 at

. On 14 October 1980, the squadron moved back to

where they remained until being disbanded and reformed at

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

in April 1992. 230 sqn was one of two

based squadrons of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, the other being 72 Squadron (equipped with

Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34 (in US service known as Choctaw). It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main chang ...

HC2s). 230 Squadron's 18 Puma aircraft were rotated with No. 33 Squadron's 15 Pumas to even out flight hours amongst the fleet (Northern Ireland based helicopters had a much higher operational tempo). The main role of the squadron was tactical transport of the Security Forces, including the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC),

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ga, Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ') is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it was reform ...

and 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 the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. On 17 November 2009, 230 Squadron eventually left Northern Ireland for RAF Benson in Oxfordshire (together with 33 Squadron from RAF Odiham) after 17 years in the province.''Air International'' January 2010, p.7. Aerospatiale

Kabul accident

On 11 October 2015, one member of the squadron was killed in an accident in Kabul, Afghanistan, whilst landing at the NATO Training and Support Mission HQ. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the crash was "an accident and not the result of insurgent activity". The

crewman Crewman is a generic term for a crew member serving in the operation of an aircraft, naval vessel, or train. The term may also refer to individuals serving in a military capacity on weapon system platforms, such as those operating a tank. In so ...

was named a day later, and was repatriated back to the UK on the 20th. The Flight Lieutenant's CO commented saying "A man with exceptionally high standards, he was never afraid to remind anyone when he felt they could have done better. However, this advice was always delivered with his characteristic wry smile and good humour. The Support Helicopter Force has lost not only an outstanding operator but a good friend to so many...his lasting legacy will be the professionalism and courage he passed onto all who flew with him. A loving husband and father, our thoughts are with his wife and children at this most difficult of times." A post mortem found he died of severe head injuries. The inquest was adjourned indefinitely until the conclusion of separate inquiries being undertaken by the Ministry of Defence were completed. The squadron was awarded a new squadron

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

in February 2019 by RAF Benson's Honorary Air Marshal,

Prince Michael of Kent Prince Michael of Kent, (Michael George Charles Franklin; born 4 July 1942) is a member of the British royal family, who is 51st in the line of succession to the British throne as of September 2022. Queen Elizabeth II and Michael were firs ...

. The standard, the third to be awarded to the squadron, is made of silk and features the

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military t ...

s awarded to the unit since its formation.

Aircraft operated

Squadron bases

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Bowyer, Michael J.F. and John D.R. Rawlings. ''Squadron Codes 1937–56''. Cambridge, UK: Patrick Stephens Ltd., 1979. . * Deller, Alan W. ''The Kid Glove Pilot: A Personal Account of Flying Sunderlands in World War Two''. Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland: Colourpoint Books, 2004. . * Docherty, Tom. ''Hunt Like a Tiger: 230 Squadron at War, 1939–45''. Bognor Regis, West Sussex, UK: Woodfield Publishing, 2003. . * Flintham, Vic and Andrew Thomas. ''Combat Codes: A Full Explanation and Listing of British, Commonwealth and Allied Air Force Unit Codes since 1938''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 2003. . * Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1980. . * Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. . * Jefford, C.G. ''RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing, 2001. . * "Operation Tiger 9". '' Air International'', January 2010, Vol. 78, No. 1. p. 7. * Rawlings, J.D.R. "History of 230 Squadron". ''Air Pictorial'', July 1969. Vol. 31 No.7. pp. 242–244. * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. . * Warner, Guy. ''No. 230 Squadron Royal Air Force "Kita chari jauh – We search far"''. Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland: Colourpoint Books, 2004. .

External links

230 Squadron

230 "Tiger" Squadron Air Training Corps

230 Squadron at Helicopter History site
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 230 Squadron Raf 230 Squadron Military units and formations established in 1918 Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II 1918 establishments in the United Kingdom