No. 80 Squadron RAF was a
Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
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and
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 ...
squadron active from 1917 until 1969. It was operative during both
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.
Establishment and early service
Founded on 1 August 1917 at
RAF Montrose
Royal Air Force Montrose or more simply RAF Montrose is a former Royal Air Force station in Forfarshire (now more commonly called Angus) in Scotland. It became the first operational military aerodrome to be established in the United Kingdom on ...
, equipped with the
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 ...
and intended as a fighter squadron, 80 Squadron was sent to France to serve on the Western Front in January 1918, acting initially in a fighter role.
[Rawlings ''Air Pictorial'' December 1962, p. 392.] However, German offensives in March of the same year resulted in 80 Sqn being reallocated in a ground-attack role, still with Camels. It continued this duty until the end of the war. As a result, the squadron had only one ace,
Harold Whistler, although it claimed approximately 60 aerial victories.
The Camels were replaced with
Sopwith Snipe
The Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe was a British single-seat biplane fighter of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War, and came into squadron service a few weeks before the end of th ...
s in December 1918 and in May the following year the squadron moved to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
, where it served for a short period of time before being amalgamated into
No. 56 Squadron RAF.
Reinstatement and World War II
The squadron was reformed in March 1937 again as No. 80 Squadron, now equipped with
Gloster Gauntlet
The Gloster Gauntlet was a single-seat biplane fighter designed and produced by the British aeroplane manufacturer Gloster Aircraft in the 1930s. It was the last fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) to have an open cockpit, and ...
fighter. However, by now the Gauntlet was considered by many to be outdated, and as a result the Gauntlets were replaced by the
Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s.
Developed private ...
just two months later. In 1938, the squadron again returned to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
as an 'air defence unit'. After Italy's declaration of war on Britain on 10 June 1940, No. 80 Squadron was moved to the Egyptian-Libyan border but was subsequently one of the units sent to aid the Greeks during the
Greco-Italian War
The Greco-Italian War (Greek language, Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdom ...
, initially flying Gladiators and then re-equipping with the
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness b ...
from February 1941. The Squadron lost most of its aircraft during the Greek and Crete actions and reformed at
RAF Aqir in Palestine in May 1941 before deploying detachments to Nicosia in Cyprus and 'A' Flight to
RAF Haifa
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) a ...
. The Squadron moved totally to Cyprus in July 1941, before returning to Syria the next month, and then joining the fighting in North Africa two months later. During 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 ...
it was responsible for defending communications lines. It remained in that area until early 1944, when it returned to Britain to prepare for
Operation Overlord (the Allied invasion of Europe). It was equipped with the
Spitfire IX F operating from
RAF Detling
Royal Air Force Detling or more simply RAF Detling is a former Royal Air Force station situated above sea level, located near Detling, a village about miles north-east of Maidstone, Kent.
It was a station of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS ...
in
Air Defence of Great Britain
The Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) was a RAF command comprising substantial army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles. It lasted from 1925, following recommendations that the RAF take control of homeland air ...
(ADGB), though under the operational control of
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, ...
(2nd TAF). When 2nd TAF began moving to Normandy after D-Day, the squadron remained in ADGB, re-equipping with
Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest is a British fighter aircraft that was primarily used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the Second World War. The Tempest, originally known as the ''Typhoon II'', was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, intended to a ...
aircraft on anti-
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...
duties as part of
Operation Diver
Operation Diver was the British codename for countermeasures against the V-1 flying bomb campaign launched by the German in 1944 against London and other parts of Britain. Diver was the codename for the V-1, against which the defence consisted o ...
. After this threat diminished, No. 80 Squadron moved on to the continent and resumed a fighter role until the end of the war in Europe.
Post-World War II and disbandment
As part of the European occupation forces,
British Air Forces of Occupation, the squadron continued its patrol and reconnaissance duties from
Wunstorf
Wunstorf () is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 22 km west of Hanover. The following localities belong to the town of Wunstorf: Blumenau (with Liethe), Bokeloh, Großenheidorn, Idensen ...
in Germany, until it relocated to Hong Kong in July 1949 (the Tempests having been replaced by
Supermarine Spitfire F.24s in 1948). During the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
, No. 80 Squadron's main duty was to defend Hong Kong from perceived Communist threats. The Spitfires departed in 1951, replaced by the
de Havilland Hornet
The de Havilland DH.103 Hornet, developed by de Havilland, was a fighter aircraft driven by two piston engines. It further exploited the wooden construction techniques that had been pioneered by the de Havilland Mosquito. Development of the ...
, and the squadron remained in Hong Kong until being disbanded on 1 May 1955. However, two months later it was reformed as a reconnaissance unit at
RAF Laarbruch
Royal Air Force , more commonly known as RAF ICAO EDUL (from 1 January 1995 ETUL) was a Royal Air Force station, a military airfield, located in Germany on its border with the Netherlands. The Station's motto was ().
The site now operates ...
. Equipped with
Canberra PR.7s, it moved to
Brüggen in June 1957 from then until 28 September 1969, when it was disbanded.
[Rawlings 1982, p. 92.]
Notable members
*
David Coke
*
Nigel Cullen
*
Roald Dahl
*
William Vale
*
Pat Pattle
Marmaduke Thomas St John Pattle, (3 July 1914 – 20 April 1941), usually known as Pat Pattle, was a South African-born English Second World War fighter pilot and flying ace (an aviator credited with the destruction of five or more enem ...
*
Tap Jones
*
Robert (Peter) Spurdle
Aircraft operated
[Jefford 2001, p. 52.]
See also
*
Cathay Pacific VR-HEU
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Ken Delve, ''D-Day: The Air Battle'', London: Arms & Armour Press, 1994, .
* 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, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). .
* Rawlings, John D.R. ''Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Jane's Publishing Company Ltd., 1982. .
* Rawlings, John. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1969 (second edition 1976). .
* Rawlings, J. D. R. "History of 80 Squadron".''
Air Pictorial
''Air Pictorial'' was a British aviation magazine covering contemporary and historical military and civil aviation topics. By 2002, when the magazine was renamed ''Aviation News'' (a title that had been incorporated into it six years previously ...
'', December 1962, Vol. 24, No. 12. pp. 392–394.
* Shores, Christopher. ''Strike True: The Story of No. 80 Squadron Royal Air Force''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1986. .
*
External links
RAFWeb page
{{DEFAULTSORT:80 Squadron Raf
080
080
Military units and formations established in 1917
Military of Hong Kong under British rule
1917 establishments in the United Kingdom
Military units and formations in Mandatory Palestine in World War II