No. 16 Squadron RAF Regiment was a field squadron of the

Royal Air Force Regiment The Royal Air Force Regiment (RAF Regiment) is part of the Royal Air Force and functions as a specialist corps. Founded by royal warrant in 1942, the Corps carries out soldiering tasks relating to the delivery of air power. Examples of such t ...

. The squadron operated mostly outside the United Kingdom since its formation in 1948 until 2006 when it was disbanded. It started out as a field squadron before becoming involved in the GBAD programme, where it operated the Rapier missile system.

History

No. 16 Squadron RAF Regiment was formed at RAF Watchet in 1948. During the

Cyprus crisis of 1963–64 Several distinct periods of Cypriot intercommunal violence involving the two main ethnic communities, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, marked mid-20th century Cyprus. These included the Cyprus Emergency of 1955–59 during British rule, the ...

, elements of No. 16 Squadron were used to bolster the numbers of 3 Wing RAF Regiment on the island of Cyprus. The squadron also deployed as part of 33 Wing HQ RAF Regiment to Northern Ireland, along with No.s 37 Squadron and 48 Squadron. Their mission was part of

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 ...

and the area they had to secure bordered the Irish Republic. During its tenure at

RAF Wildenrath Royal Air Force Wildenrath, commonly known as RAF Wildenrath, was a Royal Air Force (RAF) military airbase near Wildenrath in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, that operated from 1952 to 1992. Wildenrath was the first of four 'clutch' stations ...

in the 1980s, No. 16 Squadron assumed the airfield defence role from No. 25 Squadron RAF, who had previously operated the

Bloodhound The bloodhound is a large scent hound, originally bred for hunting deer, wild boar and, since the Middle Ages, for tracking people. Believed to be descended from hounds once kept at the Abbey of Saint-Hubert, Belgium, in French it is called, ...

missile system. No. 25 Squadron returned to an aircraft role at

RAF Leeming Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...

operating the

Tornado F3 The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) was a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 198 ...

variant. No. 16 Squadron used the Rapier Missile system and operated under No. 4 Wing RAF. Whilst operating out of Germany in May 1988, two unarmed members of the squadron, along with a third serviceman, were shot by terrorist forces in Holland. All were killed outright, with some senior members of the

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

stating that the killings were revenge for the SAS shootings in Gibraltar. Whilst deployed to Iraq in 2003 on Operation Telic, one of the gunner's on the squadron, Duncan Pritchard, was severely injured in a road traffic accident and died after being evacuated back to Britain. In 2005, the squadron was awarded the battle honour of ''Iraq 2003'' by the Queen, though this was without the right to emblazon the honour on their standard. A Defence Review in 2004 removed the airfield defence capability from the RAF Regiment, and along with 15, 26 and 37 Squadrons, No. 16 Squadron was put on notice of disbandment by March 2007. Between the announcement of disbandment in 2004 and its eventual demise in September 2006, the squadron deployed to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

and the Falkland Islands.

Locations

RAF Watchet 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) and ...

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 ...

RAF Wattisham Royal Air Force Station Wattisham or more simply RAF Wattisham is a former Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold War it was a major front ...

RAF Innsworth RAF Innsworth was a non flying Royal Air Force station, located on the north side of the city of Gloucester in England. The station closed in March 2008 and for the last 13 years of its life it was the headquarters of Personnel and Training Comma ...

RAF Felixstowe Royal Air Force Felixstowe, or more simply RAF Felixstowe, is a former Royal Air Force station located northeast of Harwich, Essex, England and southeast of Ipswich, Suffolk. History Felixstowe was commissioned 5 August 1913 under the comm ...

RAF Upwood Royal Air Force Upwood or more simply RAF Upwood is a former Royal Air Force station adjacent to the village of Upwood, Cambridgeshire, England, in the United Kingdom. It was a non-flying station which was under the control of the United St ...

RAF Catterick Royal Air Force Catterick or RAF Catterick is a former Royal Air Force airfield located near Catterick, North Yorkshire in England. It is located alongside the A6055 road on the outskirts of Catterick Village. Although initially a flying stati ...

RAF Honington Royal Air Force Honington or more simply RAF Honington is a Royal Air Force station located south of Thetford near Ixworth in Suffolk, England. Although used as a bomber station during the Second World War, RAF Honington is now the RAF Regim ...

References

Sources

External links

No. 16 Squadron badge
{{Royal Air Force Regiment Royal Air Force Regiment squadrons Military units and formations established in 1948 Military units and formations disestablished in 2006