The 350th Squadron (french: 350^e escadrille, nl, 350^ste Squadron) is a fighter

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

in the

Air Component The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne bel ...

of the

Belgian Armed Forces The Belgian Defense Forces ( nl, Defensie; french: La Défense) is the national military of Belgium. The King of the Belgians is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The Belgian Armed Forces was established after Belgium became indepen ...

. It was originally formed in 1941 as No. 350 (Belgian) Smaldeel 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) and ...

during

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The unit was transferred to the Belgian Air Force, together with 349th Squadron, in 1946. Based at

Florennes air base Florennes Air Base is a Belgian Air Component military airfield located east southeast of Florennes, a Walloon municipality of Belgium. It is home to the 2nd Tactical Wing, operating F-16 Fighting Falcons. It also used to be the home to the Ta ...

, the unit is now part of the 2nd Tactical Wing and operates

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

History

With the Royal Air Force

No. 350 Squadron, the first

squadron to be formed by Belgian personnel, was formed during

RAF Valley Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in November 1941. The squadron operated the

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

at first on convoy protection duties over the

Irish sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

, relocating to

RAF Atcham Royal Air Force Atcham or more simply RAF Atcham is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, on the north eastern boundary of Attingham Park. Initially built for RAF Fighter Command, during the Secon ...

in early 1942. In April 1942 the squadron moved to

RAF Debden Royal Air Force Debden or more simply RAF Debden is a former Royal Air Force station located southeast of Saffron Walden and approximately north of the village of Debden in North Essex, England History The airfield was opened in April 1937 ...

and carried out offensive operations over France. The squadron moved several times around southern England. During

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

(the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944) it was equipped with the Spitfire V LF operating from RAF Friston 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 ...

, 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, ...

.Delve, p. 137. It provided beach-head patrols during the invasion. During

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 ...

in August 1944 the Squadron operated the Spitfire XIV against

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 ...

s attacking England. The squadron moved to Belgium in December 1944 to provide offensive patrols over the battlefield including patrols in the Berlin area. The squadron was disbanded on 15 October 1946 on transfer to the Belgian air force.

Aircraft operated during RAF service

Commanding officers

Under Belgian command

In 1946, the squadron was integrated into the

Belgian Air Force The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...

. In July 1949, the squadron received its first jet aircraft, the

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...

mk. 4 and 8. In 1954, they were replaced by

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-R ...

mk 4s. In 1958, they received the

Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck (affectionately known as the "Clunk") is a Canadian twinjet interceptor/ fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Avro Canada. It has the distinction of being the only Canadian-designed fighter to e ...

. In August 1964, the unit was given

F-104G Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of ...

s, taking on the role of

Quick Reaction Alert Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) is state of readiness and '' modus operandi'' of air defence maintained at all hours of the day by NATO air forces. The United States usually refers to Quick Reaction Alert as 'Airspace Control Alert'. Some non-NATO c ...

(QRA) with 349th Squadron. In 1975, the Starfighters were finally replaced with

F-16s The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it ...

, becoming operational with the type in January 1982. In 1993,

1st Fighter Wing The 1st Fighter Wing (1 FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Fifteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Langley Air Force Base, VA. where it is a tenant unit, being supported by the 633d Air Base Wing. Its 1 ...

was dissolved and in 1996, the squadron left

Beauvechain Beauvechain (; wa, Bôvètché; nl, Bevekom, ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 6,529 inhabitants. The total area is 38.58 km2, giving a population ...

to join 2nd Tactical Wing in

Florennes Florennes (; wa, Florene) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. As of 1 January 2006, Florennes has a total population of 10,754. The total area is 133.55 km² which gives a population density of 81 inhabita ...

. In 1999, the unit participated in Operation Allied Force: the

NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Delve, Ken. ''D-Day: The Air Battle'', London: Arms & Armour Press, 1994, . * Donnet, Mike and Leon Branders. ''Ils en étaient! Les Escadrilles Belges de la RAF''. Brussels, Belgium: Pierre De Meyere, Editeur, 1979. * 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, 2001. . * Lallemant, Lt. Colonel R.A. ''Rendez-vous avec la chance'' (in French). Paris: Robert Laffont, 1962. * Rawlings, John D.R. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (new revised edition 1976, reprinted 1978). . *

External links

Official 350 Sqn website

Unofficial 350 site
{{RAF Squadrons Fighter Squadron, 350 Military units and formations established in 1941 350 350 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946