No. 654 Squadron RAF was a unit 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 ...

during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. Numbers 651 to 663 Squadrons of the RAF were

Air Observation Post Air Observation Post (AOP) is an aeroplane or helicopter used in the role of artillery spotter by the British Army and Commonwealth forces. In this role, either the pilot of the aircraft or another crew member acts as an observer watching for tar ...

units working closely with

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

units in artillery spotting and liaison. Their duties and squadron numbers were transferred to the Army with the formation of the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

on 1 September 1957.

History

No. 654 Squadron was formed at

RAF Old Sarum Old Sarum Airfield is a grass strip airfield north-north-east of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The adjacent areas are a mix of vacant land, residential and industrial sites. Residential areas are to the south and east, occupying the old air ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, on 15 July 1942 and went into action on August 1943 in North Africa. From December 1943, it served in Italy, where it remained until disbanding at

Campoformido Campoformido ( fur, Cjampfuarmit) is a town and ''comune'' in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, north-eastern Italy, with a population of 7743 (December 2019). It is notable for the Treaty of Campo Formio. History Campoformido is a village not far from Udin ...

on 24 June 1947. No. 1906 Air Observation Post Flight was formed within 654 Squadron previously elements of 'A' & 'B' Flights along with No. 1907 Air Observation Post Flight which was formed within 654 Squadron previously elements of 'A' & 'C' Flights.

Present

The original squadron was represented by 654 Squadron of 4 Regiment,

. 654 AAC disbanded in July 2014, as part of

Army 2020 Army 2020, was the name given to the restructuring of the British Army, in light of the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Background The British Government gave an indication of its proposals for the future structure of the Army in ea ...

Aircraft operated

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

No.654 Squadron, Army Air Corps
Aircraft squadrons of the Royal Air Force in World War II 654 Squadron Military units and formations established in 1942 {{RAF-stub