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 ...

University Air Squadron University Air Squadrons are training units under the command of No. 6 Flying Training School RAF of the Royal Air Force and their main role is to attract students into careers as RAF officers. Primarily its goal is achieved through offering b ...

recruiting within Scotland, Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde Air Squadron (commonly known as UGSAS) draws its members from six higher education establishments within Glasgow and its surrounding areas. Its headquarters are in the

West End of Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated p ...

in the

Park District A park district is a form of local special-purpose district for providing public parks and recreation in or near its geographic boundaries. Some park districts also own or maintain related cultural facilities such as monuments, zoos, sports venu ...

and is equipped with three

Grob Tutor The Grob G 115 is a general aviation fixed-wing aircraft, primarily used for flight training. It is built in Germany by Grob Aircraft (Grob Aerospace before January 2009). The E variant with a 3-blade variable pitch propeller is in service wi ...

aircraft which are based at the flying element of the squadron at

Glasgow Airport gd, Port-adhair Eadar-nàiseanta Ghlaschu , image = Glasgow Airport logo.svg , image-width = 200 , image2 = GlasgowAirportFromAir.jpg , image2-width = 250 , IATA = GLA , ICAO = EGPF , type = Public , owner = AGS Airports , hub = *easy ...

. The Squadron has approximately 65 student members—the majority of whom hold the rank of

Officer Cadet Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air ...

as members of the

RAF Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) ...

, and is split into three

flights Flight is the process by which an object moves without direct support from a surface. Flight may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Flight'' (1929 film), an American adventure film * ''Flight'' (2009 film), a South Korean d ...

—Clydesdale, Houston and MacIntyre. The Squadron also hosts all DTUS students attending Strathclyde University, who form Everest Flight The Squadron is a remote unit of 6 FTS.

History

Formation and World War Two

The Squadron was formed as Glasgow University Air Squadron on 13 January 1941, initially recruiting only from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and during the war years was actively engaged in the pre-entry training of students for the

. By the end of hostilities, some 400 members had entered the service in various aircrew categories though the Squadron did not operate aircraft during this period.

Post war changes

In 1946 the

RAFVR The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF) ...

was re-organised and the squadron was equipped with the

de Havilland Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

and the

Miles Magister The Miles M.14 Magister is a two-seat monoplane basic trainer aircraft designed and built by the United Kingdom, British aircraft manufacturer Miles Aircraft. It was affectionately known as the ''Maggie''. It was authorised to perform aerobatics ...

and flying was carried out initially at the Royal Naval Air Station at Abbotsinch (HMS Sanderling), now

, but when the airfield was having its runway's relaid in 1950, a move was made to Scone airfield at Perth, some away from Glasgow. The squadron operated there on and off until 1993. At the same time the Squadron was re-equipped with the De Havilland Chipmunk. In 1965 when the Royal College of Science and Technology became

Strathclyde University The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

the squadron was renamed to its current name to reflect this change. In 1969 the Squadron moved back to the now Glasgow Airport. The

Scottish Aviation Bulldog The Scottish Aviation Bulldog is a British two-seat side-by-side (with optional third seat) training aircraft designed by Beagle Aircraft as the B.125 Bulldog. The prototype Bulldog flew on 19 May 1969 at Shoreham Airport. The first order for ...

replaced the Chipmunk in 1974.

The modern squadron

More recently students from the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde ( gd, Oilthigh Shrath Chluaidh) is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal chart ...

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and G ...

and The

University of the West of Scotland The University of the West of Scotland ( gd, Oilthigh na h-Alba an Iar), formerly the University of Paisley, is a public university with four campuses in south-western Scotland, in the towns of Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, Blantyre, South Lanar ...

have been eligible for Squadron membership and as of 1996 the Squadron became parent to No.4

Air Experience Flight An Air Experience Flight (AEF) is a training unit of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch) whose main purpose is to give introductory flying experience to cadets from the Air Training Corps and the Combined Cadet Force. As of 20 ...

and in March 2000 the squadron was equipped with its current aircraft, the

. In January 2008 the Squadron was re-organised into two flights – Clydesdale and MacIntyre – named in honour after Lord Clydesdale and David MacIntyre, both were prominent aviators in the 1930s in 602 (City Of Glasgow) Sqn

RAuxAF The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary rein ...

. The Squadron detaches up to three times a year for a period of three to four weeks at a time, formerly to either

RAF Kinloss Royal Air Force Kinloss or RAF Kinloss is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north east of Scotland. The RAF station opened on 1 April 1939 and served as a training establishme ...

or RAF Leuchars, but since those bases have closed, more normally they deploy to

RAF Lossiemouth Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland. Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the R ...

. Whilst deployed, the squadron undertakes a period of intensive flying and adventure training.

Aircraft operated

* De Havilland Tiger Moth T.2 (1946-1950) *

(1946-1950) * De Havilland Chipmunk T.10 (1950-1974) * Scottish Aviation Bulldog T.1 (1974-2000) * Grob 115E Tutor T.1 (2000-2010) * Grob 115EA Tutor T.2 (2010 – present)

Incidents

* 11 December 2002 - a Grob Tutor crashed into a field in Gartocharn, near

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...

, after engine failure. Both the student pilot and instructor managed to walk away from the crash unharmed.

References

External links

*
Squadron website
{{Royal Air Force Aviation in Scotland Clubs and societies of the University of Glasgow

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

University of Strathclyde