No. 111 (Fighter) Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Panavia Tornado F3 from RAF Leuchars, Scotland.

History

No. 111 Squadron was formed at Dier-el-Belah , Palestine on 1 August 1917 as the first dedicated fighter squadron in the region. Its two main tasks were to restrict enemy reconnaissance flights and counter the increasing German fighter threat over Suez. The Squadron flew a variety of aircraft. As the tide of the War turned, the unit started ground-attack patrols and such was the pilot's skill, that the Squadron was able to turn the Turkish retreat into a rout. 'Treble One' withdrew to Egypt after the end of the War and was renumbered No. 14 Squadron in February 1920.

1 October 1923 saw 111 Squadron reform, this time at Duxford, but again with a variety of types namely Grebes, Snipes and Siskins, the latter eventually equipping the whole Squadron until the arrival of Bulldog in 1931. Five years later, No 111 received Gladiators, and in January 1938 the unit had the distinction of becoming the first Hurricane squadron. The Squadron flew as part of both Nos. 11 and 12 Groups during the Battle of Britain and replaced its Hurricanes with Spitfires in April 1942. In November the Squadron moved to Gibraltar in preparation for Operation Torch - the invasion of North Africa - where it supported the 1st Army through Algeria and Tunisia before moving to Malta in June 1943 to cover the invasion of Sicily. With the Allies advancing through Italy, No 111 moved with them, remaining there until after the cessation of hostilities when it moved to Austria.

The Squadron was again disbanded in May 1947 and did not rejoin the RAF's order of battle until it was reformed once more on 2 December 1953 at RAF North Weald , one of its old Battle of Britain bases, joining the jet age with Meteor F8s. These aircraft were replaced with Hunters in June 1955, with which the Squadron achieved international fame with their ‘Black Arrows’ aerobatic display team, flying a 22 aircraft formation loop. The Squadron moved to RAF Wattisham in 1964 and converted to the all-weather fighter, the Lightning. Ten years later, the Squadron re-equipped again, this time with the Phantom at RAF Coningsby, before moving north to Leuchars on 3 November 1975.

The last Phantom sortie was flown on 30 January 1990 after which No 111(F) Squadron re-equipped again, this time with the Tornado.

Current role

Throughout its time at Leuchars the No 111(F) Squadron has been tasked with the maintenance of Quick Reaction Alert , which involves keeping aircraft at a high state of readiness to intercept, identify and, should it be necessary, destroy hostile aircraft approaching UK airspace. In recent years the Squadron has been involved in Operation Deny Flight over Bosnia, Operations Bolton and Resinate in the Middle East and regularly participates in major Air Defence exercises, both in the UK and abroad.

The squadron participated in Operation Telic where it formed part of the Tornado F3 Wing at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

RAF Tornado squadrons

F3

• No. XI Squadron - RAF Leeming
• No. 25 Squadron - RAF Leeming
• No. 43 Squadron - RAF Leuchars
• No. 56 (Reserve) Squadron - RAF Leuchars
• No. 111 Squadron - RAF Leuchars
• No. 1435 Flight - RAF Mount Pleasant

GR4

• No. 9 Squadron - RAF Marham
• No. 12 Squadron - RAF Lossiemouth
• No. 14 Squadron - RAF Lossiemouth
• No. XV (Reserve) Squadron - RAF Lossiemouth
• No. 31 Squadron - RAF Marham
• No. 617 Squadron - RAF Lossiemouth

GR4A

• No. II Squadron - RAF Marham
• No. 13 Squadron - RAF Marham

See also

• List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons

Sources

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