No. 13 Squadron RAF
| No. XIII Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active |
|
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Type | Remotely Piloted Air System squadron |
| Role | Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) and attack |
| Part of | No. 1 Group |
| Home station | RAF Waddington |
| Nickname(s) | 'The Stabbed Cats' |
| Motto(s) | Adjuvamus tuendo (Latin for 'We assist by watching')[1] |
| Aircraft | General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron code | AN (1939) OO (1939-1942) |
| Squadron badge heraldry | In front of a dagger, a lynx's head affrontee.[2] |
| Squadron markings |  |
Number 13 Squadron, also known as XIII Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force which operate the General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle from RAF Waddington since reforming on 26 October 2012.[3]
The unit first formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps on 10 January 1915 and went on to fly the Martinsyde G.100, the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2, the SPAD VII and SPAD XIII, and the Sopwith Dolphin during the First World War. During the Second World War it began operating the Westland Lysander in the army cooperation role. From late 1942 it operated the Bristol Blenheim in North Africa. It converted to coverted to the Lockheed Ventura in 1943 for coastal patrols and convoy escort duties. Post war it operated de Havilland Mosquito before transitioning to the jet powered Gloster Meteor and English Electric Canberra for photo reconnaissance. From 1 January 1990, it operated the Panavia Tornado, initially the GR1A variant based at RAF Honington and later the GR4/4A at RAF Marham untill 13 May 2011 when the squadron disbanded.[4]
History
[edit]First World War and Interwar period (1915–1938)
[edit]No. 13 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed at Fort Grange, RAF Gosport, Hampshire, on 10 January 1915 and moved to France and the Western Front on 19 October 1915, initially on army co-operation duties and subsequently on bombing raids, pioneering formation bombing. Aircraft types operated during the war included the Martinsyde G.100, the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2, the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8, the SPAD VII and SPAD XIII, and the Sopwith Dolphin fighter. The squadron disbanded on 31 December 1919.[5]
The unit had reformed at RAF Kenley on 1 April 1924 and inter-war years saw the squadron operate from various UK bases equipped with a variety of aircraft types including the Bristol F.2 Fighter, Armstrong Whitworth Atlas, Hawker Audax and Hawker Hector for army cooperation.[5]
Second World War (1939–1945)
[edit]
By January 1939, No. 13 squadron was equipped with Westland Lysanders. It moved to France on 2 October until late May 1940 when it withdrew to UK bases following the Fall of France.[6]
In May 1941, the squadron changed role and theatre, flying a variety of bomber aircraft including the Bristol Blenheim and Douglas Boston light bombers in the Mediterranean until the end of the war,[7] disbanding on 19 April 1946.[8]
Cold War (1946–1982)
[edit]The squadron reformed as No. 13 (Photographic Reconnaissance) Squadron on 1 September 1946 at RAF Ein Shemer, Palestine, when No. 680 Squadron was renumbered.[8] Peace heralded the return to reconnaissance duties, with the unit flying the de Havilland Mosquito PR.34. Moving to Egypt, the squadron converted to the Gloster Meteor PR.10 in 1952 and by 1956 was operating the English Electric Canberra PR.7.[9]
During the 1956 Suez Crisis, the squadron flew reconnaissance flights over Syria from Cyprus, which resulted in one Canberra being shot down by the Syrian Air Force.[10]
In 1978, the squadron moved to RAF Wyton near Huntingdon in the UK, flying Canberra PR.7 and PR.9, built by Short Brothers, until the unit disbanded on 1 January 1982.[7]
Panavia Tornado (1990–2011)
[edit]RAF Honington & Gulf War (1990–1994)
[edit]The squadron reformed at RAF Honington on 1 January 1990, equipped with Panavia Tornado GR1A in the reconnaissance role.[11] The Tornado was equipped with the new Tornado Infrared Reconnaissance System (TIRRS).[12]
During the deployment of allied forces to the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Shield in the latter part of 1990, it quickly became apparent that the unique night reconnaissance capability of the Tornado GR1A could provide vital intelligence to the Allied commanders. As a result, on 15 and 16 January 1991, immediately before hostilities commenced, six aircraft were deployed to Saudi Arabia. During the first nights of the war, the Reconnaissance Wing successfully discovered several of the elusive Iraqi Scud missile sites.[13]
The majority of sorties were however, tasked into central and eastern Iraq to identify the disposition of the various Iraqi ground forces in preparation for the ground offensive. Although the rest of the Coalition Air Forces moved to medium level operations after the first few nights of the air war, the GR1A operated at night and at low-level for the duration of the conflict. The squadron was also fundamental to the success of the Tornado/TIALD (Thermal Imaging And Laser Designation) combination. Four No. 13 Squadron crews began the work-up from mid-January and, after encouraging results, four aircraft flew to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia.[14]
After the war, the squadron continued its peacetime training role at RAF Honington as well as taking part in Operation Jural, the monitoring of a No-Fly Zone in the South of Iraq below the 32nd parallel north.[15]
RAF Marham (1994–2011)
[edit]
On 1 February 1994, No. 13 Squadron moved to RAF Marham.[16]
Deployments to operational theatres have continued to be a major feature of the squadron's life having deployed on Operation Warden and Operation Bolton to monitor both the Northern and Southern No-Fly Zones in Iraq. XIII Squadron crews joined the Ali Al Salem Combat Air Wing (Composite RAF Squadron formed from the Tornado GR4 Force for Gulf War 2) in early 2003 and flew Scud Hunting missions in the Western Desert of Iraq during the Iraq War of 2003. The squadron also flew the last sortie by a Tornado in support of Operation Telic in 2009.[4]
In the summer of 2010, the squadron flew close air support missions in Afghanistan as part of Operation Herrick,[4] and in 2011 the squadron fired Storm Shadow cruise missiles against Libya in the early days of Operation Ellamy.[4] A few weeks later, on 13 May 2011, the squadron was disbanded as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review of 2010.[4]
MQ-9 Reaper (2012–present)
[edit]
At the disbandment parade of No. 13 (Tornado) Squadron in May 2011, the Chief of the Air Staff announced the formation of a second unit operating the MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft system which would receive the No. 13 Squadron numberplate. No. 13 (Reaper) Squadron was reformed on 26 October 2012 at RAF Waddington.[17][18] Subsequently, the squadron flew the first remote operational mission from the UK towards the end of April 2013[19] and conducted its first remote weapons strike a few days later.[20]
It was announced in 2021, that the squadron would re-equip with General Atomics Protector RG1 to become the second RAF Reaper squadron after No. 31 Squadron. [21]
Aircraft operated
[edit]List of aircraft operated by No. 13 Squadron:[8]
- Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 c, d, and e variants (1915–1917)
- Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 (1917–1919)
- Bristol F.2B Fighter (1924–1928)
- Armstrong Whitworth Atlas (1927–1932)
- Hawker Audax (1932–1937)
- Hawker Hector (1937–1939)
- Westland Lysander Mk I, Mk II, Mk III (1939–1941)
- Bristol Blenheim Mk IV, Mk V (1941–1943)
- Lockheed Ventura (1943–1943)
- Martin Baltimore B.IV, B.V (1944–1944)
- Douglas Boston Mk IV, Mk V (1944–1946)
- de Havilland Mosquito PR.34 (1946–1952)
- Gloster Meteor PR.10 (1952–1956)
- English Electric Canberra PR.7, PR.9 (1956–1982)
- Panavia Tornado GR1A, GR4A (1990–2011)
- General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper (2012–present)
Battle honours
[edit]No. 13 Squadron has received the following battle honours. Those marked with an asterisk (*) may be emblazoned on the squadron standard.[22]
- Western Front (1915–1918)*
- Somme (1916)
- Arras (1917)*
- Cambrai (1917)*
- Somme (1918)*
- Hindenburg Line (1918)*
- France and Low Countries (1939–1940)
- Dieppe (1942)*
- North Africa (1942–1943)
- Mediterranean (1943)
- Italy (1944–1945)*
- Gustav Line*
- Gothic Line*
- Gulf (1991)*
- Iraq (2003–2011)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 6. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
- ^ The Squadron had used the dagger for some time and the lynx's head indicates vigilance. Approved by King George VI in February 1937.
- ^ RAF to get new Reaper squadron Archived 22 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d e "No XIII Squadron Disbandment – RAF Marham". Royal Air Force. 13 May 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
- ^ a b Halley, 1988, p. 44
- ^ Jefford 1988, p. 28
- ^ a b Halley, 1988, p. 45
- ^ a b c "No.13 Squadron". National Cold War Exhibition. Royal Air Force Museum. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
- ^ "No 13 Squadron". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- ^ Nicolle, David; Nordeen, Lon (1996). Phoenix over the Nile: a history of Egyptian air power, 1932–1994. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 346. ISBN 978-1560986263.
- ^ "RAF Honington". Vulcan to the Sky. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
- ^ "Tornado Infra-Red Reconnaissance System (TIRRS) (United Kingdom), Airborne electro-optic (EO) systems." Archived 9 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine Jane's Avionics, 23 March 2009.
- ^ "British Military Aviation in 1991". Royal air Force Museum. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ Bowman, Martin (2016). Jet Wars in the Nuclear Age: 1972 to the Present Day. Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1473837720.
- ^ "Sir Stephen Dalton – LLD (Doctor of Laws)". University of Leicester. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
- ^ March, Peter R. (1998). Brace by Wire to Fly-By-Wire – 80 Years of the Royal Air Force 1918–1998. RAF Fairford: Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund Enterprises. p. 162. ISBN 1-899808-06-X.
- ^ "13 Squadron reformed October 2012". Royal Air Force Association Costa Blanca Branch. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
- ^ Clements, Richard (15 January 2013) UK’s Royal Air Force to support French forces deployed to Mali with airlifters. And drones The Aviationist, Retrieved 5 February 2013
- ^ "Armed drones operated from RAF base in UK, says MoD". BBC News. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ^ "RAF crew conducts first Reaper strike in Afghanistan from UK soil". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ^ Allison, George (17 September 2021). "Second Protector squadron to be 13 Squadron".
- ^ "XIII Squadron". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
Bibliography
[edit]- Halley, J.J., The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918–1988, 1988, Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd, ISBN 0-85130-164-9
- Jefford, C G (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
External links
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