No. 3 Squadron
Active	18 May 1912 (RFC)
Role	Air Defence and Early Warning
Garrison/HQ	RAF Coningsby
Motto	Tertius primus erit (Latin: "The third shall be the first")
Equipment	Typhoon F2
Battle honours	Western Front 1914-1918, Mons, Somme 1918, Low Countries 1940, Battle of Britain 1940, Normandy 1944, Arnhem, France and Germany 1944-1945, Iraq 2003
Insignia
Identification symbol	On a monolith, a cockatrice

No. Events 1152 - Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. RAF Coningsby, is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout A battle honour is a military tradition practised in the Commonwealth countries of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand A cockatrice is a Legendary creature, resembling a large rooster with a lizard-like tail "an ornament in the drama and poetry of the Elizabethans quot Laurence 3 (F) Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Typhoon F2 from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout RAF Coningsby, is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England. Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs) is a county in the east of England.

Contents 1 History 2 Previous Aircraft Operated 3 See also 4 External links 5 References

History

No. 3 Squadron (Royal Flying Corps) was formed at Larkhill in May 1912 from No 2 Company of the Air Battalion Royal Engineers. The Royal Flying Corps (RFC was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. Larkhill ( is a village in Wiltshire, England, on the edge of Salisbury Plain. The Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers was the first flying unit of the British Armed Forces to make use of Heavier-than-air craft 3 Sqn was actually the first squadron to receive heavier than air flying machines, hence the motto "Tertius primus erit", meaning "The third shall be the first". In 1913, 3 Squadron deployed to Halton in Buckinghamshire to support the land manoeuvres of the Household Division. Halton is a small Village and is also a Civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England about 2 miles Buckinghamshire (abbreviated Bucks) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. Household Division is a term used principally in the Commonwealth of Nations to describe a country’s most elite or historically senior military units or those military units A temporary airfield was set up on what later became RAF Halton's Maitland Parade Square. RAF Halton is one of the larger Royal Air Force (RAF stations in the United Kingdom, located near the village of Halton Buckinghamshire. During the exercise, 3 Squadron flew a number of reconnaissance sorties and staged the first confrontation between an airship and an aeroplane. ^[1]

Sent to France on the outbreak of the First World War, the squadron initially operated in the reconnaissance role using a variety of aircraft types. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Later, with the introduction of Sopwith Camels, a fighter/scout role was taken on. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

The inter-war years saw the squadron operate a variety of different types, based in the UK. The only highlight of these years was the 1935 deployment to the Sudan during the Italian invasion of Abyssinia. Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page

World War II began with 3 Sqn in Scotland with the Hawker Hurricane, as part of Fighter Command. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Fighter Command was one of three functional commands that dominated the public perception of the Royal Air Force for much of the mid-20th century The squadron took part in the Battle of Britain, and later in the war, equipped now with Tempests, it shot down several hundred German V1 flying bombs over England. The Battle of Britain (German ''Luftschlacht um England'' is the name given to the sustained strategic effort by the German Luftwaffe during the summer and WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Fieseler Fi 103, better known as V-1 (German Vergeltungswaffe 1 was an early Cruise missile used during World War Two England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland

The squadron moved onto jets with the De Havilland Vampire during 1948, in Germany, where it had remained after moving there in the latter stages of the war. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Sabres and Hunters replaced the Vampires during the 1950s, followed by Gloster Javelins and then a conversion onto Canberra bombers. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Most of its time with Canberras was spent at RAF Geilenkirchen moving to RAF Laarbruch in January 1968.

3 Sqn's association with the Harrier began in the early 1970s with the Harrier GR1. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The squadron received the later GR3 and GR5 model Harriers successively at its Gutersloh base, finally receiving the GR7 and relocating to Laarbruch in the 1990s. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Gütersloh (ˈgyːtɐsloː is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, in the area of Westphalia and the administrative region of Detmold. In the 1999, with the drawdown of the RAF in Germany, 3 Sqn moved back to the UK along with its sister 4 Sqn. No IV Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Harrier GR7 from RAF Cottesmore. The two squadrons operated at RAF Cottesmore, being joined by the other Harrier operator, 1 Sqn, in 2001. Station crest The badge of RAF Cottesmore consists of a Hunting horn, a Five-pointed star and a horseshoe No 1 (F Squadron is a Squadron of the Royal Air Force. It currently operates the Harrier GR7 from RAF Cottesmore.

No. 3 Sqn, as part of Joint Force Harrier, operated alongside the Fleet Air Arm Sea Harriers, and itself was capable of deployment from the Royal Navy aircraft carriers. Joint Force Harrier is the British military formation which controls the STOVL Harrier aircraft of the Royal Air Force and WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) Operations have included Operation Allied Force over Kosovo in 1999, Operation Palliser over Sierra Leone in 2000 and Operation Telic over Iraq in 2003. The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia (code-named Operation Allied Force) was NATO 's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia that Operation Palliser was a British Armed forces operation in Sierra Leone in 2000 under the command of Brigadier David Richards. Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. Operation (or Op TELIC is the codename under which all British operations of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and after are being conducted In August 2004 it was announced that 6 Harriers will be deployed to Afghanistan in support of NATO forces.

No. 3 Sqn became the first operational front line squadron equipped with the Eurofighter Typhoon on March 31, 2006. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. 3(F) Sqn was declared operational in 2007. Its Harrier GR7s have now been passed to the Fleet Air Arm to be used by the recommissioned 800 Naval Air Squadron. The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships 800 Naval Air Squadron is a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm carrier based squadron formed on 3 April 1933 by amalgamating No's 402 and 404 (Fleet Fighter

In 2007 No. 3 (F) Squadron celebrated its 95th anniversary over the weekend of 11, 12 & 13 May at RAF Coningsby.

No 3 Sqn is unique in the RAF having 2 official crests; the main one, the cockatrice on a monolith ('chicken on a brick') and the ground crew (Aircraft Engineers) having 3 vertical monoliths and 2 'capping' monoliths ('The Wickets') representing the association of Larkhill with stonehenge. The reasons for this distinction is hotly debated.

Previous Aircraft Operated

• Sopwith Camel September 1917 - February 1919
• Sopwith Snipe April 1920 - October 1921; April 1924 - October 1925
• De Havilland DH9A October 1921 - October 1922
• Westland Walrus January 1922 - April 1923
• Hawker Woodcock II July 1925 - September 1928
• Gloster Gamecock I August 1928 - July 1929
• Bristol Bulldog II May 1929 - December 1932
• Bristol Bulldog IIA February 1931 - January 1932; December 1932 - June 1937
• Gloster Gladiator I March 1937 - March 1939; July 1938 - July 1939
• Hawker Hurricane I March 1938 - July 1938; July 1939 - April 1941
• Hawker Hurricane IIA IIB April 1941 - November 1941
• Hawker Hurricane IIC April 1941 - May 1943
• Hawker Typhoon 1B February 1943 - April 1944
• Hawker Tempest V February 1944 - April 1948
• De Havilland Vampire F1 April 1948 - May 1949
• De Havilland Vampire FB5 May 1949 - May 1953
• North American Sabre F1/F4 May 1953 - June 1956
• Hawker Hunter F4 May 1956 - June 1957
• Gloster Javelin FAW4 January 1959 - December 1960
• English Electric Canberra B(1)8 January 1961 - January 1972
• Hawker Siddeley Harrier GRIA, T2 January 1972 - March 1977
• Harrier GR3, T2]] March 1977 - May 1989
• BAE Harrier GR5, T4 May 1989 - February 1992
• BAE Harrier GR7, T10 February 1992
• BAE Harrier GR7A 2004

See also

• List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons

External links

• History of No. 3 Squadron at RAF website
• 3 Sqn Association

References

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