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19 Squadron

Hawk

19 Squadron

19 Sqn Crest No. 19 Squadron was formed from a nucleus provided by No. 5 Reserve Squadron at Castle Bromwich on 1 September 1915. It was almost a year later that the Squadron went to France, flying contact patrols with BE12s before re-equipping with French-built Spads. These were used to strafe ground troops during the battles at Arras, Messines Ridge and Ypres. Early in 1918, Sopwith Dolphins arrived and these were used in bomber escort duties.

year after the end of the War, the Squadron was disbanded reforming on 1 April 1924 at Duxford. The Squadron remained at Duxford throughout the inter-war years with a succession of fighters: Siskins, Bulldogs and Gauntlets before the classic Spitfire arrived in August 1938. The Squadron remained in the UK after the outbreak of war, and was part of No. 12 Group, Fighter Command, during the Battle of Britain. Later versions of Spitfires were flown until the arrival of Mustangs for close-support duties in early 1944. After D-Day, No. 19 briefly went across the Channel before starting long-range escort duties with Coastal Command off the coast of Norway.

In March 1946, Spitfires replaced the Mustangs, but the association was short-lived as Hornets began to arrive later that year. It wasn't until 1951 that the Squadron received its first jet aircraft, the Meteor. Hunters replaced these in 1956, before Lightnings arrived in late 1962 and the Squadron moved to Gutersloh, Germany. By 1977, the Lightnings had been traded in for Phantoms, and the Squadron moved to Wildenrath where it remained until the station closed, and the Squadron disbanded in January 1992. The numberplate was then assigned to one of the three Hawk squadrons at RAF Valley; No. 63 (Reserve) Squadron becoming No. 19 (Reserve) Sqaudron in September 1992.

Aircraft:   Hawk T1 / T1A

Motto:   Possunt quia posse videntur - 'They can because they think they can'.

Badge:   Between wings elevated and conjioned in base, a dolphin heads downward.

Battle Honours:   Western Front 1916-1918*, Somme 1916*, Arras, Ypres 1917*, Somme 1918, Lys, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, Dunkirk*, Home Defence 1940-1942, Battle of Britain 1940*, Channel and North Sea 1942-1942, Fortress Europe 1942-1944, Dieppe, Normandy 1944*, Arnhem*, France and Germany 1944-1945.