No. 99 Squadron RAF
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| No. 99 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
 A Puma salient |
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| Active | 15 August 1917 - 1920 1924 - 7 January 1976 2002 - |
| Role | Air Transport |
| Base | RAF Brize Norton |
| Motto | Quisque tenax Latin: "Each tenacious" |
| Equipment | C-17 Globemaster III |
No. 99 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III from RAF Brize Norton, the RAF's air transport hub.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] First World War
What would become No 99 (Madras Presidency) Squadron was formed in England in 1917 from elements supplied by No. 13 Training Squadron, RFC. In India No. 99 was disbanded, being renumbered as No. 27 Squadron RAF in 1920.
The No.99 squadron reformed in 1924 at Netheravon, Wiltshire.
[edit] Second World War
The squadron was the first unit to equipped with Vickers Wellingtons just before the start of the Second World War. It was stationed first at Newmarket, and then Waterbeach, assigned to No. 3 Group RAF. The squadron bombed targets in Norway and Germany. In March 1942 the squadron was posted to India operating first Wellingtons and then Consolidated Liberators. The squadron moved to the Cocos Islands in July 1945, where it remained until the end of the war. On 15 November 1945 the squadron disbanded.
[edit] Post War
The Squadron reformed on 17 November 1945, at RAF Lyneham equipped with Avro York it operated as part of the Berlin Airlift. It continued in the role with the Handley Page Hastings then the Bristol Britannia from 1959 to 1976. No. 99 was disbanded in 1976, following the 1974 Defence White Paper. The squadron was reformed in 2002, to operate the RAF's C-17s.[1]
[edit] Today
The first of the squadron's four C-17s was delivered to the RAF on May 17, 2001, arriving at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire on May 23. One of the first high profile missions of the squadron was the deployment of Lynx helicopters and support equipment to former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as part of a NATO peacekeeping force.
Since then the Squadron has supported the military exercise in Oman, the War on Terror in Afghanistan, and the Invasion of Iraq (Operation Telic.) More routine tasks have gone largely unpublicised, for example the replacement of 1435 Flight's Tornado F3s in the Falkland Islands. Previously the RAF had to lease commercial heavy lifters to return the aircraft to the UK, or launch a major logistical effort to allow a ferry flight. In any case the C-17 has proved invaluable to the RAF, so much so that the original seven year lease will be bought out, and an additional aircraft will be purchased. On July 26 2007, the order for a sixth was confirmed, with delivery in 2008.
[edit] References
- Burma Liberators, by John R.W.Gwynne-Timothy (ISBN 1-895578-02-7)
