Formation and First World War (1913–1919) , similar to what No. V Squadron flew between May 1917 and March 1918 No. 5 Squadron of the
Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed at
Farnborough,
Hampshire on 26 July 1913, from members of
No. 3 Squadron. The squadron moved to
Netheravon on 28 May,
Fort Grange,
Gosport on 6 July, then
Swingate Down on 14 August. Following the outbreak of the
First World War, No. 5 Squadron deployed to France on 15 August 1914, equipped with a variety of aircraft to carry out
reconnaissance for the
British Expeditionary Force. On 24 August, the squadron became the first unit in the RFC to shoot down an enemy aircraft with gunfire when Lieutenant Wilson and Lieutenant Rabagliati shot down a
German Etrich Taube near
Le Cateau-Cambrésis in France. From 24 March until 7 April 1917, the squadron was based at
La Gorgue in northern France. No. 5 Squadron standardised on the
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2, specialising as observers for
artillery, re-equipping with the
Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 in May 1917, and working closely with the
Canadian Corps, through to the end of the war and into 1919, when it moved into Germany as part of the Army of Occupation. Its association with the Canadian Corps led to the incorporation of a
maple leaf in the squadron's badge when it was approved in June 1937.
Interwar years (1919–1938) s, similar to what No. 5 Squadron operated in India between May 1931 and June 1940 The squadron returned to the UK in September 1919, before disbanding on 20 January 1920. In May 1931, No. 5 Squadron began to convert to the
Westland Wapiti Mk.IIa.
Second World War (1939–1945) At the outbreak of
Second World War in September 1939, No. 5 Squadron were based at
Fort Sandeman in Pakistan, still equipped with the Westland Wapiti biplane. The squadron became a light bomber unit when it converted to the
Hawker Hart in June 1940. No. 5 Squadron converted again to the
Hawker Audax in February 1941, On 11 February 1949, the squadron reformed at
RAF Pembrey in Wales for
target-towing duties when
No. 595 Squadron was renumbered, however the squadron was shortly disbanded on 25 September 1951. The
1957 Defence White Paper saw the disbandment of the squadron on 12 October 1957 while operating the Venom FB.5. No. 5 Squadron itself was disbanded on 7 October 1965 at
RAF Geilenkirchen. The squadron's first Lightning (a twin seat T.5) was delivered to RAF Binbrook on 19 November. The squadron's first single seat Lightnings arrived on 10 December 1965, when two Lightning F.3 were delivered. The first production Lightning F.6 was received on 3 January 1967. Between 6 and 25 October 1967, the squadron deployed to
RAF Luqa,
Malta, with nine Lightning F.6 and a single Lighting T.5 for an Air Defence Exercise against
Avro Vulcan B.2 of
No. 50 Squadron. The squadron deployed to RAF Luqa once again between 1 and 8 August 1968 for Exercise Nimble. Over Christmas 1969, No. 5 Squadron deployed on reinforcement Exercise Ultimacy to
RAF Tengah, Singapore using
in flight refuelling and stopping only once en route at
RAF Masirah in Oman. Long-distance route proving with the new over-wing tanks had taken place previously in 1968 with a limited non stop deployment to
RAF Muharraq in Bahrain. In 1970, the squadron received a pair of Lightning F.1A, which were used as targets for the Lightning F.6 due to them being lighter and more nimble (these were later replaced with the Lightning F.3). The squadron deployed a pair of Lighting F.3, seven Lightning F.6 and a single two-seat T.5 to RAF Luqa between 18 November and 13 December 1974, to take part in Exercise Sunfinder, alongside
Avro Shackleton AEW.2 of
No. 8 Squadron and
English Electric Canberra B.2 of
No. 85 Squadron. Between 5 April and 7 May 1976, the squadron deployed to RAF Luqa with ten Lightning F.6 for an Armament Practice Camp
(APC). No. 5 Squadron's last APC deployment to Luqa was between 31 March and 5 May 1977. In August 1990, No. 5 Squadron was the first RAF squadron (accompanied by
No. 29 (F) Squadron) to be deployed as part the UK's contribution to the
Gulf War, with the first six Tornado F3 arriving on 11 August at
Dhahran Airfield,
Saudi Arabia. Between 1993 and 1995, the squadron participated
Operation Deny Flight, enforcing the
no-fly zone over
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Sentinel R1 (2004–2021) The squadron reformed on 1 April 2004 as No. 5 (Army Co-operation) Squadron at
RAF Waddington to operate the
Raytheon Sentinel R1, which made its maiden flight on 26 May 2004. The radar-equipped aircraft provided battlefield and ground surveillance for the
British Army in a similar role to the American
Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS aircraft. The Sentinel officially entered service with the No. 5 (AC) Squadron on 1 December 2008. The fifth and last aircraft was delivered to the squadron in February 2009.
Full operating capability was achieved at the end of 2010. In 2011, Sentinels from the squadron participated in
Operation Ellamy over Libya, which were later described as pivotal by RAF
Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton. Between 2009 and 2011, No. 5 Squadron also briefly operated four
Hawker Beechcraft Shadow R1, an intelligence gathering aircraft based on the Beechcraft King Air 350. The first Shadow R1 was delivered to the squadron in May 2009. These were transferred over to the newly reformed
No. 14 Squadron in October 2011. operated by No. 5 Squadron, seen during 2012 On 25 January 2013, a Sentinel R1 deployed to
Dakar-Ouakam Air Base,
Senegal, to assist with France's
Operation Serval in
Mali. Over the course of a four-month long detachment, Sentinels flew a total of 697 hours across 66 sorties. On 18 May 2014, the squadron deployed a Sentinel to
Kotoka International Airport,
Ghana, in order to assist with searching for
223 schoolgirls who had been kidnapped by
Boko Haram in
Nigeria. In September 2014, the squadron temporarily relocated to
RAF Cranwell along with No. 14 Squadron due to the resurfacing of RAF Waddington's runway which took over a year to complete. The squadron sent a single Sentinel R1 to
Exercise Red Flag 15–1 at
Nellis AFB,
Nevada, between 26 January and 13 February 2015. On 26 March 2015, two Sentinel R1 were deployed to
RAF Akrotiri,
Cyprus, in support of
Operation Shader, the British military intervention in Iraq and Syria. In July 2017, one Sentinel R1 was withdrawn from use, whilst the remaining four continued operating until their out-of-service date of March 2021. On 25 February 2021,
ZJ694 carried out No. 5 Squadron's last Sentinel operational sortie. Across the Sentinel's 14 years of service, the squadron flew 32,000 hours across 4,870 sorties. The squadron was subsequently disbanded on 31 March 2021, with the Sentinel's role being provided other aircraft, such as the
Poseidon MRA1 and
Protector RG1. ==Aircraft operated==