First World War and Inter-war period (1914–1939) of No. 12 Squadron at
RAF Hendon for the 1929 Royal Air Force Pageant. No. 12 Squadron
Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed on from a flight of
No. 1 Squadron RFC based at
Netheravon Airfield in Wiltshire. The squadron moved to France in September 1915 and operated a variety of aircraft on operations over the
Western Front during the First World War, standardising on the
B.E.2 shortly after its transfer. In August 1917, the squadron re-equipped with the
R.E.8, operating as a corps reconnaissance squadron. In March 1918, the squadron was re-equipped with the
Bristol F.2b Fighter, before becoming part of the newly formed
Royal Air Force. The squadron, by then based at
Bickendorf in Germany, was disbanded in 1922. crews of No. 12 Squadron RAF consult their maps on the snow-covered airfield at
Amifontaine, France. (c. 1939–40).No. 12 Squadron returned to England in June. It was stationed initially at
RAF Finningley in South Yorkshire, before moving to
RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire during July 1940, when it re-equipped with Battles. Amongst other missions, the squadron carried out anti-invasion strikes against shipping in
Boulogne Harbour in northern France, most notably on 17 and 19 August. The squadron was one of the last
No.1 Group units to conduct operations with the Fairey Battle. These took place on 15 and 16 October 1940, when
No. 301 (Polish) Squadron bombed Boulogne and No. 12 Squadron and
No. 142 Squadron bombed
Calais. By November 1940, the squadron had been re-equipped with the
Vickers Wellington medium bomber, remaining for the time being at RAF Binbrook. The squadron moved again in 1942, to
RAF Wickenby also in Lincolnshire, and soon after converted to operate the
Avro Lancaster heavy bomber.
Cold War (1946–1993) In 1946, No. 12 Squadron re-equipped with the
Avro Lincoln heavy bomber. In 1952, the squadron joined the jet-age and re-equipped with the
English Electric Canberra jet bomber. After 44 years continuous service the squadron was again disbanded on 1 July 1961. On 1 July 1962, the squadron was re-formed to operate eight
Avro Vulcan, a
V bomber equipped with the
Yellow Sun one-megaton free-fall strategic nuclear bomb, used for medium to high altitude release. The squadron initially operated Vulcans from
RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire and then later from
RAF Cottesmore in
Rutland. The advent of effective Soviet
surface-to-air-missiles made high-flying bombers vulnerable, and in late 1966 the squadron took delivery of eight
WE.177B strategic nuclear laydown bombs for low-level penetration missions. It was assigned to
Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) as part of the UK strategic nuclear forces deployed with that 450 kt weapon, that was intended as a temporary stop-gap until the UK
Polaris force began to take over the strategic nuclear delivery role. The squadron stood down from this role on 31 December 1967. The squadron was due to re-form with the
BAC TSR-2 and later the
General Dynamics F-111K, however but both acquisitions were cancelled by the British Government. of No. 12 Squadron. No. 12 Squadron eventually re-formed at
RAF Honington in
Suffolk on 1 October 1969 with twelve
Blackburn Buccaneer aircraft assigned to
Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) in the anti-shipping role, equipped with twelve WE.177 nuclear bombs and free-falling conventional high explosive bombs. From 1974 they were also equipped with
Martel missiles for non-nuclear strike. During the late 1970s, the squadron featured in the RAF documentary film
12 Squadron Buccaneers, produced by the
Central Office of Information. The film features the squadron's deployment from Honington to
RAF Gibraltar in the Mediterranean for
NATO exercise
Open Gate, where they carry out a low-level anti-shipping mission. The squadron moved to
RAF Lossiemouth in Morayshire during 1980, still in the same anti-shipping role. During the 1991
Gulf War, personnel from all three Buccaneer squadrons at Lossiemouth, including No. 12 Squadron, took part in
Operation Granby, the aircraft's first combat operation. Following a short-notice decision to deploy to the Middle East, the first batch of six aircraft were brought to readiness in under 72 hours, including the adoption of desert-pink camouflage and additional war-time equipment. The first six aircraft departed from Lossiemouth for
Muharraq in
Bahrain at 04:00 on 26 January 1991. Twelve Buccaneers operated as
target designators and it became common for each attack formation to comprise four Tornados and two Buccaneers; each Buccaneer carrying a
Pave Spike laser designator pod, one as a spare in case of equipment failure. Hostilities ended in late February 1991, the Buccaneers having flown 218 sorties without loss, designating targets for other aircraft and later dropping 48
Paveway II laser-guided bombs. In October 1993, the squadron retired its Buccaneers.
Panavia Tornado GR (1993–2018) wearing No. 12 Squadron markings and an
Operation Bolton tail flash. In September 1993,
No. 27 Squadron, then based at
RAF Marham in Norfolk, disbanded and immediately re-formed as No. 12 Squadron operating twelve
Panavia Tornado GR1B aircraft and relocated to
RAF Lossiemouth. The squadron was equipped with eighteen WE.177 nuclear weapons. During December 1998, the squadron took part in
Operation Desert Fox, the four-day air campaign against Iraq. Deployments to the
Persian Gulf continued, flying the upgraded Tornado GR4 from 2001, and included major contributions in 2003 as part of
Operation Telic as well as supporting the first free elections in Iraq for 50 years in January 2005. In 2006 and again in 2008, No. 12 Squadron provided armed overwatch for UK and US ground operations in Iraq. Shortly afterwards, as British troops withdrew from the country, the Tornado fleet based in the region also returned to the UK, marking the end of a long era of the aircraft in theatre. Between 6 and 16 October 2008, the squadron deployed to
RAF Fairford,
Gloucestershire, to participate in Exercise Crown Condor alongside
Saab JAS 39 Gripens from the
Blekinge Wing of the
Swedish Air Force. during 2005 with 90th squadron anniversary markings.|right In June 2009, the squadron deployed ten aircraft to
RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, eight of which continued to
Kandahar in
Afghanistan. This marked the start of Tornado GR4 operations in Afghanistan, with the type replacing the
Harrier GR9. For over four months, No. 12 Squadron provided support to the
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), including close air support across the country for, amongst others, British, American, Canadian and Afghan troops. On 16 October 2009, No. 12 Squadron returned to Lossiemouth after having handed over to a
RAF Marham-based GR4 squadron. Between subsequent
Operation Herrick deployments during 2011, No. 12 Squadron was deployed in support of
Operation Ellamy, the UK's participation in the military intervention in Libya under
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973. This saw ten aircrew deploy to
Gioia del Colle in southern Italy to bolster the Tornado component during the peak of operations. The remainder of the squadron was held at readiness to move to RAF Marham to launch raids on hardened Libyan targets using the
Storm Shadow cruise missile. These missions required the Tornados to carry out
air-to-air refuelling three times on the outward journey and again on return to Gioia Del Colle. No. 12 Squadron carried out their last tour of Afghanistan from July to October 2013, being replaced by
No. 617 Squadron. The squadron disbanded on 31 March 2014.
ZA607 takes off from
Kandahar airfield in Afghanistan during 2009.|left The Tornado was due to be withdrawn from RAF service by the end of 2015. Consequently,
No. 2 Squadron was expected to stand down on 31 March 2015 as a Tornado squadron at RAF Marham, and reactivate the following day as a
Eurofighter Typhoon squadron at
RAF Lossiemouth. However, in October 2014, Prime Minister
David Cameron announced that No. 2 Squadron's disbanding and reformation would be put on hold to allow Tornados to continue to support operations against
Islamic State. As a consequence, the new No. 2 Squadron formed at Lossiemouth on 12 January 2015, and No. 12 Squadron re-formed the same day at RAF Marham, taking over the former Tornado aircraft and assets of No. 2 Squadron. The re-formed squadron was commanded by Wing Commander Nikki Thomas, the first female RAF officer to command a fast jet squadron. In August 2015, Jane's reported that the squadron would stay active for a longer period and it was subsequently deployed to
Syria for
reconnaissance of Islamic State troop movements. The squadron's last mission operating the Tornado took place on 14 December 2017 in the skies over Iraq and Syria. As part of the draw-down of the RAF's Tornado fleet, the squadron disbanded on 14 February 2018, 103 years after it first formed. Squadron personnel were re-assigned to Marham's other Tornado squadrons,
No. 9 Squadron and
No. 31 Squadron and the
squadron standard was returned to
RAF College Cranwell.
Eurofighter Typhoon (2018–present) wearing No. 12 Squadron markings at the Royal International Air Tattoo in 2024 On 14 December 2017, it was announced by the
Ministry of Defence that No. 12 Squadron would operate the
Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 and temporarily integrate
Qatari air and ground crews in order to provide training and support as part of the Qatari purchase of 24 Typhoons. The squadron reformed on 24 July 2018 as a joint RAF and
Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) unit at a ceremony at
Horse Guards in London. The squadron received its first Typhoon in July 2019 at its new home of
RAF Coningsby in
Lincolnshire. In November 2019, the squadron deployed to Qatar and participated in Exercise Epic Skies III alongside the QEAF for three weeks. ==Aircraft operated==