First World War (1915–1918) No. 19 Squadron of the
Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed on 1 September 1915, from members of
No. 5 Squadron, at
Castle Bromwich, near Birmingham. It trained on a variety of aircraft before being deployed to France in July 1916, flying the
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.12 and later re-equipping with the more suitable French-built
SPAD S.VII. From November 1917, the squadron started to receive
Sopwith Dolphins to replace its Spads, being fully equipped with the Dolphin by January 1918 and flying its first operational patrol with the new fighter on 3 February. By the end of the war, No. 19 Squadron had had twenty-two
flying aces among its ranks, including
Albert Desbrisay Carter,
John Leacroft,
Arthur Bradfield Fairclough,
Oliver Bryson,
Gordon Budd Irving,
Frederick Sowrey, future
Air Commodore Patrick Huskinson,
Cecil Gardner,
Roger Amedee Del'Haye, future
Air Chief Marshal James Hardman,
Finlay McQuistan,
Alexander Pentland,
John Candy,
Cecil Thompson and
John Aldridge. Commanding officers during this time included
H.D. Harvey-Kelly who was the first RFC pilot to land in France in the
First World War. At least one No. 19 Squadron airman, a Canadian, George Robert Long, was captured on 6 October 1917 in the
Lille area and spent the rest of the war in a number of
prisoner of war camps, including
Holzminden. It was his very first flight, in a Spad VII, when the squadron was operating from the asylum ground in
Bailleul. He was shot down by Gefreiter J. Funk, flying with Ja30. He had first been a member of the
Canadian Expeditionary Force in the infantry and was wounded a number of times. He wasn't repatriated until 14 December 1918, when he return home to
Ottawa.
Interwar period (1919–1938) No. 19 Squadron disbanded after the First World War on 31 December 1919. On 1 April 1923, the squadron reformed at
RAF Duxford, Cambridgeshire, operating the
Sopwith Snipe, initially as part of
No. 2 Flying Training School (No. 2 FTS). In 1938, the squadron became the first in the RAF to operate the
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I, when
K9789 was delivered on 4 August. The squadron lost its first Spitfire when
K9792 crashed on landing at Duxford on 20 September 1938, having only been delivered on 16 August.
Second World War (1939–1945) operated by No. 19 Squadron during 1940|left At the outbreak of the
Second World War in September 1939, No. 19 Squadron was still stationed at RAF Duxford and was part of
No. 12 Group,
RAF Fighter Command. Flying ace
Douglas Bader was posted to the squadron in February 1940. In May and June 1940, the squadron provided air cover over the beaches of
Dunkirk in France during the
evacuation of allied forces. of No. 19 Squadron during April 1944. The aircraft wear white identity markings on the nose and wings to prevent mis-identification as German
Messerschmitt Me 109s. Later versions of the Spitfire were flown until the arrival in early 1944 of the
North American Mustang Mk.III for close-support duties After
D-Day on 6 June 1944, the squadron briefly went across the
English Channel before starting long-range escort duties off the coast of Norway from
RAF Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, as part of
RAF Coastal Command . The squadron converted to the Mustang Mk.IV in April 1945 while based at Peterhead. Relocating south to
RAF Acklington, Northumberland on 13 May 1945, the squadron exchanged its Mustangs for the Spitfire Mk.XVI.
Cold War (1946–early 1990s) While at
RAF Wittering, Cambridgeshire in October 1946, No. 19 (Fighter) Squadron converted to the
de Havilland Hornet Mk.I which was operated until January 1951, when the squadron received its first jet aircraft – the
Gloster Meteor F.4. The F.4 variant was soon exchanged for the Meteor F.8 in April 1951 which were flown until October 1956 when the squadron received the
Hawker Hunter F.6 . The squadron moved to
RAF Leconfield, Yorkshire in 1959, later converting to the
English Electric Lightning F.2 in November 1962. No. 19 (F) Squadron disbanded on 31 December 1976, and reformed the next day at
RAF Wildenrath, North Rhine-Westphalia, On 17 August 1990, No. 19 (F) Squadron and No. 92 (F) Squadron, re-positioned to
RAF Akrotiri to provide air defence for the island after
No. 5 (AC) Squadron and
No. 29 (F) Squadron, both operating the
Panavia Tornado F.3, were deployed from Akrotiri to
Dhahran Airfield in Saudi Arabia as part of the military build-up following the Iraqi
Invasion of Kuwait (and ahead of
Operation Granby. The squadron operated the Phantom from Akrotiri until 28 February 1991, when
a ceasefire was agreed between the
coalition forces and Iraq. The last Phantom departed on 16 January 1992, to be gifted to the
Kbely Military Museum in Prague, piloted by RAF Wildenrath Station Commander
Group Captain Geoff Brindle.
Hawk (1992–2011) of No. 19 Squadron in 2005 In September 1992, the No. 19 Squadron number plate was assigned to the former
No. 63 Squadron, a BAE Hawk squadron at
RAF Chivenor, Devon, becoming No. 19 (Reserve) Squadron. The squadron was a 'shadow' identity of
No. 2 Tactical Weapons Unit. Following the closure of Chivenor to jet flying, the squadron was moved to RAF Valley in September 1994 to provide advanced fast jet training on the Hawk. As a consequence of the UK's
Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2010, the Air Force Board decided in 2011 that No. 19 Squadron's training role with the Hawk T2 at Valley should be transferred to a resurrected
No. 4 (R) Squadron. No. 19(R) Squadron, one of the last surviving Battle of Britain squadrons, disbanded on 24 November 2011, 96 years after it was first formed. The disbandment event, held at RAF Valley, was led by Officer Commanding No. 19 Squadron,
Wing Commander Kevin Marsh. In attendance were the
Chief of Air Staff,
Air Chief Marshal Stephen Dalton, Air Chief Marshal
William Wratten and
Flight Lieutenant Ken Wilkinson – a No. 19 Squadron Spitfire pilot who flew during the Battle of Britain.
Control and Reporting Centre (2021 – present) held a reformation parade at
Alnwick Castle on 15 June 2021|left On 1 April 2021, the RAF awarded the No. 19 Squadron number plate to the
Control and Reporting Centre (CRC) based at
RAF Boulmer in Northumberland. The No. 19 Squadron CRC operates the UK Air Surveillance and Control System (ASACS), which is used to monitor all aerial activity in UK airspace, detecting and identifying aerial threats, and building a
recognised air picture for defence and national security purposes. The CRC also supports the RAF's
Quick Reaction Alert mission, which has
Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 aircraft on standby to launch and intercept any threats. The system uses a combination of fixed and mobile ground based radars, aircraft, and
command and control facilities at Boulmer. ==Aircraft operated==