Formation and early years No. 612 Squadron RAF was formed on 1 June 1937 at
RAF Dyce as an army co-operation unit of the
Auxiliary Air Force and was initially equipped with two-seat
Avro Tutor training aircraft. In December 1937 it had received two-seat
Hawker Hector Army co-operation aircraft, which were retained when the squadron converted from the Army Co-operation to the General Reconnaissance role. In July 1939 the squadron received
Avro Ansons which had room for four crew members and had a much better range, making them better suited for the reconnaissance role.
Second World War: on Whitleys and Wellingtons No. 612 squadron entered the
Second World War as a maritime reconnaissance ("General Reconnaissance") unit within
RAF Coastal Command, flying with the Avro Ansons. These were replaced from November 1940 with
Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys, and from November 1942 on these made again gradually (April 1943 saw the last Whitley leave the squadron) way for various marks of specially adapted General Reconnaissance (GR) versions of the
Vickers Wellington, which the squadron continued to fly until the end of the war. The squadron disbanded on 9 July 1945 at
RAF Langham. in Iceland, November 1942.
Post-war: on Spitfires and Vampires No. 612 squadron was reformed on 10 May 1946 at RAF Dyce as a fighter squadron of the
Royal Auxiliary Air Force. Initially the squadron was equipped with Griffon-engined
Spitfire F.14s and in November 1948 it got additional Merlin-engined Spitfire LF.16e fighters. It converted to
de Havilland Vampire FB.5s in June 1951, flying these first from
RAF Leuchars and later from
RAF Edzell and, when the runway was extended, again from RAF Dyce until disbandment on 10 March 1957, on the same day as all other flying units of the RAuxAF.
Present: field surgical support The squadron was reformed in 1997 at
RAF Leuchars from
The Air Transportable Surgical Squadron, and maintained that units role of field surgical support. In 2001 the squadron had its first operational role in support of Operation
Saif Sareea II, an exercise in Oman. Over a hundred military personnel were treated, mainly for heat-related injuries. In 2003 the squadron was first mobilised for support in a combat zone, in support of
Operation TELIC. Squadron members were deployed to
Kuwait and
Cyprus and finally worked at field hospitals in
Basra and Al Ahmara in
Iraq. In 2006 No. 612 squadron was again mobilised to support operations in Iraq and was deployed to the field hospital at
Shaibah Logistic Base (SLB). Thereafter, the Sqn continued to deploy dedicated medical specialists to augment the Military Hospital and the MERT at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, earning admiration and commendations for their work. The Sqn continues to train and deploy as required and has now built up an outstanding relationship during 2017–2018 with a USAF Reserve Medical Sqn, which allows for multi-national training. Commanding Officers since reformation of No 612 (County of Aberdeen) Sqn at RAF Leuchars (now Leuchars Station) in 1997 ==Aircraft operated==