Royal Air Force No. 657 Squadron was formed at
RAF Ouston on 31 January 1943. It went into action in August of that year, in North Africa. It later served in Italy, the Netherlands and Germany. In November 1945, the squadron returned to the UK and continued to support army units in the South of England until disbanded by being renumbered
No. 651 Squadron RAF on 1 November 1955. No. 1900 Independent Air Observation Post Flight was formed within 657 Squadron previously 'A' & 'B' Flights along with No. 1901 Air Observation Post Flight which was formed within 657 previously 'C' Flight. The squadron's motto was:
Latin:
Per terras perque caelum(Translation: "By land and sky") and their identification symbol was a hand couped at the wrist, holding a gun barrel.
VB 1944–45 ('A' Flight)
VC 1944–45 ('B' Flight) Hoverfly at the
Royal Air Force Museum London.
Army Air Corps No. 657 Squadron traces its lineage to the Royal Air Force No. 657 Squadron formed in January 1943 and disbanded in November 1955. No. 657 Squadron AAC was formed on 1 January 1973 as part of
1 Regiment AAC. In 1976–77 the squadron was based at Soltau, West Germany, attached to the 7th Armoured Brigade; later the squadron relocated to Hildesheim, West Germany. On 1 March 1978,
No. 665 Squadron AAC was re-designated as 657 Squadron, based at
Kirkee Barracks in Colchester. In June 2000, the squadron once again became independent when it moved to
RAF Odiham in Hampshire. In April 2001, the squadron became part of the newly formed
Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing. The site, variously described as "close to Kandahar base" and "30 miles from the Pakistani border", was secured for recovery of the bodies and aircraft. A full report into the accident was published in July 2015, by the
Ministry of Defence and the
Military Aviation Authority. == Disbandment ==