First World War (1915–1919) No. 25 Squadron was initially formed as part of the
Royal Flying Corps (RFC) at
Montrose Airfield in Angus, from a nucleus provided by
No. 6 Squadron. Upon its formation, the squadron operated numerous aircraft types such as the
Maurice Farman MF.11 Shorthorn and the
Avro 504. The squadron relocated to
Barnham, Norfolk on 31 December 1915 and shortly after was equipped with the
Vickers F.B.5, these however were exchanged for the
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b by February of the following year. , similar to those operated by No. 25 Squadron from 1916 to 1917.The squadron was deployed to the RFC headquarters at
Saint-Omer, France on 20 February 1916, as a long-range
reconnaissance and fighter unit. From here the it supported the
British 1st Army near
Fromelles and
Souchez. For their accomplishment, McCubbin was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order while Waller was promoted to
Sergeant and received the
Distinguished Conduct Medal. When the offensive started on 1 July, No. 25 Squadron started flying night time bombing missions. It started operating the
Airco D.H.4 bomber in June 1917. During the course of the
First World War, No. 25 Squadron had nine flying aces among its ranks, including
James Fitz-Morris,
James Green,
Reginald George Malcolm,
Lancelot Richardson,
Noel Webb,
Charles Woollven Alexander Roulstone,
Leonard Herbert Emsden, and
Hartley Pullan.
Interwar years (1919–1938) fighter aircraft of No. 25 Squadron in the 1920s After the war the squadron acquired
Airco D.H.9. The unit was disbanded on 31 January 1920 at
RAF Scopwick in Lincolnshire. The squadron reformed the next day at
RAF Hawkinge in Kent, flying the
Sopwith Snipe. It was sent to Turkey in 1922 and 1923 during the
Chanak Crisis. After returning to the UK, the unit stayed for a number of years at Hawkinge. The Snipe gave way to the
Gloster Grebe and later the
Armstrong Whitworth Siskin, while in December 1936 the squadron became the first unit to receive the
Hawker Fury Mk. II, having already flown the Fury Mk. I since 1932. The Fury was replaced by the
Hawker Demon when the squadron was given a night-fighter role. For night-flying training purposes the squadron also received the
Gloster Gladiator. The squadron moved to
RAF Northolt in northwest London on 12 September 1938. The squadron was particularly successful during
Operation Steinbock from January to May 1944.
Cold War (1945–1990s) Night fighters After the war ended in 1945, No. 25 Squadron continued to operate the Mosquito NF.30 night fighter from
RAF West Malling in Kent until November 1951, when they were replaced by jet powered
de Havilland Vampire NF.10, conversion to type having commenced in February 1951. The Vampires were then replaced by the
Gloster Meteor NF.12 and NF.14 in March 1954. The squadron moved from West Malling in 1957 to
RAF Tangmere in West Sussex, where it disbanded on 23 June 1958. of No. 25 Squadron in 2007 Between September & December 1993 and May & August 1995, the squadron took part in
Operation Deny Flight, a
NATO-led operation enforcing the
United Nations no-fly zone over
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Operating out of
Gioia del Colle Air Base near
Bari, Italy, on each occasion the squadron took over responsibility for supporting the no-fly zone from No. 23 Squadron before being relieved by
No. 5 Squadron from
RAF Coningsby. In the late 1990s, the squadron deployed operationally to Saudi Arabia to protect the
Shi'ite Muslims of southern Iraq by flying
Combat Air Patrol missions below the
33rd parallel, enforcing the southern no-fly zone imposed by
Operation Southern Watch.
21st century (2000–present) Between October 2004 and January 2005, a contingent of four aircraft from the squadron was deployed to
Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania as part of to NATO's
Baltic Air Policing mission to provide air defence to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, following their membership of NATO. Within the UK, the squadron's primary role, along with
No. 11 Squadron was the
Quick Reaction Alert (South) mission, providing air defence for the southern UK. Most publicly the squadron intercepted eight Russian
Tu-95 Bear-H strategic bombers and two
Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers in July 2007. The squadron disbanded on 4 April 2008, its Tornados relocating to
RAF Leuchars in Fife to join the remaining active Tornado F3 squadrons stationed there. == Heritage ==