No.17 Squadron
- Badge
- A gauntlet
- Motto
- Excellere contende - Strive to escel
- Formed
- 01 February 1915
- Disbanded
- Current
No 17 Squadron was formed on 1 February 1915 at Gosport. At the end of the year it moved to Egypt and from 24 December began to undertake reconnaissance patrols over Turkish lines. In July 196 the squadron moved to Salonika. At first it operated as a mixed unit providing fighter and reconnaissance in theatre. By April 1918 it had given up its fighters and concentrated on tactical reconnaissance duties. At the end of 1918 it sent A flight to Russia in support of White Russian forces. On 14 November 1919 the unit disbanded.
On 1 April 1924 the squadron reformed at RAF Hawkinge as a fighter squadron. Although it did not move to the Middle East during the Abyssinia crisis it was directly effected by it - the squadron loosing most of its fighters to re-enforce other units while it had to briefly re-equip with Hawker Hart bombers. No 17 Squadron provided defensive fighter patrols over the retreating British ground forces during the Battle of France in 1940. The unit was heavily involved in the Battle of Britain. At the end of 1941 the squadron moved to the Far East. Diverted to Burma it took part in the longest retreat ever inflicted on British forces. The remnants of the unit were re-assembled in June 1942 and it began defensive air patrols over the battlefront. In August 1943 No 17 Squadron moved to Ceylon. The unit moved back to the Burma front in November 1944. In arrived in Malaya immediately after the war but moved to Japan in April 1946 as at of the Commonwealth Occupation forces. The unit disbanded on 23 February 1946.
On 11 February 1949 No 691 Squadron was renumbered No 17 Squadron. It operated as an anti-aircraft co-operation unit. It disbanded on 13 March 1951. No 17 Squadron reformed on 1 June 1956 as a photographic reconnaissance unit in Germany. It disbanded again on 31 December 1969. On 1 September 1970 the squadron reformed at RAF Bruggen. In 1985 the unit re-equipped with Tornado GR1 aircraft. It disbanded on in October 1995 but reformed at BAE Systems Warton site on 30 June 2003 as the Operational Evaluation Unit for the Eurofighter Typhoon, official recognition as 17 (Reserve) Squadron followed on 19 May 2005 with the presentation of the Squadron Standard at RAF Coningsby.
AIRCRAFT
Various types 1915 - 1915
BE2c/d/e 1915 - 1918
Bristol Scout 1916 - 1916
DH2 1916 - 1916
BE12/12A 1916 - 1918
Spad S7 1917 - 1917
Nieuport 17 1917 - 1918
SE5A 1917 - 1918
DH9 1918 - 1919
Camel 1918 - 1919
Snipe 1924 - 1926
Woodcock 1926 - 1928
Gamecock 1928 - 1928
Siskin IIIA 1928 - 1929
Bulldog 1929 - 1936
Hart Special 1935 - 1936
Gauntlet 1936 - 1939
Hurricane I/II 1939 - 1942
Spitfire VIII/XIV 1944 - 1948
Spitfire 16 1949 - 1951
Oxford 1949 - 1951
Harvard 1949 - 1951
Beaufighter 10 1949 - 1951
Canberra 7 1956 - 1969
Phantom 2 1970 - 1975
Jaguar 1975 - 1985
Tornado 1 1985 - 1995
Typhoon T1 & F2 2003 - current
Reference Sources
The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force James J Halley Air Britain (Historians) Ltd 1988
RAF Squadrons Wg Cdr C G Jefford Airlife 2001
Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their aircraft John D R Rawlings Crecy Books 1993
Coastal Support and Special Squadrons of the RAF and their aircraft John D R Rawlings Jane’s Publishing 1982
RAF Website
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