Description
Computer made/mounted on velcro 4.0 inch-100mm
No. 17 SQUADRON
Stationed at Edwards AFB, CA.
Became the RAF’s first Typhoon squadron (in the operational evaluation role).
Aircraft flown have included the Hurricane I & II, Canberra PR7 and the Tornado GR1.
Responsible for bringing the UK’s first 5th generation combat aircraft into Royal Navy and Royal Air Force front-line service.
HISTORY
1915 – Formed at Gosport and saw service in the Middle East.
1940 – Took part in the Battle of Britain.
1941 – Moved to the Far East, where it spent the rest of the War.
1991 – Took part in the first Gulf War flying the Tornado GR1.
2003 – The first RAF squadron to receive the Eurofighter Typhoon.
2014 – The first UK squadron to take delivery of F-35B Lightning.
BATTLE HONOURS
Egypt 1915-1916
Palestine 1916
Macedonia 1916-1918
France & Low Countries 1940
Dunkirk
Home Defence 1940
Battle of Britain 1940
Burma 1942
Arakan 1943
Burma 1944-1945
Gulf 1991
617TH SQUADRON
Based at RAF Marham.
Adopted its name and badge after the famous Dams Raid in 1943.
Previous aircraft flown include the Avro Lancaster, Lincoln and Vulcan; English Electric Canberra; and Panavia Tornado, now flying the F-35B Lightning fifth-generation combat aircraft.
History:
1943 – Formed at RAF Scampton, specifically for an attack on dams in the Ruhr Valley using the Barnes Wallis-designed Upkeep ‘bouncing bomb’. Flown on 16/17 May, the raid destroyed the Eder and Möhne dams. The unit returned to combat in Jul.
1944 – Now flying from RAF Woodhall Spa, 617 Squadron began dropping the 12,000lb Tallboy and, later, 22,000lb Grand Slam bombs. As well as bombing, the unit supported the D-Day assault with Operation TAXABLE, a radar-spoofing mission. Between them, IX and 617 Squadrons, both employing Tallboys, sank the battleship Tirpitz in Nov.
1946 – Toured India, before returning to the UK and re-equipping with Lincolns. A North America tour followed in 1947. The piston-engined bombers gave way to Canberra jets in 1952.
1955 – After flying combat missions over Malaya, 617 Squadron returned to the UK and disbanded.
1958 – Re-formed at RAF Scampton on the Vulcan B1, taking the Vulcan B2 from 1961. Introduced the Blue Steel stand-off missile into service in 1963, then switched to low-level missions from 1968. Disbanded in 1981.
1982 – Stood up as a Tornado GR1 unit at RAF Marham, declaring operational capability on 16 May.
1990 – Deployed to the Gulf, under Operation GRANBY, and fought in the campaign to free Kuwait from Iraqi invasion in early 1991.
1994 – Transferred to RAF Lossiemouth and the Tornado GR1B, operating in the anti-shipping role alongside 12 Squadron.
2003 – Contributed to the RAF Tornado GR4 force deployed for Operation TELIC, flying missions against Iraqi targets from Kuwait. Flew the first operational Storm Shadow mission, on 21 March. The squadron continued rotating into theatre until 2009, when regular rotations to Afghanistan, under Operation HERRICK, began.
2011 – 617 Squadron crews flew Storm Shadow attacks during Operation ELLAMY over Libya, while the unit also continued deploying to Afghanistan.
2014 – Disbanded on 28 February, after returning from a final HERRICK deployment on 30 January. Began re-forming in 2016, in preparation to become the UK’s first frontline Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning unit.
2018 – Four 617 Squadron Lightnings landed at RAF Marham, the unit’s new home.
2019 – Lightning Dawn saw 617 Squadron deploy to RAF Akrotiri for Operation SHADER sorties and subsequent training alongside Israeli and Italian F-35s.
2020 – In June, 617 Squadron embarked operational Lightnings aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time. In September, the unit returned to the ship, alongside visiting US Marine Corps F-35Bs, in preparation for the vessel’s Carrier Strike Group 21 first operational sailing in 2021.
BATTLE HONOURS
Fortress Europe 1943-1945
The Dams
Biscay Ports 1944
France and Germany 1944-1945
Normandy 1944
Tirpitz
Channel and North Sea 1944-1945
German Ports 1945
Gulf 1991
Iraq 2003-2011