No. 80 Squadron RAF

No. 80 Squadron RAF
Active1 September 1917 – 1 April 1918 (RFC)
1 April 1918 – 1 February 1920 (RAF)
8 March 1937 – 1 May 1955
1 August 1955 – 28 September 1969
15 April 2024 – present
CountryUnited Kingdom United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force
Part ofAir and Space Warfare Centre
Home stationEglin AFB, Florida
Nickname(s)Weighty Eighty[1]
Motto(s)"Strike True"[2]
Battle honoursLys; Western Front, 1918*; Marne, 1918; Somme, 1918*; Egypt & Libya, 1940–43*; Greece, 1940–41*; Syria 1941; El Alamein*: Mediterranean, 1940–43; Italy, 1944*; South-East Europe, 1944; Normandy, 1944*; Home Defence 1944; Fortress Europe, 1944; France & Germany, 1944–45*; Arnhem; Rhine
Honours marked with an asterisk* are emblazoned on the Squadron Standard[3]
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldryA Bell[2]
The badge is in commemoration of one of No. 80 Squadron's early commanders, Maj. V.D. Bell[4]
Squadron Roundel
Squadron CodesGK (Oct 1938 – May 1939,
1940 – Jun 1940)
OD (May 1939 – 1940)
YK (Jun 1940 – Jan 1941)
EY (Jul 1942 – Apr 1944)
W2 (Apr 1944 – 1952)

Number 80 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was reformed on 15 April 2024 at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, after the numberplate was awarded to the British team at the Australia, Canada and United Kingdom Reprogramming Laboratory (ACURL).[5] It was a Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Air Force (RAF) squadron active from 1917 until 1969. It was operative during both the First and Second World Wars.

  1. ^ "Weighty Eighty: RAF and Royal Australian Air Force resurrect 80 Squadron at joint ceremony". forces.net. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b Halley 1988, pp. 149–150.
  3. ^ Barrass, M. B. (2015). "No. 76–80 Squadron Histories". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  4. ^ Rawlings 1978, pp. 196–200.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference eglin was invoked but never defined (see the help page).