No. 54 Squadron RAF

No. 54 Squadron RAF
No. 54 Squadron RAF
	Squadron badge
Active	5 May 1916 – 1 April 1918 (RFC); 1 April 1918 – 25 October 1919 (RAF); 15 January 1930 – 31 October 1945; 15 November 1946 – 11 March 2005; 1 September 2005 – present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Type	Flying squadron
Role	Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) Operational Conversion Unit
Part of	No. 1 Group
Home station	RAF Waddington
Motto(s)	Audax omnia perpeti; (Latin for 'Boldness endures anything')
Aircraft	Beechcraft Shadow R1; Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint; Boeing Poseidon MRA1; MQ-9A Reaper;
Battle honours	Western Front (1916–1918), Arras, Ypres (1917), Cambrai (1917), Amiens, Home Defence (1940-1945), France and Low Countries (1940), Dunkirk, Battle of Britain (1940), Fortress Europe (1941), Eastern Waters (1943-1945), Gulf (1991); Honours marked with an asterisk may be emblazoned on the Squadron Standard
Insignia
Squadron badge	Lion rampant semée de lys. The badge combines features of the arms of France and Flanders, commemorating the squadron's battles on the Western Front during the First World War. Approved by King George VI.
Squadron roundel
Squadron codes	DL (Apr 1939 – Sep 1939, Apr 1944 – Oct 1945); KL (Sep 1939 – Jun 1942); HF (Nov 1945 – Apr 1948); (Codes taken over from No. 183 Sqn); GA–GZ (Jaguars)

Number 54 Squadron (sometimes written as No. LIV Squadron) is a squadron of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire.^[2] On 1 September 2005, it took on the role of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Operational Conversion Unit, and is now the Advanced Air ISTAR Academy, responsible for training all RAF crews assigned to the MQ-9A Reaper, Protector RG1 (MQ-9B), Shadow R1/R2, RC-135W Rivet Joint and Poseidon MRA1. It also controls the RAF ISR Warfare School (ISRWS) who run the Qualified Weapons Instructor Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (QWI ISR) and QWI Reaper Courses.

The squadron was previously a SEPECAT Jaguar strike fighter unit, based at RAF Coltishall, Norfolk, from April 1974 until it was disbanded on 11 March 2005.

^ ^a ^b Rawlings 1978, p. 132.
^ "RAF Waddington". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 29 June 2019.

[Rawlings1978p132-1] Rawlings 1978, p. 132.

[modwaddington-2] "RAF Waddington". Royal Air Force. Retrieved 29 June 2019.

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No. 54 Squadron RAF
Squadron badge
Active	5 May 1916 – 1 April 1918 (RFC) 1 April 1918 – 25 October 1919 (RAF) 15 January 1930 – 31 October 1945 15 November 1946 – 11 March 2005 1 September 2005 – present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Type	Flying squadron
Role	Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) Operational Conversion Unit
Part of	No. 1 Group
Home station	RAF Waddington
Motto(s)	Audax omnia perpeti (Latin for 'Boldness endures anything')^[1]
Aircraft	Beechcraft Shadow R1 Boeing RC-135W Rivet Joint Boeing Poseidon MRA1 MQ-9A Reaper
Battle honours	Western Front (1916–1918), Arras, Ypres (1917), Cambrai (1917), Amiens, Home Defence (1940-1945), France and Low Countries (1940), Dunkirk, Battle of Britain (1940), Fortress Europe (1941), Eastern Waters (1943-1945), Gulf (1991) Honours marked with an asterisk may be emblazoned on the Squadron Standard
Insignia
Squadron badge	Lion rampant semée de lys. The badge combines features of the arms of France and Flanders, commemorating the squadron's battles on the Western Front during the First World War. Approved by King George VI.^[1]
Squadron roundel
Squadron codes	DL (Apr 1939 – Sep 1939, Apr 1944 – Oct 1945) KL (Sep 1939 – Jun 1942) HF (Nov 1945 – Apr 1948) (Codes taken over from No. 183 Sqn) GA–GZ (Jaguars)