| No. 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron RAuxAF | |
|---|---|
 No. 602 Squadron badge with Edinburgh Castle Lion heraldry and crown of King George during WWII. | |
| Active | 12 September 1925 – 15 July 1945 10 May 1946 – 10 March 1957 1 July 2006 – present |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Auxiliary Air Force |
| Role | General Service Support Squadron |
| Part of | No. 1 Group RAF |
| Headquarters | Kings Park, Glasgow (present) |
| Nickname(s) | City of Glasgow "Glasgow's Own" |
| Motto(s) | Latin: Cave leonem cruciatum (Translation: "Beware the crossed lion")[1][2] |
| Colours | Grey Douglas tartan |
| Battle honours | Home Defence, 1940–1945 Battle of Britain, 1940 Fortress Europe, 1940–1944 Channel and North Sea, 1940–1943 Dieppe France and Germany, 1944–1945 Normandy,1944 These honours are those emblazoned on the squadron standard. |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander |  Sqn Ldr C Loughlin RAF |
| Honorary Air Commodore (HAC) | Charles Berry BSc MSc DEng |
| Notable commanders | Sandy Johnstone, Al Deere, Paddy Finucane |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge | In front of a saltire, a lion rampant[3]The lion was adopted in view of the squadron's association with Scotland and the saltire to represent the cross of St Andrew, being fimbriated to show it as a white saltire on a blue background.[1][2][4] |
| Squadron Codes | ZT (May 1939 – Sep 1939)[5] LO (Jan 1939 – May 1939[6] Sep 1939 – May 1945,[7] 1949 – 1953)[8] RAI (May 1946 – 1949)[9] |
602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron is a Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron.[10] Originally formed in 1925 as a light bomber squadron, its role changed in 1938 to army co-operation and in 1939 to that of a fighter squadron.
During the Second World War, the squadron flew Spitfires and took part in the Battle of Britain. After the war, the squadron was reinstated as a fighter squadron within the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, until all these units disbanded in March 1957.
Reformed on 1 July 2006, the Squadron assumed the ISTAR mission support role formerly held by the Mission Support Element (MSE) of 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron. In this role the squadron provided flight operations and intelligence support to the RAF at home and overseas, first from Edinburgh before returning to its home city of Glasgow in August 2008.
The squadron underwent a transformation between 2012 and 2014 as it took on more diverse branches and trades and moved under the command of AOC 1 Group, reporting through the UK Joint Force Air Component and Headquarters 1 Group Reserves. At the end of 2014 the squadron moved its headquarters to the Reserve Centre in the King's Park area on the south side of Glasgow. It was later confirmed as a 1 Group General Service Support (GSS) Squadron and, along with the other 1 Group GSS Squadrons, moved from auspices of the UK Joint Force Air Component to sit under the 1* Commandant Air & Space Warfare Centre.
- ^ a b Moyes 1976, p. 273.
- ^ a b Rawlings 1978, p. 477.
- ^ Halley 1988, p. 418.
- ^ "602 Squadron". Royal Air Force. 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 14.
- ^ Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 50.
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 68.
- ^ Flintham & Thomas 2003, p. 153.
- ^ Bowyer & Rawlings 1979, p. 138.
- ^ Barrass, M. B. (2015). "No. 600–604 Squadron Histories". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 9 October 2015.