No. 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron RAuxAF | |
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Active | 5 October 1926 – March 1942 7 June 1942 – 31 August 1945 10 May 1946 – 10 March 1957 1 November 2014 – |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Auxiliary Air Force |
Role | Logistics |
Part of | No 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing, RAF A4 Force |
Nickname(s) | County of Warwick |
Motto(s) | Latin: Nunquam Dormio (Translation: "I Never Sleep")[1][2][3] |
Battle honours | Dunkirk* Battle of Britain, 1940* Malta, 1941* Eastern Waters, 1942* Fortress Europe, 1942–1943* Home Defence, 1944* France and Germany, 1944–1945* Honours marked with an asterisk* are those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard[4] |
Commanders | |
Honorary Air Commodore | Viscount Bearsted (1928–1937)[5] William Lindsay Everard (1937–1947)[6] J.A.C. Wright (1947–1957) |
Notable commanders | Archie McKellar, Eric William Wright, Peter Townsend, Bertie R. O'Bryen "Sammy" Hoare |
Insignia | |
Squadron Badge heraldry | On a mount, a bear supporting a ragged staff[1][2][3] |
Squadron Codes | HE (Apr 1939 – Sep 1939)[7] UP (Jan 1942 – Aug 1945)[8] RAL (May 1946 – 1949)[9] NR (1949 – Apr 1951)[10] |
No. 605 Squadron was formed as an Auxiliary Air Force Squadron. Initially formed as a bomber unit, it became a fighter squadron prior to the Second World War and was one of the most successful participants of the Battle of Britain. It also had the distinction of being active during the war on two fronts at the same time, when the squadron was split up between Malta and the Dutch East Indies. In its last incarnation as an active flying unit, the squadron served as the first jet fighter unit in the post-war Royal Auxiliary Air Force; 616 having already flown Gloster Meteors during the war. No. 605 Squadron was reformed as a RAuxAF Logistic Support Squadron (LSS) on 1 Nov 2014 within No. 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing of the RAF A4 Force. On the 1 January 2019, the Reserve Logistic Support Wing (RLSW) was established with 501, 504 and 605 LSS Squadron's moving from No. 85 (Expeditionary Logistics) Wing RAF to form RLSW.