| No. 60 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 30 Apr 1916 – 22 Jan 1920 1 Apr 1920 – Apr 1968 3 Feb 1969 – 1 Apr 1992 1 Jun 1992 – present |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Type | Flying training squadron |
| Role | Advanced helicopter flying training |
| Part of | 9 Regiment, Army Air Corps |
| Home station | RAF Shawbury |
| Motto(s) | Per ardua ad aethera tendo (Latin for 'I strive through difficulties to the sky')[1] |
| Aircraft | Airbus H135 Juno HT.1 |
| Battle honours | Western Front (1914–1918)*, Somme (1916)*, Arras, Hindenburg Line*, Waziristan (1920–1925), Mohmand (1927), North West Frontier (1930–1931), Mohmand (1933), North West Frontier (1925–1939), Burma (1914–1942)*, Malaya (1941–1942)*, Arakan (1942–1944), North Burma (1944), Manipur (1944)*, Burma (1944–1945), *Honours marked with an asterisk are emblazoned on the squadron standard |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Squadron Leader Nick Summers (August 2020 – present) |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron badge heraldry | A markhor's head, commemorating many years of service in North-West India, the markhor being a mountain goat frequenting the Khyber Pass. Approved by King George VI in December 1937. |
| Squadron codes | AD (Apr 1939 – Sep 1939) MU (Sep 1934 – Feb 1942, Aug 1943 – Oct 1946) A–Z (Wessex) |
| Post-1950 squadron roundel |  |
No. 60 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1916 at Gosport. It is currently part of No. 1 Flying Training School[2] based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire flying the Airbus H135 Juno HT.1.
The squadron badge is a markhor's head and was approved by King George VI in December 1937. Chosen to commemorate many years of service in North-West India, the markhor being a mountain goat frequenting the Khyber Pass. The horns of a markhor were presented to the squadron in 1964.[3]
The squadron motto is Per ardua ad aethera tendo – 'I strive through difficulties to the sky'.
- ^ Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 169. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
- ^ Smith, Rory. "RAF chief opens state-of-the-art helicopter training facilities in Shawbury". shropshirestar.com. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ^ "60(R) Squadron". Royal Air Force. 2016. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.