No. 208 Squadron RAF
| No. 208 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
Armstrong Whitworth Atlas aeroplanes of 208 Squadron RAF in Egypt, circa 1932. | |
| Active | Royal Naval Air Service 26 October 1916 – 1 April 1918 Royal Air Force 1 April 1918 – 7 November 1919 1 February 1920 - 30 March 1959 1 April 1959 - 10 September 1971 1 March 1974 - 31 March 1994 1 April 1994 -13 April 2016 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Role | Advanced flying training Instructor training Conversion training |
| Base | RAF Valley |
| Nickname(s) | The Flying Shuftis |
| Motto(s) | Vigilant |
| Aircraft | BAE Systems Hawk |
| Battle honours | Western Front 1915-1918* Arras* Ypres 1917* Lys Somme 1918* Egypt and Libya 1940-1942* Greece 1941* Iraq 1941 Syria 1941 El Alamein* Italy 1944-1945* Gustav Line Gothic Line Gulf 1991* Honours marked with an asterisk* are those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Geoffrey Rhodes Bromet |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | A sphinx affrontée proper The Gizah Sphinx commemorated the Squadron's long association with Egypt during the inter-war years. An unofficial 'winged eye' badge had been in use from July 1930 until 1937. |
| Squadron roundel | |
| Squadron Codes | GA (Apr 1939 - Sep 1939) RG (Mar 1944 - 1949) S (Carried on Buccaneers) D (1994 - present) |
No 208 (Reserve) Squadron was a reserve unit of the Royal Air Force, most recently based at RAF Valley, Anglesey, Wales. It operated the BAe Hawk aircraft, as a part of No. 4 Flying Training School. Due to obsolescence of its Hawk T.1 aircraft compared to the new-build Hawk T.2 aircraft of its sister unit, 4(R) Sqn, the squadron was disbanded in April 2016, in its 100th year of operations.