No. 1312 Flight RAF

No. 1312 Flight is an independent flight of the Royal Air Force, supporting at present the defence of the Falkland Islands.

No. 1312 Flight RAF
A 1312 Flight C-130 taking-off at RAF Stanley
Active	19 Apr 1944 – 21 Jul 1944 14 Sep 1954 – 1 Apr 1957 20 Aug 1983 – present[1]
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Role	Transport (1944; 1954–1957) Aerial refueling and transport (1983–present)
Motto(s)	Uphold the right
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry	No known badge
Squadron Codes	No known identification code for the flight is known to have been carried

While the United Kingdom officially does not foresee any threat to the Falkland Islands, it maintains significant military forces as a deterrent against any aggressor. These forces also protect South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The Royal Air Force contribution to this deterrent is based at RAF Mount Pleasant, the primary component of which is No. 1435 Flight, with its four Eurofighter Typhoons providing air defence. The squadron goes by the motto of "Uphold the right" while the motto of the Falkland Islands is "Desire the right".

1312 Flight operates in support of this force providing aerial refuelling, air transport, search and rescue and maritime patrol. The latter is an important mission to the Falkland Islands government as the Hercules verifies that all fishing vessels are licensed; at £1,000 per licence per season this is an important source of income.

History

1312 (Transport) Flight was first formed on 19 April 1944 at RAF Llandow. It operated 6 Avro Ansons to collect and deliver aircrew involved in the ferrying replacement aircraft. After June 1944 it was involved in transporting wounded serviceman back to England from France until it was disbanded on 21 July 1944.[2][3]

The flight was re-formed on 14 September 1954, at RAF Abingdon, as 1312 (Transport Support) Flight operating the Handley Page Hastings and later the Vickers Valetta, disbanding on 1 April 1957.[1][3]

1312 (In-Flight Refuelling) Flight re-formed again on 20 August 1983 at RAF Stanley before moving to the newly opened RAF Mount Pleasant in 1986.[4] The original task was to operate the Lockheed Hercules on air-to-air refueling missions, but these were later replaced by VC10s (borrowed from 101 Squadron) and Hercules C.1s from the Lyneham Wing.[3] On 31 August 2013 the VC10 was replaced by a TriStar K1 from 216 Squadron.

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by no. 1312 Flight RAF, data from[1][3]

From	To	Aircraft	Version	Example
19 April 1944	21 July 1944	Avro Anson	MkI MkX	NK692 NK696
14 September 1954	1 April 1957	Handley Page Hastings	C1 C2	TG615 'L' WD485
February 1955	1 April 1957	Vickers Valetta	C1	WD158; VL274
20 August 1983	31 March 1996	Lockheed Hercules	C1K	XV201
31 March 1996	31 August 2013	Vickers VC10 Lockheed Hercules	K4 C1	ZD242 'P' ..
31 August 2013	February 2014	TriStar Lockheed Hercules	K1 C1[5]	.. ..
February 2014	March 2018	Voyager Lockheed Hercules	KC2[6] C4/C5	.. ..
March 2018	Present	Airbus Voyager Airbus Atlas	KC2 C1	.. ..

Flight bases

Bases and airfields used by no. 1312 Flight RAF, data from[1][3]

From	To	Base
19 April 1944	21 July 1944	RAF Llandow, Glamorgan, Wales
14 September 1954	1 April 1957	RAF Abingdon, Oxfordshire
20 August 1983	1986	RAF Stanley, Falkland Islands
1986	present	RAF Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands

See also

• List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
• List of Royal Air Force independent flights
• Military of the Falkland Islands

References

Notes

1. Lake 1999, pp. 84–85.
2. Lake 1999, p. 84.
3. Sturtivant and Hamlin 2007, p. 118.
4. Lake 1999, p. 85.
5. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmhansrd/cm131128/text/131128w0002.htm#131128w0002.htm_wqn105
6. http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/2014-03-26/raf-retires-tristar-tankers-voyager-fleet-grows

Bibliography

• Lake, Alan. Flying Units of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.
• Sturtivant, Ray, ISO and John Hamlin. RAF Flying Training And Support Units since 1912. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2007. ISBN 0-85130-365-X.