No. 19 Squadron RAF

No. XIX (Reserve) Squadron RAF
Official Squadron Crest for no. XIX Squadron RAF
Active	1 Sep 1915 - 31 Dec 1919 1 Apr 1923 - 31 Dec 1976 1 Jan 1977 - 9 Jan 1992 23 Sep 1992 – 24 November 2011
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Motto(s)	Latin:Possunt quia posse videntur (Translation: "They can because they think they can")
Battle honours	Western Front 1916-1918* Somme 1916* Arras Ypres 1917* Somme 1918 Lys Amiens Hindenburg Line Dunkirk* Home Defence 1940-1942 Battle of Britain 1940* Channel and North Sea 1942-1942 Fortress Europe 1942-1944* Dieppe Normandy 1944* Arnhem France and Germany 1944-1945 Honours marked with an asterix(*) are those actually emblazoned on the Squadron Standard
Insignia
Squadron Badge heraldry	Between wings elevated and conjoined in base, a dolphin, head downwards.
Squadron Roundel
Squadron Codes	WZ (Oct 1938 - Sep 1939) QV (Sep 1939 - Sep 1945) A (1989 - 1991)

No. 19(F) Squadron RAF (sometimes written as No. XIX Squadron) was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force.

No. 19 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was founded on 1 September 1915 training on a variety of aircraft before being deployed to France in July 1916 flying B.E.12s and re-equipping with the more suitable French-built Spads.

From November 1917, the squadron started to receive Sopwith Dolphins to replace its Spads, it being fully equipped with the Dolphin during January 1918, flying its first operational patrol with the new fighter on 3 February. In 1918, the squadron was re-equipped with Sopwith Dolphins, flying escort duties. By the end of the war, 19 Squadron had had a score of flying aces among its ranks, including Albert Desbrisay Carter, John Leacroft, Arthur Bradfield Fairclough, Oliver Bryson, Gordon Budd Irving, Frederick Sowrey, future Air Commodore Patrick Huskinson, Cecil Gardner, Roger Amedee Del'Haye, future Air Chief Marshal James Hardman, Finlay McQuistan, Alexander Pentland, John Candy, Cecil Thompson, John Aldridge, and Wilfred Ernest Young. Commanding officers during this time included H.D. Harvey-Kelly who was the first RFC pilot to land in France in the First World War. At least one of 19 Sqn. fliers, a Canadian, George Robert Long, was captured on 6 October 1917 in the Lille area and spent the rest of the war in a number of POW camps, including Holzminden POW camp. It was his very first flight, in a Spad VII, #B3508. He was shot down by Gefr. J. Funk, flying with Ja30.(entered by his grand nephew Gary J. Long). He had first been a member of the C.E.F. in the infantry and was wounded a number of times. He wasn't repatriated until 14 December 1918, to return home to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.