No. 60 Squadron RAF
| No. 60 Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
| Active | 30 April 1916 – 22 January 1920 1 April 1920 – April 1968 3 February 1969 – 1 April 1992 June 1992 – present |
| Country |
 United Kingdom
|
| Branch |
 Royal Air Force
|
| Part of | RAF Air Command |
| Base | RAF Shawbury |
| Motto(s) |
Latin: Per ardua ad aethera tendo ("I strive through difficulties to the sky") |
| Battle honours | Western Front 1916-1918*, Somme 1916*, Arras, Somme 1918, 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 those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge heraldry | A markhor's head |
| Identification symbol |
AD (Apr 1939 – Sep 1939) MU (Sep 1934 – Feb 1942, Aug 1943 – Oct 1946) A - Z Carried on Wessex |
No. 60 (Reserve) Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1916 at Gosport. It is currently part of the Defence Helicopter Flying School based at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire.
The squadron crest 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.
The squadron motto is Per ardua ad aethera tendo - 'I strive through difficulties to the sky'.
Formed at Gosport on 30 April 1916, barely a month had passed before the unit and its Morane-Saulnier N's were despatched to France. The squadron's initial pilot officers included Harold Balfour and Peter Portal, later Under-Secretary of State for Air and Chief of the Air Staff respectively, while Robert Smith-Barry, later to revolutionise British pilot training, was a flight commander and (from July to December 1916), the squadron's commanding officer.
After suffering heavy losses during the Battle of the Somme, the squadron re-equipped with Nieuport Scouts and soon acquired a first-class reputation for itself. On 2 June 1917, Captain W. A. "Billy" Bishop received the Victoria Cross for his solo attack on a German aerodrome destroying three enemy aircraft in the air and several 'probables' on the ground before returning unhurt in a badly damaged aircraft. A month later, S.E.5 fighters arrived and these remained with the squadron until it was disbanded on 22 January 1920.
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