No. 72 Squadron RAF

No. 72 (Reserve) Squadron RAF
Badge of No. 72 Squadron RAF
Active	28 Jun 1917 - 22 Sep 1919 22 Feb 1937 - 30 Dec 1946 1 Feb 1947 - 30 Jun 1961 15 Nov 1961 - Easter 2002 12 July 2002 - present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Air Force
Role	Army support (1917-19) Fighter (1937-46, 1947-61) Transport (1961-2002) Flying training (2002-present)
Base	RAF Linton-on-Ouse
Nickname(s)	"Basutoland"
Motto(s)	Swift
Post 1950 squadron insignia
Aircraft	Short Tucano T.1
Battle honours	Mesopotamia 1918*, Channel and North Sea 1939-1942, Dunkirk*, Battle of Britain 1940*, Fortress Europe 1941-1942*, North Africa 1942-1943*, Mediterranean 1942-1943, Sicily 1943*, Italy 1943-1945, Salerno*, Anzio and Nettuno* The honours marked with an asterisk* are those emblazoned on the Squadron Standard
Insignia
Squadron badge heraldry	A Swift Volant The swift in the squadron's badge is symbolic of speed
Squadron Codes	RN (Oct 1938 - Apr 1939) SD (Apr 1939 - Sep 1939) RN (Sep 1939 - Dec 1946) FG (Jan 1947 - Apr 1951) A (on Wessex)

No. 72 Squadron Royal Air Force started its service life supporting the army during World War I on operations in Middle East and afterwards was quickly disbanded. In its second incarnation the squadron was a real fighter unit, transitioning from Gloster Gladiator biplanes to Gloster Javelin all-weather jets, in between flying the Supermarine Spitfire during the Battle of Britain. The jets went in 1961 and from then till 2002 the squadron flew helicopters in the transport role. No. 72 (Reserve) Squadron Royal Air Force is currently a training reserve squadron based at RAF Linton-on-Ouse using the Short Tucano T.1, a modified version of the Brazilian Embraer EMB-312 Tucano training aircraft.

The squadron nickname, "Basutoland", is derived from the fact that during both world wars, the Basutoland Protectorare, now Lesotho, donated aircraft to RAF, which were assigned to No. 72 Squadron.

No. 72 Squadron was formed on 28 June 1917 at Upavon. On Christmas Day, the squadron left for the Middle East and regrouped at Basra on 2 March. Here, they split in three flights, each assisting the Army in their various missions, and were disbanded in Baghdad on 22 September 1919.

No. 72 Squadron was reformed at RAF Tangmere on 22 February 1937 from 'B' flight of No. 1 Squadron. In 1939, the squadron was outfitted with Spitfires which replaced the Gloster Gladiators that came with the flight from No. 1 Squadron. These were used in Air defence and convoy protection duties following the start of World War II. Then, in 1940, the squadron moved to assist in the evacuation of Dunkirk.