No. 8 Squadron RAF
| No. VIII Squadron RAF | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Active | 1 January 1915 (RFC) |
| Role | AWACS |
| Garrison/HQ | RAF Waddington |
| Motto(s) | Uspiam et passim (Latin: "Everywhere unbounded") |
| Equipment | E-3 Sentry |
| Battle honours | Western Front 1915–1918, Loos, Somme, Arras, Cambrai 1917, Somme 1918, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, Kurdistan 1922–1924, Aden 1928, Aden 1929, Aden 1934, East Africa 1940–1941, Eastern Waters 1942–1945, Burma 1945, Kosovo |
| Insignia | |
| Squadron Badge | A sheathed Arabian dagger, correctly called a "jambiya." |
| Squadron Roundel |  |
No. 8 Squadron (sometimes written as No. VIII Squadron) of the Royal Air Force operates the Boeing E-3D Sentry (AWACS) from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire.
The RAF AWACS fleet is made up of seven E-3Ds, with the UK designation Sentry AEW1 and the aircraft were pooled between 8 Squadron and No. 23 Squadron until the latter disbanded in October 2009.
As No. 8 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) it was formed at Brooklands, Surrey on 1 January 1915, equipped with the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c. The squadron moved to Gosport later in January for further training, and crossed to France on 15 April 1915. While its main equipment was the B.E.2c, it also operated a fighter flight between May 1915 and early 1916 equipped with a mixture of aircraft, including the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.8 and the Bristol Scout, while it also evaluated the prototype Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.9, a modified B.E.2 that carried the observer/gunner in a nacelle ahead of the aircraft's propeller.
Operating from airfields near Saint-Omer, the squadron was initially used for bombing and long-range reconnaissance, carrying out flights of up to 100 miles (160 km) behind the front lines. In February 1916 it moved to Bellevue and specialised in the Corps Reconnaissance role, carrying out contact patrols and artillery spotting in close cc-operation with the army. The squadron flew in support of the Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916 and the Battle of Arras in April–May 1917. It received the improved B.E.2e from February 1917, but despite this, losses were heavy as all marks of B.E.2 were outclassed. Armstrong Whitworth FK.8s replaced the B.E.2s in August 1917.
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