A PROUD HISTORY - 43(F) SQUADRON

In April 1916, a group of early aviators gathered in the fields beneath the crags and ramparts of Stirling Castle to form what was to become one of the Royal Air Force’s most distinguished fighter squadrons. The first Squadron Commander, Captain William Sholto Douglas MC RFC - later to become Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Douglas of Kirtleside, recorded in his log book "April 15th went to Stirling to start No 43 Squadron as acting Squadron Commander.

Few squadrons can match the history of 43 Squadron which has included being the first to undertake ground attack operations during the First World War, achieving the remarkable double of having two of its pilots shoot down 6 enemy aircraft in one day during the First World War and shooting down the first enemy aircraft over England in the Second World War.  Its distinctive Fighting Cock emblem was adopted in 1926 when 43 was equipped with the Gloster Gamecock and embodies the spirit and resilience of a fighter squadron that has been in the vanguard of RAF operations for almost a century. Perhaps the Fighting Cocks’ finest period occurred during the Battle of Britain when its Hurricanes destroyed 60 enemy aircraft with a further thirteen ”probables” and twenty-five more damaged.

With the advent of the jet age, 43 Squadron became the first unit to fly the Hunter, seeing operational duties in Aden, before re-equipping with the Phantom for the duration of the Cold War.  The advent of the Tornado F3 at the end of the 1980s coincided with the emergence of new international challenges and 43 Squadron saw active service during the Gulf War, in NATO operations over Bosnia, and during the Iraq War, earning two Battle Honours, its first since the end of the Second World War.

43 Squadron disbanded on 13 July 2009 as part of the Government’s force reductions, however the 43(F) Squadron Association remains an active testimony to the Squadron's distinguished heritage exemplified by its motto Gloria Finis - Glory is the End.
An updated history of the squadron was published in 2011 and is available to members at a discounted price. 
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BATTLE HONOURS

Western Front 1917-1918*
Arras, Ypres 1917*
Cambrai 1917
Somme 1918*
Lys
Amiens, Dunkirk*
Battle of Britain 1940*
Home defence 1940-1942
Fortress Europe 1942
Dieppe
North Africa 1942-1943*
Sicily 1943
Salerno
Italy 1943-1945
Anzio and Nettuno*
Gustav Line
France and Germany 1944*
Gulf 1991
Iraq 2003

(Honours marked with an asterisk, may be emblazoned on the Squadron Standard)