RAF Regiment
The RAF Regiment is a specialist corps within the Royal Air Force responsible for defending airfields and associated installations.
Organistion and Current Role
The RAF Regiments 2800 members are organised into ten squadrons of 100-150 personnel each, roughly equivalent to a company in the army. There are five Ground Based Air Defence squadrons, one of which is an auxilary squadron (i.e. manned by part-time reservists). These are responsible for defending airfields against air attack and are equipped with Rapier vehicle-portable surface-to-air missiles. The remainder of the regiment are six Field squadrons, responsible for defending against ground attack and as such are trained and equipped in a similar manner to British Army infantry. However, because of their role, they are particularly well outfitted with specialist surveillance and night vision equipment. All personnel are male in line with the British Government policy that women cannot serve in front line combat units. There are approximately 2000 regular airmen (i.e. enlisted men), 300 regular officers and 500 reservists.
Members of the Regiment are known within the RAF as 'Rock Apes' or 'Rocks'. No 63 Squadron of the RAF Regiment, one of the Field Squadrons, is also known as the Queen's Colour Squadron. This unit represents the RAF at various ceremonial occasions (including mounting the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace), and is also responsible for guarding the Queen's Colour of the Royal Air Force.
On 12st July 2004, it was announced by Geoff Hoon that the RAF Regiment will relinguish the Rapier to the Royal Artillery, thus five squadrons will be disbanded.
History
Whilst the RAF had operated units equipped with armoured cars in the 1920s and 1930s, the RAF Regiment only came into existence on 1 February 1942. From the start it had both field squadrons and light anti-aircraft squadrons, the latter originally armed with Hispano and Bofors guns. Its role was originally purely defensive, but later in the war it took on offensive tasks such as capturing enemy airfields. Several parachute squadrons were formed to assist in these, and one current squadron, No 2, retains this capability. The regiment has a museum at RAF Honington near Bury St Edmunds.
During World War Two the RAF Regiment grew to a force of 66,000 men in 280 Squadrons of 185 men each(each squadron included five officers). Each squadron consisted of a Headquarters Flight, three Rifle Flights, an Air-Defense Flight, and an Armored-Car Flight. The flights were grouped together into Wings as needed. It also operated six Armored Car Squadrons to provide an area response capability to several RAF Bases.
