No. 1419 Flight RAF

No. 1419 (Tactical Support) Flight RAF was a flight within the Royal Air Force.

No. 1419 Flight RAF
A No. 1419 (Tactical Support) Flight AgustaWestland Merlin HC.3 landing at Al Fao, Iraq, 29 September 2008
Active	21 August 1940 – 25 August 1941[1] 5 March 2005[2] - May 2013.
Role	Special Duties [1] Tactical Support
Garrison/HQ	RAF North Weald[1] RAF Stradishall RAF Newmarket COB Basra, Iraq Camp Bastion, Afghanistan
Equipment	Westland Lysander I[1] Armstrong Whitworth Whitley V Martin Maryland AgustaWestland Merlin HC.3

History

Second World War

No. 419 (Special Duties) Flight was formed at RAF North Weald on 21 August 1940. It moved to RAF Stradishall where it was disbanded to form No. 1419 (Special Duties) Flight on 1 March 1941, continuing to fly Westland Lysander aircraft, Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers and Martin Maryland reconnaissance bombers on Special Operations Executive clandestine operations. The flight was disbanded at RAF Newmarket on 25 August 1941 to form No. 138 Squadron RAF which continued flying clandestine support missions for the remainder of World War II.

Iraq War

No. 1419 (Tactical Support) Flight RAF was resurrected at Basra, Iraq from elements of No. 28 Squadron RAF and No. 78 Squadron RAF from RAF Benson flying AgustaWestland Merlin HC.3 helicopters in support of Operation Telic as part of Joint Helicopter Force (Iraq) until the British drawdown in Iraq, the flight then being relocated to Afghanistan, in support of Operation Herrick.

Afghanistan

The flight was relocated to Camp Bastion as part of Joint Helicopter Force (Afghanistan)[3] in 2009.

The flight was disbanded in May 2013 when the aircraft were returned to the UK.

References

Citations

1. Lake, Alan. "Flying Units of the RAF".Airlife Publishing. Shrewsbury. 1999. ISBN 1 84037 086 6
2. "About 1419 Flt". Merlin Force. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
3. "1419 Merlin Flight; Camp Bastion, Afghanistan". UK Forces Afghanistan. Retrieved 25 September 2014.

Bibliography

• Lake, Alan. Flying Units of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1999. ISBN 1-84037-086-6.
• Sturtivant, Ray, ISO and John Hamlin. RAF Flying Training And Support Units since 1912. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 2007. ISBN 0-85130-365-X.