Red Tails and Immortals Share a Ride for First Time
The Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm’s 809 Naval Air Squadron, “The Immortals,” have been shuttered since 1982, after being stood up to fly Sea Harriers from HMS Invincible during the Falklands.
Before that, they operated the Blackburn Buccaneer from RAF Lossiemouth– as well as from the decks of HMS Ark Royal, HMS Hermes, and HMS Eagle— in the 1960s and 1970s including a famous show of force over Belize in 1972 to deter Guatemalan threats.
British Buccaneer XT283 of 809 Squadron arrives aboard HMS Ark Royal. Museum of Science, by Michael Turner, 1972
Going even further back, they operated Sea Venoms aboard HMS Albion in 1956 during the Suez Crisis while in WWII they flew Fairey Fulmars from the Med to North Russia and Seafires covering the Torch, Avalanche, Dragoon, Dracula, and Zipper landings from Casablanca to Malaya.
This week, 809 NAS became the first Royal Navy squadron to stand up to operate the F-35 Lightning.
The recommissioning sees the number of UK squadrons operating the Lightning expand to four, two front-line– the Dambusters of 617 Sqn plus 809 NAS– along with 207 Sqn (Operational Conversion Unit) and 17 Test and Evaluation Sqn.
Of the more than 100 historic Fleet Air Arm units whose numbers are currently dormant, 809 was selected more than a decade ago as a F-35 Lightning formation, largely due to its illustrious history as a strike and attack squadron having received battle honours from operations in the Arctic, Mediterranean, Burma, Suez and South Atlantic over a 41-year period.
The Venerable Andrew Hillier addresses guests and personnel from RAF Marham on parade for the 809 Naval Air Squadron Recommissioning Ceremony. A second frontline F-35B Lightning stealth fighter squadron has been stood up at RAF Marham. 809 Naval Air Squadron, known as the Immortals, has a long and distinguished history and has been recommissioned as the nation’s second front-line fighter unit operating the F-35B Lightning stealth fighter. At the parade at RAF Marham, Norfolk, Commander Nick Smith formally received the Squadron Crest from his predecessor, Cdr (Ret’d) Tim Gedge, close to 41 years to the day since 809 NAS decommissioned as a Sea Harrier squadron.
While British industry will build 15 percent by value of each of the more than 3,000 planned F-35s, by 1 May 2023, the UK had only received 31 of the planned 48 F35-Bs from its Tranche 1 initial order. A subsequent Tranche 2 order will bring an additional 27 aircraft, totaling 74, down from the originally planned 138. The RAF owns all of these STOVL birds and lets the RN operate some.
Redtails receive F-35s
Meanwhile, the “Red Tails” of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 187th Fighter Wing, of the Alabama Air National Guard, out of Dannelly Field, Alabama, last week received its first F-35s, becoming only the third ANG unit slated to transition to fifth generation fighter.
An F-35 Lightning II parked on the flight line at Dannelly Field, on December 6, 2023. The 187th Fighter Wing received their first aircraft from Luke AFB, Ariz., and will begin transitioning to their new mission. Photo by 1st Lt. Michael Luangkhot
Of course, the 100th FS, dating back to December 1941, is one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen squadrons of WWII.
USAAF armorer of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, 15th U.S. Air Force checks ammunition belts of the 12.7 mm machine guns in the wings of a North American P-51B Mustang in Italy, ca. September 1944.
Flying P39s then P-40s, P-47s, and finally P-51 Mustangs during the war, the 100th became first a tanker squadron (in 1953) then transitioned to a training squadron in 1999 before chopping to replace the 160th FS in 2007, driving fighters again, this time F-16s.
187th Fighter Wing, the Alabama Air National Guard unit at Dannelly Field ANGB in Montgomery, deployed to Romania in August 2012 to participate in Dacian Viper 2012, a three-week joint exercise with the Romanian Air Force.
They hung up their Vipers earlier this year and will receive 20 F-35s between now and 2026 when they will be fully staffed.
The word is, a paint job is inbound.