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{{Short description|Force security element of Royal Air Force}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox military unit
| unit_name                     = The Royal Air Force Regiment
| image                         = RAF Regiment badge.png
| caption                       = [[Heraldic badges of the Royal Air Force|Badge of the RAF Regiment]]
| dates                         = 1 February 1942 &ndash; present
| country                       = {{UK}}
| branch                        = {{Air force|UK}}
| type                          = {{Unbulleted list
 |[[Air force infantry and special forces units|Air force security forces]]<ref name="raf-regiment-gunner">{{cite web |title=RAF Regiment Gunner |url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/recruitment/roles/roles-finder/force-protection/raf-regiment-gunner |website=www.raf.mod.uk |access-date=19 April 2020}}</ref>
 }}
| role                          = {{Unbulleted list
 |[[Force protection]]
 }}
| size                          = 1,850<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|editor-last=Brown|editor-first=Larisa|title=Royal Marines and RAF Regiment face job cuts |newspaper=[[The Times]]|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/royal-marines-and-raf-regiment-face-job-cuts-nz9hsm03t |access-date=2021-04-04|issn=0140-0460}}</ref> regulars (2021), 570 reserves (2016)
| command_structure             = [[No. 2 Group RAF|No. 2 Group]], [[RAF Air Command|Air Command]]
| garrison                      = Depot: [[RAF Honington]]
| garrison_label                = 
| nickname                      = "The Rock Apes";<br/>"Rocks"
| patron                        = 
| motto                         = ''Per Ardua'' ([[Latin language|Latin]] for "Through Adversity")<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pine|first1=L G|title=A Dictionary of Mottoes|date=1983|publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul|location=London|isbn=0-7100-9339-X|page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmott00tion/page/169 169]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmott00tion/page/169}}</ref><br>(Individual squadrons also have their own motto.)
| colors                        = 
| colors_label                  = 
| march                         = Quick: ''Holyrood''<br>Slow: ''Centurion''
| mascot                        = 
| equipment                     = 
| equipment_label               = 
| battles                       = 
| anniversaries                 = 
| decorations                   = 
| battle_honours                = 
| disbanded                     = <!-- Commanders -->
| commander1                    = Air Vice-Marshal [[Michael Smeath]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/news/articles/appointment-of-commandant-general-of-the-raf-regiment/|title=Appointment of Commandant General of the RAF Regiment|publisher=Royal Air Force|date=4 May 2022|accessdate=14 July 2022}}</ref>
| commander1_label              = [[Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment|Commandant-General]]
| commander2                    = Air Chief Marshal [[Sir Stephen Dalton]]
| commander2_label              = [[Honorary Air Commodore]]
| commander3                    = [[King Charles III]]
| commander3_label              = [[Air Commodore-in-Chief]]
| notable_commanders            = <!-- Insignia -->
| identification_symbol         = [[Image:RAF TRF.svg|100px]]
| identification_symbol_label   = [[Tactical Recognition Flash]]
| identification_symbol_2       = [[File:RAF Regiment shoulder flash.jpg|150px]]
| identification_symbol_2_label = Shoulder Flash
| identification_symbol_3       = 
| identification_symbol_3_label = 
| identification_symbol_4       = 
| identification_symbol_4_label = 
}}
{{Royal Air Force sidebar}}

The '''Royal Air Force Regiment''' ('''RAF Regiment''') is part of the [[Royal Air Force]] and functions as a specialist [[corps]]. Founded by [[Warrant (law)|Royal Warrant]] in 1942, the Corps carries-out security tasks relating to the protection of assets and personnel dedicated to the delivery of [[Airpower|air power]].

RAF Regiment 'Gunners' are personnel trained in various disciplines such as infantry tactics, force protection, field craft, sniper, support to special forces operations, [[CBRN defense|CBRN]] (chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear) defence, equipped with advanced vehicles and detection measures. RAF Regiment instructors are responsible for training all Royal Air Force personnel in basic force protection such as first aid, weapon handling and CBRN skills.

The regiment and its members are known within the RAF as "The Regiment", "Rock Apes" or "Rocks".

==History==
{{Main|History of the Royal Air Force}}

===Formation===
The genesis of the RAF Regiment was the creation of [[No. 1 Armoured Car Company RAF]], formed in Egypt in 1921 for operations in [[RAF Iraq Command|Iraq]],{{sfn|Dent|2006|p=79}} followed shortly afterwards by [[No. 2 Armoured Car Company RAF]] and [[No. 3 Squadron RAF Regiment|No. 3 Armoured Car Company RAF]]. These were equipped with [[Rolls-Royce Armoured Car|Rolls-Royce armoured car]]s and carried out policing operations throughout the [[Middle East]] in the 1920s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/3-sqn-raf-regiment-disbands-at-raf-wittering-18052015|title=3 Sqn RAF Regiment Disbands At RAF Wittering|publisher=RAF|access-date=1 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101194834/https://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/3-sqn-raf-regiment-disbands-at-raf-wittering-18052015|archive-date=1 January 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Second World War===

[[File:An RAF Humber light reconnaissance car in Middelburg, Holland, November 1944. CL1515.jpg|thumb|An RAF Humber LRC in [[Middelburg, Zeeland|Middelburg]], [[Netherlands]], during [[Operation Infatuate]], November 1944]]

In 1941, during the [[Second World War]], German airborne forces invaded Crete, then held by Greek, British and Commonwealth forces. The German invasion succeeded in major part because of the failure of the Allied land forces to recognise the strategic importance of the airfields, and hence to defend them adequately. In consequence, the RAF base at Maleme was taken largely intact by German paratroop and glider forces, albeit with heavy casualties. The Germans were then reinforced by air behind allied lines. This led eventually to the loss of the whole island and substantial Allied losses in what became known as the [[Battle of Crete]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/the-battle-for-crete|title=The Battle for Crete|website=www.nzhistory.net.nz|access-date=17 May 2009|archive-date=21 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421053546/http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/the-battle-for-crete|url-status=live}}</ref>

Disappointed with the failure of the British Army to recognise the importance of airfields in modern warfare, Prime Minister Churchill made the RAF responsible for the defence of its own bases and the RAF Regiment was formed on 1 February 1942, with its first headquarters established at [[RAF Belton Park]], [[Grantham]], [[Lincolnshire]].{{sfn|Pitchfork|2008|p=23}} From the start it had 66,000 personnel drawn from the former Defence Squadrons Nos. 701–850.{{sfn|Robertson|1978|p=154}}<ref>{{cite web|title=RAF Regiment Squadrons 2700-2850 |url=http://www.rafweb.org/Organsation/Regiment2.htm |work=Air of Authority - A history of RAF organisation |access-date=1 January 2018}}</ref> The new regiment was made up of field squadrons equipped with [[Morris Light Reconnaissance Car]]s, [[Humber Light Reconnaissance Car]]s and [[Otter Light Reconnaissance Car]]s. The light anti-aircraft squadrons were originally armed with [[Hispano-Suiza HS.404|Hispano 20 mm cannon]] and then the [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|Bofors 40 mm]] anti-aircraft gun. Its role was to seize, secure and defend airfields to enable air operations to take place. Several [[parachute]] squadrons were formed to assist in the capture of airfields, a capability retained by No. II Squadron.<ref>{{cite web |title=No. 2 Squadron RAF Regiment |url=http://www.eliteukforces.info/raf-regiment/ |work=Elite UK Forces |access-date=1 December 2017}}</ref> It mounted the [[King's Guard]] at [[Buckingham Palace]] for the first time on 1 April 1943.{{sfn|Pitchfork|2008|pp=91–92}} During the War the RAF Regiment grew to a force of over 80,000 men.{{sfn|Churchill|2015|p=796}}

In late June 1944, with the [[British Army during the Second World War|British Army]] [[Operation Overlord|fighting in Normandy]] where it was sustaining heavy losses and at the same time suffering from a severe shortage of manpower, it was decided to transfer 25,000 [[Officer (armed forces)|officers]] and [[Other ranks (UK)|men]] of the RAF Regiment to the army, mostly to the infantry and the [[Foot Guards]], to be retrained as Infantry to a level capable to conduct Army operations.<ref>{{cite book |year=1988 |title=The Army Quarterly and Defence Journal |volume=118 |page=191 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9-XbAAAAMAAJ&q=history+RAF+Regiment+Europe+and+Burma |access-date=15 March 2014 }}</ref>

The Second World War campaign in north-eastern India and northern Burma was fought in jungle and mountains with few or non-existent roads and which facilitated the infiltration of enemy patrols behind front lines. This was overcome by holding defensive "boxes" mainly or entirely supplied by air. The defence of forward airfields close to the main army concentrations was vital to this tactic. A training school and depot for the RAF Regiment was established at [[Secunderabad]] in October 1942, to retrain former ground defence airmen. It had an assault course considered tougher than anything the army had in India. Six field squadrons and seventy AA flights were initially formed, containing 160 officers and 4,000 other ranks.{{sfn|Warwick|2007|pp=10–21}} Until mid-1944, the AA flights were equipped only with light machine guns, then with Hispano 20&nbsp;mm cannon for the rest of the war. Regiment units defended airfields and forward mobile radar units in [[Rakhine State|Arakan]] in the [[Arakan Campaign 1943–1944|Arakan Campaign]] in late 1942 and early 1943.{{sfn|Warwick|2007|pp=29–33}}

During the [[Battle of Imphal]], all supplies and reinforcements had to be flown in between 29 March and 22 June 1944 with RAF Regiment units providing vital airfield defence.{{sfn|Warwick|2007|p=47}} Following the failure of the Japanese [[Operation U-Go]], it was decided to pursue the shattered remnants of the Japanese 15th Army into Burma during the [[monsoon]], in average rainfall of {{convert|10|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} per day and rifle flights were sometimes attached to advancing Indian Army and British East African units, to gain experience in the jungle.{{sfn|Warwick|2007|pp=93–103}} Units of 1307 Wing were flown into the newly captured and tactically vital [[Battle of Meiktila and Mandalay|Meiktila]] airfield on 1 March 1945. Only a roughly {{convert|900|m2|sqyd|0|order=flip|abbr=on}} box, shared with the army and some United States anti-aircraft artillery, could be held at night and the airfield had to be cleared of enemy each morning before flying could start. As one of the RAF Regiment's proudest battle honours, this three-week battle destroyed the Japanese hold on northern Burma.{{sfn|Warwick|2007|pp=158–180}}

The RAF Regiment fought as field, armoured car and light anti-aircraft (LAA) squadrons and flights in North Africa, the Middle East, Italy, the Balkans and North Western Europe, as well as 68 LAA squadrons defending the UK against V1 attacks as part of [[Operation Diver]], alongside the Royal Artillery's HAA and LAA batteries. Amongst other things, RAF Regiment units were the first British forces to reach Paris, amongst the first to enter Brussels, and Squadron Leader Mark Hobden and his force arrested [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]'s successor as [[Führer|Fuhrer]], Grand Admiral [[Karl Dönitz|Karl Doenitz]], at his HQ in [[Flensburg]].{{sfn|Oliver|1997|p=118}}

On 26 November 1944, a [[Messerschmitt Me 262|Me 262A-2a]] Sturmvogel of III/KG51 based at Hopsten/Rheine near Osnabruck was the first confirmed ground-to-air kill of a jet combat aircraft. The 262 was shot down by a [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40/L60 40mm Bofors]] gun of B.11 Detachment of 2875 Squadron RAF Regiment, at the RAF forward airfield of Helmond, near Eindhoven. Others were lost to ground fire on 17 and 18 December, when the same airfield was attacked at intervals by a total of eighteen Me 262s. The guns of Nos. 2873 and 2875 squadrons RAF Regiment damaged several, causing at least two of them to crash within a few miles of the airfield. In February 1945, Sergeant Pollards's B.6 gun detachment of 2809 Squadron RAF Regiment shot down another Me 262 over the airfield of Volkel. The final appearance of Me 262s over Volkel was in 1945, when yet another fell to 2809's guns.{{sfn|Oliver|1997|pp=111–112}}

[[File:RAF Regiment Otter at Prkos Airfield IWM CL 3485.jpg|thumb|left|RAF Regiment [[Otter Light Reconnaissance Car|Otter]] at [[Zadar Airport|Prkos Airfield]] in [[Yugoslavia]] 1945]]
On 5 December 1944, twelve RAF Regiment squadrons deployed onto various airfields in southern Greece. They became engaged in fighting with Greek Communist Forces (ELAS) which wished to depose the Greek government at that time.{{sfn|Pitchfork|2008|p=367}} No. 2848 Field Squadron was the first RAF unit to arrive in [[West Berlin]] in 1945 to secure [[RAF Gatow|Luftwaffe Flugplatz Gatow]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4UCkDAAAQBAJ&q=284+squadron+gatow&pg=PT424|title=Churchill Goes to War: Winston's Wartime Journeys|first=Brian|last= Lavery|publisher=Conway|year=2007|isbn=978-1844860555}}</ref>

===Post-war===
[[Image:Join the RAF Regt.jpg|thumb|upright|A recruiting poster from the 1950s]]

[[King George VI]] became [[Air Commodore-in-Chief]] of the regiment in 1947. He later decided to present his [[king's colour]] in 1952, on the 10th anniversary of the RAF Regiment's founding. The king, however, died around this time and [[Queen Elizabeth II]] instead presented the [[Queen's Colour]] a year later.<ref>{{cite book |year=1988 |title=The Army Quarterly and Defence Journal |volume=119 |page=308 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X5ErAAAAYAAJ&q=history+RAF+Regiment |access-date=15 March 2014 }}</ref>
[[Image:RAF Regiment on tour in Belize with rapier missile.jpg|thumb|right|upright|RAF Regiment in 1988 on tour in [[Belize]] with Rapier missile system]]

The [[Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence|unilateral declaration of independence]] by [[Rhodesia]] in November 1965 necessitated support to [[Zambia]], which desperately needed air defence. In a rapid response, [[Gloster Javelin|Javelin]] fighters were deployed and an RAF Regiment squadron was also deployed from the United Kingdom to provide ground defence. The agility of the Regiment was demonstrated in its ability to embark 51 Squadron RAF Regiment in six hours from the call to deploy.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10636507/Air-Commodore-Adrian-McGuire-obituary.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10636507/Air-Commodore-Adrian-McGuire-obituary.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Air Commodore Adrian McGuire obituary|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=13 February 2014 |access-date=1 January 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> At the eastern end of the Empire, flights from RAF Regiment squadrons based in Singapore deployed to Hong Kong in 1968 to help maintain security and confidence. The RAF Regiment continued to be involved in Hong Kong into the mid-1970s providing protection at both [[RAF Kai Tak]] and at the radar station at [[Tai Mo Shan]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=GCHQ: The uncensored story of Britain's most secret intelligence agency|last=Aldrich|first=Richard J|publisher=Harper Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0007312665}}</ref>

[[File:RAF Regiment Forward Air Controllers.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|RAF Regiment Forward Air Controllers (FACs) guide a Typhoon from 6 Squadron onto their target at the Cape Wrath practice range in Scotland]]

In 1974, the [[Rapier (missile)|Rapier]] surface-to-air missile system entered service with the RAF Regiment, and equipped four squadrons protecting four RAF airfields in Germany. Detachments from the German Rapier Squadrons, particularly from [[RAF Gütersloh|RAF Gutersloh]], deployed to San Carlos beach-head during the [[Falklands War|Falklands conflict]] to provide anti-aircraft cover.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Armitage|first1=Michael|title=The Royal Air Force|date=1999|publisher=Cassell|location=London |isbn=0-304-35312-4|page=238|edition=2nd}}</ref>

Light armoured squadrons, equipped with [[FV101 Scorpion]] and [[FV107 Scimitar]] light tracked vehicles, continued to be operated into the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Light armour returns to the RAF Regiment |publisher=Imperial War Museum |url=http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060019068 |access-date=1 January 2018}}</ref> Also from the 1980s, units such as 19 Squadron were equipped with Rapier and tasked with defending USAF airbases such as [[RAF Upper Heyford]].<ref>{{cite web|title=About us |publisher=RAF Brize Norton |url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/rafbrizenorton/aboutus/history.cfm|access-date=1 January 2018}}</ref>

Four RAF Regiment personnel were killed by the IRA, all in 1988 and 1989 - one killed by hostile fire in Northern Ireland, the rest by snipers or car bombs in Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-05-02-mn-1455-story.html|title=3 British Soldiers Slain by IRA in Netherlands: 3 Others Wounded; Attacks Seen as Reprisal for Controversial Killing of 3 Guerrillas in Gibraltar|first=William|last=Tuohy|date=2 May 1988|work=LA Times}}</ref>

In July 2004, it was announced that the role of providing ground-based air defence was to be transferred to the British Army's [[Royal Artillery]] and the four Royal Air Force Regiment air defence squadrons were to be disbanded.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articles-view/release/3/60481/uk-to-disband-raf-regiment-units-(jul-25).html|title=RAF Regiment Restructuring - Details Announced |publisher=Ministry of Defence|date=21 July 2005 |access-date=1 January 2017}}</ref>

The RAF Regiment saw action in Iraq and Afghanistan. Leaving aside those injured, seriously or otherwise, five RAF Regiment gunners were killed in Iraq (one in a firefight, three, including a member of the RAuxAF, in a single mortar strike, and one in a road traffic incident)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10637526|title=UK military deaths in Iraq|date=7 July 2016|work=BBC News}}</ref> and five were killed in Afghanistan (one due to hostile fire, four due to IEDs, including one 51 year old member of the RAuxAF, the oldest member of the British Armed Forces to die in Afghanistan<ref>{{cite web |title=Two Senior Aircraftmen Killed in Afghanistan |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive.cfm?storyid=57CC6278-1143-EC82-2E35B5DA4DDFB0B4 |website=RAF - News by Date |publisher=Royal Air Force |access-date=2 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102171952/http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive.cfm?storyid=57CC6278-1143-EC82-2E35B5DA4DDFB0B4|archive-date=2 January 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>) with an additional man dying in an accident in Cyprus after leaving Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10629358|title=UK military deaths in Afghanistan: Full list|date=12 October 2015|work=BBC News}}</ref>

[[File:Royal Air Force Regiment in Afghanistan.JPG|thumb|right|Personnel of the Royal Air Force Regiment in a Land Rover with a [[Land Rover Wolf#Weapons Mount Installation Kit|Weapons Mount Installation Kit]] ("Wimik"), stopped on a road while conducting a combat mission near Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, in 2010]]

In 2011, as part of the [[Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010|Strategic Defence and Security Review]], it was announced that, from December 2011, the [[Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear|CBRN]] role undertaken by the [[Joint CBRN Regiment]], a combined Army/RAF unit, would be transferred to the RAF Regiment (as lead service) under the new Defence CBRN Wing, formed from [[No. 26 Squadron RAF Regiment|26 Squadron]], [[No. 27 Squadron RAF Regiment|27 Squadron]] and [[No. 2623 (East Anglian) Squadron RAF Regiment|2623 (Auxiliary) Squadron]]. The army retained involvement through the continued use of the [[Royal Yeomanry]] to provide trained battlefield casualty replacements.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2011/08/cbrn-role-to-transfer-to-raf-regiment/ |title=CBRN role to transfer to RAF Regiment |date=6 August 2011 |website=Think Defence |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107063608/http://www.thinkdefence.co.uk/2011/08/cbrn-role-to-transfer-to-raf-regiment/ |archive-date=7 November 2011}}</ref>

In 2016, this decision was reversed with the announcement the CBRN role would be handed back to the British Army in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://britisharmedforcesreview.wordpress.com/2014/08/07/the-royal-tank-regiment-back-in-the-cbrn-game/|title=The Royal Tank Regiment: Back in the CBRN game|date=7 August 2014|publisher=British Armed Forces Review|access-date=5 February 2019}}</ref>

In November 2013, The Queen's Colour (63), 1 and 27 Squadrons had their new colours presented. However, 16, 37 and 48 squadrons were disbanded.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/raf-regiment-lay-up-5-standards-22112013 |title=RAF Regiment lay up 5 Standards |publisher=Raf.mod.uk |date=22 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714133459/http://www.raf.mod.uk/news/archive/raf-regiment-lay-up-5-standards-22112013 |archive-date=14 July 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=14 July 2014}}</ref>

In July 2017, [[Prince Harry]] visited RAF Honington on behalf of [[Elizabeth II|The Queen]] to present a new [[Military colours, standards and guidons|Colour]] to the RAF Regiment. The new colour was to celebrate the 75th birthday of the formation of the Regiment in 1942.<ref>{{cite news|title=Blue is the colour|editor-last=Williams|editor-first=Simon|work=RAF News|issue=1424|publisher=Royal Air Force|date=28 July 2017|page=1|issn=0035-8614}}</ref>

== Structure in 1989 ==
The structure in 1989 was as follows:{{sfn|Oliver|1997|pp=285-320}}
* [[Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Catterick]]
** [[RAF Fire Service]], RAF Catterick
** [[No. 3 Wing RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Catterick]], administrative control of unassigned UK-based squadrons
*** [[No. 3 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Aldergrove]], (Field)
*** [[No. 27 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Leuchars]], (Air Defence, 8x Rapier launch stations)
*** [[No. 48 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Lossiemouth]], (Air Defence, 8x Rapier launch stations)
*** [[No. 58 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Catterick]], (Light Armour, 15x [[FV103 Spartan|Spartan]], 6x [[FV101 Scorpion|Scorpion]])
** [[No. 4 Wing RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Wildenrath]], administrative control of West Germany-based Rapier squadrons defending [[Royal Air Force Germany]] airfields
*** [[No. 16 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Wildenrath]], (Air Defence, 8x [[Rapier (missile)|Rapier]] launch stations)
*** [[No. 26 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Gutersloh]], (Air Defence, 8x Rapier launch stations)
*** [[No. 37 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Bruggen]], (Air Defence, 8x Rapier launch stations)
*** [[Queen's Colour Squadron|No. 63 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Gütersloh]], (Air Defence, 8x Rapier launch stations)
** [[No. 5 Wing RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Hullavington]], administrative control of field squadrons supporting the UK's [[Hawker Siddeley Harrier|Harrier Force]]
*** [[No. II Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Hullavington]], (Light Armour / Paratroopers, 15x Spartan, 6x Scorpion)
*** [[No. 15 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Hullavington]], (Light Armour, 15x Spartan, 6x Scorpion)
** [[No. 6 Wing RAF Regiment]], [[RAF West Raynham]], administrative control of UK-based Rapier squadrons defending [[US Air Force]] [[Third Air Force]] airfields in the UK
*** [[No. 19 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Brize Norton]], (Air Defence, 12x Rapier launch stations, defending [[RAF Upper Heyford]] and [[RAF Fairford]])
*** [[No. 20 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Honington]], (Air Defence, 8x Rapier launch stations, defending [[RAF Alconbury]], [[RAF Bentwaters]] and [[RAF Woodbridge]])
*** [[No. 66 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF West Raynham]], (Air Defence, 8x Rapier launch stations, defending [[RAF Mildenhall]] and [[RAF Lakenheath]])
** 33 Wing, [[RAF Gütersloh]], administrative control of West Germany-based light armour squadrons defending [[Royal Air Force Germany]] airfields
*** [[No. 1 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Laarbruch]], (Light Armour, 15x Spartan, 6x Scorpion)
*** [[No. 34 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Akrotiri]], [[Cyprus]] (Light Armour, 15x Spartan, 6x Scorpion)
*** [[No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment]], [[RAF Bruggen]], (Light Armour, 15x Spartan, 6x Scorpion)

Additionally the [[Royal Auxiliary Air Force]] Regiment fielded the following reserve squadrons:

* [[No. 2503 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment|No. 2503 (County of Lincoln) Squadron RAuxAF Regiment]], [[RAF Scampton]], (Field)
* [[No. 2620 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment|No. 2620 (County of Norfolk) Squadron RAuxAF Regiment]], [[RAF Marham]], (Field)
* [[No. 2622 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment|No. 2622 (Highland) Squadron RAuxAF Regiment]], [[RAF Lossiemouth]], (Field)
* [[No. 2623 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment|No. 2623 (East Anglian) Squadron RAuxAF Regiment]], [[RAF Honington]], (Field)
* [[No. 2624 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment|No. 2624 (County of Oxford) Squadron RAuxAF Regiment]], [[RAF Brize Norton]], (Field, assigned to support the [[Hawker Siddeley Harrier|Harrier]] Force in West Germany)
* [[No. 2625 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment|No. 2625 (County of Cornwall) Squadron RAuxAF Regiment]], [[RAF St Mawgan]], (Field)
* [[No. 2729 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment|No. 2729 (City of Lincoln) Squadron RAuxAF Regiment]], [[RAF Waddington]], ([[SHORAD]])
* [[No. 2890 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment]], [[RAF Waddington]], ([[SHORAD]], formed 1 October 1989)

==Organisation and role==
[[Image:Kestrel bodyarmour BASMAY2006.JPG|thumb|right|Two members of the RAF Regiment returning to Basra air station, Iraq, in May 2006]]
[[Image:Osprey body armour basrah.jpg|thumb|left|An RAF Regiment gunner in Iraq]]
The RAF Regiment is the RAF’s organic defensive security force and comes under command of [[No. 2 Group RAF|2 Group]], [[RAF Air Command|Air Command]]. Its members are organised into seven regular [[Squadron (aviation)|squadron]]s, - Nos 1, 2, 15, 27, 34, 51 and 63/King's Colour Squadron - of which six are field squadrons and 27 is the specialist CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) units under the umbrella of the defence CBRN Wing (No 20 Wing RAF Regiment -see note below), plus six [[Royal Auxiliary Air Force]] (RAuxAF) Regiment (RAuxAF Regt) squadrons. The Corps carries out basic security tasks relating to the [protection of] delivery of [[Airpower|air power]]. Examples of such tasks are [[non-combatant evacuation operation]] (NEO), recovery of downed aircrew (joint personnel recovery – JPR), defence of airfields by way of aggressively patrolling and actively seeking out infiltrators in a limited area surrounding airfields and within the airfield perimeter. The key tenet of the RAF Regiments role is based around defensive security operations,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://recruitment.raf.mod.uk/roles/roles-finder/force-protection/raf-regiment-gunner |title=RAF Regiment Gunner|publisher=Royal Air Force|access-date=18 May 2024}}</ref> rather than the Army’s more traditional offensive infantry role, which is to close with and kill the enemy; notwithstanding, this does require active patrolling just outside the Airfield perimeter. In addition the RAF Regiment provides Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) to the British Army in the [[Tactical Air Control Party]] (TACP) role, and provides a very small (flight size) commitment in support of the [[Special Forces Support Group]] as Tactical air controllers and some CBRN specialists.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.raf.mod.uk/|title=Royal Air Force|website=Royal Air Force|access-date=2020-01-13}}</ref>

The field squadrons are 171 strong{{sfn|Dent|2006|p=82}} making them larger than an infantry [[company (military unit)|company]] in the [[British Army]] but, critically, due to the nature of their structure and establishment for defensive security operations, a key limitation is that they are only able to operate up to Company/Squadron level and so cannot bring the same 'Mass' to bear of an Line Infantry Regiment. Not all personnel on an RAF Regiment squadron are trained gunners but can be involved in specialist support services such as administrators and drivers. A typical RAF Regiment squadron has support elements from the RAF but these personnel do not always deploy on patrols and other combat operations. Formerly, all RAF Regiment personnel were men, as it was British government policy that women could not serve in close combat units.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/10B34976-75F9-47E0-B376-AED4B09FB3B3/0/women_af_summary.pdf |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121019032047/http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/10B34976-75F9-47E0-B376-AED4B09FB3B3/0/women_af_summary.pdf |archive-date=19 October 2012 |title=Women in the Armed Forces |date=May 2002 |publisher=Ministry of Defence |quote=The principal areas from which women are excluded today - and which were the concern of this review - are those that are required deliberately to close with and kill the enemy face-to-face, |access-date=22 November 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the intention was that by the end of 2018, women would be allowed to apply for these roles, with the RAF recruitment website 'looking forward' to female applications for the RAF Regiment. A review in 2017 determined that, although the Regiment was acknowledged to be the Royal Air Force's limited version of infantry, it was more alike to the [[Royal Armoured Corps]] in terms of risk, due to its defensive security force mission. As a result, women will be allowed into the RAF Regiment from September 2017, which because the RAF Regiment was not graded at the same threat level as basic infantry was a full year before proper infantry units.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Haynes|first1=Deborah|title=Women win right to join RAF infantry|work=[[The Times]] |issue=72275|date=14 July 2017 |page=26 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref> In January 2020, the first female recruit to complete the 20-week training course passed out of RAF Honington.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Sabrina |title=Norfolk woman is first to become RAF Regiment Gunner |url=https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/leading-aircraftman-georgia-sandover-first-woman-raf-regiment-gunner-1-6480836 |access-date=25 January 2020 |work=Eastern Daily Press |date=23 January 2020}}</ref>

{{As of|2021|March}}, there are approximately 1,850 regulars.<ref name=":0"/>

In March 2021, it was announced that the regular force is expected to be reduced by 300 personnel by 2023.<ref name=":0"/>

==Current RAF Regiment units==
[[File:Towersentries.JPG|thumb|A Queen's Colour Squadron sentry relieves a [[Coldstream Guards]] sentry]]
[[File:RAF Regiment (8658943968) (2).jpg|thumb|Members of the RAF Regiment on parade, 2013]]
{{command structure
|name= RAF Regiment
|subordinate=Depot: [[RAF Honington]]<br>[[No. 1 Squadron RAF Regiment|No 1 Sqn]]—[[RAF Honington]]<br>[[No. 2 Squadron RAF Regiment|No II Sqn]]—[[RAF Brize Norton]]<br>[[No. 15 Squadron RAF Regiment|No 15 Sqn]]—[[RAF Honington]]<br>[[No. 34 Squadron RAF Regiment|No 34 Sqn]]—[[RAF Leeming]]<br>[[No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment|No 51 Sqn]]—[[RAF Lossiemouth]]<br>[[King's Colour Squadron|No 63 Sqn (KCS)]]—[[RAF Northolt]]
}}
*'''Field Squadrons'''
**[[No. 1 Squadron RAF Regiment|1 Squadron]] (based at [[RAF Honington]], [[Suffolk]])
**[[No. 2 Squadron RAF Regiment|II Squadron]] (Parachute){{sfn|Dent|2006|p=82}} (based at [[RAF Brize Norton]], [[Oxfordshire]])
**[[No. 15 Squadron RAF Regiment|15 Squadron]] (based at [[RAF Marham]], [[Norfolk]])
**[[No. 34 Squadron RAF Regiment|34 Squadron]] (based at [[RAF Leeming]], [[North Yorkshire]])
**[[No. 51 Squadron RAF Regiment|51 Squadron]] (based at [[RAF Lossiemouth]], [[Moray]])
**[[King's Colour Squadron|63 Squadron (King's Colour Squadron)]]{{sfn|Dent|2006|p=83}} (based at [[RAF Northolt]], [[Middlesex]])
*'''Other units'''
**'''Combat Readiness Force'''
*** Combat Readiness Force - HQ at [[RAF Honington]]
*** No. 2 Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems Wing - [[RAF Leeming]]
*** No. 3 Force Protection Wing - [[RAF Marham]]
*** No. 5 Force Protection Wing - [[RAF Lossiemouth]]
*** No. 7 Force Protection Wing - [[RAF Coningsby]]
*** No. 20 Wing RAF Regiment - RAF Honington
*'''[[Royal Auxiliary Air Force]] Regiment Squadrons'''
**504 [[No. 504 Squadron RAF|County of Nottingham]] Squadron RAuxAF [Regiment Flight only]
**603 [[No. 603 Squadron RAF|City of Edinburgh]] Squadron RAuxAF [Regiment Flight only]
**606 [[No. 606 Squadron RAF|Chiltern]] Squadron RAuxAF [Regiment Flight only]
**609 [[No. 609 Squadron RAF|West Riding]] Squadron RAuxAF (Ground Defence)
**[[No. 2503 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment|2503 Squadron]] (Ground Defence)
**[[No. 2620 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment|2620 Squadron]] (Ground Defence)
**[[No. 2622 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment|2622 Squadron]] (Ground Defence)
**[[No. 2623 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment|2623 Squadron]] (Ground Defence)
**[[No. 2624 Squadron RAuxAF Regiment|2624 Squadron]] (Ground Defence)

==Origin of the "Rock Ape" nickname==
In the past the nickname "Rock Ape" has been attributed to their traditional role guarding areas of [[Gibraltar]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Page|first1=Lewis|title=Lions, Donkeys and Dinosaurs: Waste and Blundering in the Military|date=2007|publisher=Random House|location=London|isbn=9780099484424|pages=41–42}}</ref> but this is not so. The term came into use after an accident in the [[Western Aden Protectorate]] in November 1952. Two RAF Regiment officers serving with the [[Aden Protectorate Levies]] at Dhala decided to amuse themselves by going out to shoot some of the [[hamadryas baboon]]s (locally referred to as "rock apes"). The officers drew rifles and split up to hunt the apes. In the semi-darkness one of the officers fired at a moving object in the distance. When he reached the target he discovered he had shot the other officer. After emergency treatment [[Flight Lieutenant]] Percy Henry Mason survived to return to service a few months later. When asked by a board of inquiry why he had fired at his friend the officer replied that his target had "looked just like a rock ape" in the half light. The remark soon reverberated around the RAF and it was not long before the term was in general use.{{sfn|Oliver|1997|pp=206-207}}

==Notable former members==
* British comedian [[Tony Hancock]] joined the RAF Regiment in 1942.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Fisher|first1=John|title=Tony Hancock|date=2008|publisher=Harper Collins|location=London|isbn=978-0 00-726678-4|pages=72&ndash;77|chapter=3. Remember Gibraltar?}}</ref>
* British football manager [[Brian Clough]] served with the RAF Regiment during his National Service from 1953 to 1956.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britisharmedforces.org/pages/nat_brian_clough.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120802011429/http://www.britisharmedforces.org/pages/nat_brian_clough.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 August 2012 |title=British Armed Forces & National Service |publisher=Britisharmedforces.org |access-date=11 July 2009 }}</ref>
* British actor [[Brian Blessed]] served with 2 Squadron, RAF Regiment as a parachutist during his National Service.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forces.net/services/tri-service/brian-blesseds-flash-gordon-secret-special-message-forces|date=14 December 1915|title=Brian Blessed's Flash Gordon Secret & Special Message To The Forces|newspaper=Forces.net|access-date=14 July 2024}}</ref>
*British Golfer and Commentator [[Peter Alliss]] served with the RAF Regiment during his National Service from 1949 to 1951.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafgolf/Administration/peterallis.cfm |title=Peter Alliss – On his Life in the RAF |publisher=The RAF Golf Association |access-date=24 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010112754/http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafgolf/Administration/peterallis.cfm|archive-date=10 October 2012}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of RAF Regiment units]]
*[[List of equipment of the RAF Regiment]]
*[[Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment]]
*[[Aden Protectorate Levies]]
*[[Iraq Levies]]
*[[RAAF]] [[Airfield Defence Guards]]
*[[RNZAF Force Protection|RNZAF Security Forces]]
*[[USAF Security Forces]]
*[[Air force ground forces and special forces#List of air force ground and special forces units|List of air force ground units]]
*[[Structure of the Royal Air Force]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
*{{Cite book|last=Churchill |first=Winston |title=The Hinge of Fate: The Second World War |volume=4 |publisher=W&N |year=2015 |isbn=978-0141441757}}
*{{cite book|last=Deeley |first=Graeme |title=Never Not Ready: The History of RAF Regiment Parachute Units 1942 – 2012 |publisher=Barney Books |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-906542-49-8}}
*{{cite book|last=Dent |first=Stephen |title=The Royal Air Force Handbook |place=London, UK |publisher=Anova Books |year=2006 |isbn=9780851779522}}
*{{cite book|last=Oliver |first=Kingsley |title=Through Adversity – The History of the Royal Air Force Regiment 1941–1992 |place=Rushden, UK |publisher=Forces & Corporate Publishing |year=1997 |isbn=0-9529597-0-4 |url=http://forcespublishing.co.uk/pdfs/through_adversity.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160705185444/http://forcespublishing.co.uk/pdfs/through_adversity.pdf |access-date=3 July 2017|archive-date=5 July 2016 }}
*{{cite book|last=Pitchfork |first=Graham |title=The Royal Air Force Day by Day |place=Stroud, UK |publisher=History Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7509-4309-3}}
*{{cite magazine|last=Ripley |first=Tim |title=RAF Regiment to boost equipment and recruitment |magazine=[[Jane's Defence Weekly]] |date=16 April 2008 |page=10}}
*{{cite book|last=Robertson |first=Bruce |title=The RAF; a pictorial history |place=London, UK |publisher=Robert Hale |year=1978 |isbn=0-7091-6607-9}}
*{{cite book|last=Warwick|first=Nigel W M|title=CONSTANT VIGILANCE The RAF Regiment in the Burma Campaign|publisher=Pen & Sword Aviation|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire|date=2007|isbn=978-1-84415-500-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EO92mkDr_YEC&q=Nigel+Warwick+RAF+Regiment+Burma&pg=PR10 |access-date=8 February 2014}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/force-protection/raf-regiment/ Official RAF Regiment homepage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127204457/https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/force-protection/raf-regiment/ |date=27 January 2021 }}
*[http://www.rafregt.org.uk/ The Official RAF Regiment Association website]

{{Royal Air Force}}
{{Royal Air Force Regiment}}
{{Air force infantry}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raf Regiment}}
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1942]]
[[Category:Royal Air Force Regiment|*]]