#1192 Tucano T1
Purchased products will not feature the Squadron Prints watermark
Description
Squadron Prints Lithograph No. 1192 - Tucano T1, ZF205 \'the Black Horse\', 72(R) Squadron, RAF Linton-on-Ouse.
No. 72 Squadron formed from a training flight of the Central Flying School at Upavon on 2 July 1917, moving out to Mesopotamia (now Iraq) the following year. Its first overseas base was Basra but it was divided into three flights and dispersed around the country where it saw action against the Turks until disbandment at Baghdad on 22 September 1919. In its multi-task role it flew a mixture of aircraft including the Bristol M1c Bullet, SE 5a, Spad VII and Martynside G102 Elephant. Reformed at Tangmere as part of the general pre-war expansion of the Royal Air Force, No. 72 Squadron was initially equipped with the Gloucester Gladiator. Re-equipped with the Spitfire in 1938, No. 72 Squadron played a significant role at both Dunkirk and in the Battle of Britain from bases around England. The Squadron deployed to the Middle East in 1942, equipped with Mk V and subsequently Mk IX Spitfires, seeing action in the Western Desert, Maltese, Sicilian and Italian campaigns and finally the invasion of Southern France. A brief spell as part of the occupying forces of Austria was followed by a second disbandment in December 1946. The following year No. 72 Squadron re-formed as a fighter squadron flying the Vampire, then Meteor and finally Javelin aircraft from Odiham, North Weald, Church Fenton and Leconfield. A change of role occurred in 1961 with a return to Odiham to re-equip with the Bristol Belvedere medium-lift helicopter. The unit was then converted to the Westland Wessex in 1964. They saw service in support of the Army throughout the UK and on deployments around the world including Cyprus, the Middle and Far East. With the increase in tension in Northern Ireland the Squadron was deployed to the Province in 1969, initially as a detachment and subsequently, in November 1981, as a resident squadron. From November 1991 the Puma helicopter joined the Squadron alongside the Wessex. No. 72 Squadron went on to become the squadron to spend the longest period on continuous operations flying the Wessex until disbandment, after 33 years in the Province, in 2002. The Squadron was immediately reformed in July 2002 as No. 72 (Reserve) Squadron, operating the Tucano T.Mk.1 as part of No 1 Flying Training School at Royal Air Force Linton-on-Ouse. After 85 years the Squadron returned to its original role, training the fighter pilots of the future. No. 72 (Reserve) Squadron is now the only Royal Air Force Squadron carrying out Basic Fast Jet Training.