No. 664 Squadron AAC
664 Squadron AAC is a squadron of the British Army's Army Air Corps. It was formerly No. 664 Squadron, a Royal Air Force air observation post squadron associated with the Canadian 1st Army during the Second World War and later part of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. Numbers 651 to 663 Squadrons of the RAF were air observation post units working closely with British Army units in artillery spotting and liaison. A further three of these squadrons, 664–666, were manned with Canadian personnel. Their duties and squadron numbers were transferred to the Army with the formation of the Army Air Corps on 1 September 1957.
History
Royal Canadian Air Force
No. 664 Squadron was formed on 9 December 1944 at RAF Andover as an air observation post squadron associated with the Canadian 1st Army. The pilots were officers recruited from the Royal Canadian Artillery and trained to fly at No. 22 Elementary Flying Training School RAF, RAF Cambridge, further developing advanced flying skills at No. 43 Operational Training Unit RAF, RAF Andover. The first commanding officer was Major Dave Ely, RCA; the operational commanding officer was Major D.W. Blyth, RCA. The original members of the modified 664 Squadron were: Maj D. Blyth, Capt Mike Henderson, Capt Ron Ingle, Capt John Duncom, Capt Brownie Culver, Capt Reg Fuller, Capt Doug Russell and Mr Larry Debank. In England the squadron operated under the overall control of No. 70 Group, RAF Fighter Command; prior to deployment to the European continent, the squadron was transferred to No. 84 Group, Second Tactical Air Force.In January 1945, the squadron was deployed to RAF Penshurst, deploying to the Netherlands in March 1945. The squadron flew its first operational sortie over the enemy front in the Netherlands on 22 March 1945. The principal aircraft flown in action was the Taylorcraft Auster Mk. IV and V. After V-E Day on 8 May 1945, the squadron was tasked with flying mail and passengers for First Canadian Army. The squadron continued flying like duties for the Canadian Army Occupation Force until the spring of 1946. 664 Squadron RCAF, was disbanded on 31 May 1946 at Rostrup, Denmark.
Although the squadron's trained aircrew observers performed yeoman service in aerial action against the enemy, aircrew associations across Canada did not grant membership to AOP observers, as those aircrew were not officially issued with cloth wings during the war
The squadron's motto was :Latin - Vae Viso, its identification symbol was: An archer kneeling in a sinister position, his bow fully drawn, its identification symbol was AW and ROD.
Post-war RAuxAF
As the number was not transferred to the Canadian authorities, it was revived post-war when the squadron was reformed as part of the RAuxAF on 1 September 1949 at RAF Hucknall. Equipped with Auster aircraft, the squadron was based at:- RAF Hucknall
- RAF Ouston
- RAF Desford
- Yeadon Aerodrome
| From | To | Aircraft | Variant |
| December 1944 | May 1946 | Taylorcraft Auster | IV |
| December 1944 | May 1946 | Auster | V |
| September 1949 | October 1951 | Auster | V |
| September 1949 | February 1957 | Auster | AOP.6 |
The squadron was reformed in Minden as 664 Squadron of 4 Regiment, Army Air Corps in 1969.
Army Air Corps
664 Aviation Squadron AAC was formed from the air troops of the parachute battalions of 16 Parachute Brigade and based at Jersey Brow hangar at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough. In 1971 it was renamed 664 Parachute Squadron AAC. When the brigade was disbanded the Squadron reverted to being known as 664 Aviation Squadron AAC.It was disbanded during March 1978 to be reformed from 658 Squadron on 1 April 1978.
- Minden | 1981-1983
- Minden | 1983-1990
- Detmold | 1990-1994
- Dishforth | 1994 - 2006
- Wattisham | 2006–present