No. 673 Squadron AAC

WWII glider squadron

No. 673 Squadron AAC No. 673 Squadron RAF
Active	1 January 1945 – 25 October 1945 (RAF) April 1996 - December 2020 June 2022 - present
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Size	35 permanent staff, 12 Students
Part of	7 (Training) Regiment Army Air Corps, AAC Middle Wallop
Commanders
Colonel of the Regiment	The Prince of Wales
Insignia
Identification symbol
Aircraft flown
Attack helicopter	Boeing AH64E Apache

Military unit

No. 673 Squadron AAC is a squadron of the British Army's Army Air Corps. It was formerly No. 674 Squadron RAF, a glider squadron of the Royal Air Force, active during the Second World War within British India.

History

No. 673 Squadron was formed at Bikram, Patna in (then) British India on 1 January 1945^[1] as a glider squadron, with the intention of being used for airborne operations by South East Asia Command. It continued to train, as part of No. 344 Wing RAF, until the surrender of Japan, when it became surplus to requirements; the squadron was disbanded on 25 October 1945 at Kargi Road.^[1]

Army Air Corps

No. 673 Squadron AAC was formed at AAC Middle Wallop, on 1 April 2009 the squadron joined 7 Regiment AAC (Flying).^[2] It was disbanded on 11 December 2020, and was reformed on 8 June 2022 with the arrival of 2 new AH-64E Apache Guardians arrived.^[3]

Aircraft operated

Aircraft operated by **No. 673 Squadron RAF**^[1] and 673 Squadron Army Air Corps
From	To	Aircraft	Variant
January 1945	September 1945	Waco Hadrian
January 1945	September 1945	de Havilland Tiger Moth	Mk.II
April 1996	2024	AgustaWestland Apache	AH1
2024	present	Boeing AH-64 Apache	AH64E

Squadron bases

Bases and airfields used by **No. 673 Squadron RAF**^[1]^[4]
From	To	Base
27 January 1945	19 February 1945	Bikram, Bihar, British India
19 February 1945	10 April 1945	Belgaum, Karnataka, British India
10 April 1945	26 August 1945	Bikram, Bihar, British India
26 August 1945	16 September 1945	Tilda, Chhattisgarh, British India
16 September 1945	25 October 1945	Kargi Road, Chhattisgarh, British India

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Halley 1988, p. 452.
^ "673 (AH Training) Squadron AAC". British Army units from 1945 on. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
^ "673sq is back!". Scramble.nl. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
^ Jefford 2001, pp. 266–271.

Bibliography

Halley, James J. (1988). The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-164-9.
Jefford, C.G. (2001). RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912 (2nd ed.). Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.

External links

Army Aviation Centre - 7 (Training) Regiment

Army Air Corps (units)

Airfields

Regular
units

Brigades	1st Aviation Brigade Combat Team
1 Regiment	No. 651 Squadron AAC No. 652 Squadron AAC No. 659 Squadron AAC No. 661 Squadron AAC
3 Regiment	HQ Squadron No. 653 Squadron AAC No. 662 Squadron AAC No. 663 Squadron AAC
4 Regiment	No. 656 Squadron AAC No. 664 Squadron AAC
5 Regiment	No. 665 Squadron AAC No. 29 (BATUS) Flight AAC (Alberta, Canada)

Army reserve units

6 Regiment	No. 675 (The Rifles) Squadron AAC No. 677 (Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry) Squadron AAC No. 678 (The Rifles) Squadron AAC No. 679 (The Duke of Connaught's) Squadron AAC

Training
units

2 (Training) Regiment	No. 668 (Training) Squadron AAC No. 676 Squadron AAC
7 (Training) Regiment	No. 671 Squadron AAC No. 673 Squadron AAC
9 Regiment	No. 670 Squadron AAC