  no 3 (f) squadron of the royal air force operates the typhoon f2, fgr4 and t3 from raf coningsby, lincolnshire. no 3 (f) squadron, which celebrated its 100th anniversary (as one of the three founder squadrons of the royal flying corps) over the weekend of 11â13 may 2012, is unique in the raf for having two official badges. the main badge is the cockatrice on a monolith ('chicken on a brick'). then there is the ground crew (aircraft engineers) badge having three vertical monoliths and two 'capping' monoliths ('the wickets'), representing the association of larkhill with stonehenge. the reasons for this distinction are hotly debated. ==history== ===foundation and first world war=== no 3 squadron (royal flying corps) was formed at larkhill on 13 may 1912 by the renaming of no. 2 (aeroplane)company of the air battalion royal engineers, under the command of major hrm brooke-popham. being already equipped with aeroplanes and manned by pilots and air mechanics, no. 2 (aeroplane)company was thus the first british, empire or commonwealth independent military unit to operate heavier-than-air flying machines, hence the 3 squadron motto tertius primus erit, meaning "the third shall be the first". on 5 july 1912, two members of the squadron, captain eustace loraine and staff sergeant wilson were killed in an aircraft crash making them the first rfc fatalities. in 1913, no 3 squadron deployed to halton in buckinghamshire to support the land manoeuvres of the household division. a temporary airfield was set up on what later became raf halton's maitland parade square. during the exercise, no 3 squadron flew a number of reconnaissance sorties and staged the first confrontation between an airship and an aeroplane.finn, c. j. et al. (2004). air publication 3003 â a brief history of the royal air force. p. 331. hmso. sent to france on the outbreak of the great war first world war, the squadron initially operated in the reconnaissance role using a variety of aircraft types. th
1912_establishments_in_the_United_Kingdom Military_units_and_formations_established_in_1912 RAF_squadrons_involved_in_the_Battle_of_Britain Royal_Air_Force_aircraft_squadrons Royal_Flying_Corps_squadrons