 no. 30 squadron of the royal air force operates the second generation c-130j hercules from raf brize norton, oxfordshire. the squadron operates alongside no. 24 squadron and no. 47 squadron all flying the hercules. ==history== ===first world war=== no 30 squadron was formed for service in egypt in october 1914 at farnborough, but was not allocated the squadron number 30 until 24 march 1915. initially a single flight of be2s at ismailia airfield. however, the first aircrews from the squadron to see action were a separate flight, provided by the australian flying corps (afc). in early 1915, the australian government received a request for assistance for air support from the british government of india. the afc was still in its infancy and could only provide enough aircrews and ground staff for half a flight. all aircraft were to be provided by the indian government. captain henry petre was appointed commander, before the half-flight sailed for bombay. the australians were augmented by personnel from the indian army and new zealand. on 20 april, the half-flight left india for mesopotamia (iraq) to provide air support to indian and british troops during the mesopotamian campaign against the ottoman empire (turkey). the unit was commonly known in australia as the "mesopotamian half flight" (or "australian half-flight"). upon its arrival in basra on 26 may, the half-flight took delivery of two maurice farman shorthorns and a maurice farman longhorn. these three biplanes were of a "pusher" design, so-called because the propeller faced backwards, behind the cockpit and were already obsolete. in particular, they were not suitable for desert conditions: their top speed was only 50&nbsp;mph (80&nbsp;km/h), while the wind (known locally as the shamal) often reached 80&nbsp;mph (129&nbsp;km/h). secondly, the warmer air reduced aerodynamic lift, rendering the farmans unable to take off on some occasions. in addition, the longhorn was a second-hand aircraft with persistent mechanical problems, meaning that it spent many ours undergoing maintenance. nevertheless, the half-flight was immediately put to use on reconnaissance missions. shortly afterwards, the indian army captured the town of amarah, and the half-flight moved t
1915_establishments_in_the_United_Kingdom Military_of_British_Ceylon Military_units_and_formations_established_in_1915 Royal_Air_Force_aircraft_squadrons