335th Squadron ( HAF ) The 335th Squadron ( , 335 M ) , callsign " Tigers " , is the oldest squadron in service with the Hellenic Air Force . It is based at Araxos Air Base in the Peloponnese , forming part of the 116th Combat Wing . Until March 2008 , the squadron was equipped with the A - 7H Corsair , and is operating with 30 newly purchased F - 16 Block 52 + aircraft . History . Foundation and World War II . In April 1941 , the German " Wehrmacht " overran Greece . The Greek government under King George II fled to Allied - controlled Egypt , were it began to establish expatriate Greek Armed Forces . These were formed out of personnel that had been evacuated from Greece or fled to the Middle East during the Occupation , and were equipped and organised along British lines , coming under British command . They had also been formed from Greeks who migrated to Egypt or were born in Egypt before the War . The squadron was formed as the 335th Royal Hellenic Pursuit Squadron ( 335 Βασιλική Ελληνική Μοίρα Διώξεως , 335 Β . Ε . Μ . Δ . ) , designated within the British Royal Air Force as No 335 ( Greek ) Squadron , on 10 October 1941 at Aqir airfield in Palestine . Its first commander was Squadron Leader Xenophon Varvaressos , and the personnel was provided from a core of Greek pilots who were undergoing training in Iraq , augmented by others who had fled from Greece . Initially it was equipped with Hurricane Mk I aircraft , and employed while training in defensive duties until January 1942 . Subsequently the squadron was transferred to El Daba in Egypt , where it was declared as fully operational on 12 February 1942 . The squadron began operations over the Western Desert , where it operated continuously until late 1942 , participating in convoy protection , bomber escort and ground attack roles . Between June and September 1942 , it was re - equipped with Hurricane IIBs . Under Squadron Leader Ioannis Kellas , the squadron participated in the air operations of the Second Battle of El Alamein ; on 28 October 1942 , the second anniversary of the Italian invasion of Greece , the squadron organized a strafing attack on the Italian XX Corps headquarters , an operation that was a huge morale booster for the expatriate Greeks . In the aftermath of the Allied victory , the squadron returned to shipping protection duties , while being outfitted with the newer Spitfire Mk Vb and Vc aircraft from December 1943 onwards . On 15 September , the squadron was moved along with its sister unit to the Italian theatre , from where it carried out operations primarily over occupied Yugoslavia . In November the Greek squadrons returned to liberated Greece , where they were engaged in operations against the remaining German garrisons in the Aegean islands and Crete . On 31 July 1945 , the squadron was disbanded from the RAF and transferred to Greek control . The motto of the 335 Squadron " Αίεν Υψικρατείν " ( " Always dominate the Heights " ) is now the official motto of the Hellenic Air Force . Post - war history . Following the hand - over , the squadron was deployed to Sedes Air Base near Thessaloniki . From there , after the outbreak of the Greek Civil War , the squadron participated in operations against the Communist guerrillas . In June 1947 it was equipped with Spitfires Mk IX and XVI , which were retained until October 1953 , when the squadron , now based at Elefsis , was equipped with jet aircraft : the US - made F - 84 Thunderjet fighter - bomber s and RT - 33A reconnaissance aircraft . The redesignated 335th Fighter - Bomber Squadron ( 335 Μοίρα Διώξεως - Βομβαρδισμού ) came under the 111th Combat Wing at Nea Anchialos until September 1957 , when it redeployed to 110th Combat Wing at Larissa , where it was equipped with F - 84F jets . In November 1960 , the squadron was transferred to Tanagra and assigned to ground strike duties as the 335th Strike Squadron ( 335 Μοίρα Κρούσης ) , where it remained until its transfer to Araxos in June 1977 . In May 1965 the squadron was equipped with the F - 104G , and would continue flying the Starfighters until May 1992 . In December 1987 the squadron received 10 RF - 104 aircraft and formed a separate Photoreconnaissance Flight . These aircraft remained in service until the type was decommissioned in May 1992 . On 3 April 1993 , the squadron was established as the 335th Bomber Squadron ( 335 Μοίρα Βομβαρδισμού ) , flying the A - 7H Corsair , from a batch of 62 aircraft handed over by the US Air Force as surplus following the First Gulf War . The squadron operated the aircraft until 2008 , when it began receiving new F - 16 Block 52 + " Advanced " aircraft . Converted to a multirole squadron , it became operational with the type in February 2010 .