[1] Originally formed in 1916[1] as part of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC), the squadron saw action during the First and Second World Wars with fighter aircraft, but was disbanded in 1969.

[5] On 1 July 1916, its commanding officer, Major (later Group Captain) Lionel Rees, was engaged in a combat with eight German Albatros two-seater aircraft, and although wounded in the leg, managed to scatter the German aircraft, driving down two of the enemy, for which action he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

[5][6] The squadron continued to fly patrols over the Western Front, including over the Somme and Arras battlefields, for a year before beginning to re-equip with the Airco DH.5, specialising in ground attack missions.

These in turn began to be replaced by the S.E.5a in December 1917, which were flown for the rest of the war on fighter and ground attack missions.

Equipped in succession with Armstrong Whitworth Siskins, Bristol Bulldogs, and Gloster Gauntlets, the squadron received the Hawker Hurricane I in October 1938.

[9] Following Operation Torch, the Anglo-American invasion of North Africa, in December 1942, the squadron deployed with its Hurricanes to Algeria, converting to the Supermarine Spitfire by July 1943.

In January 1957, the squadron converted to the English Electric Canberra B.2[1][12] bombers at RAF Weston Zoyland, flying these from Cyprus, remaining there until disbanding on 3 February 1969.

[13] 32 Squadron acquired four Hawker Siddeley HS.125 CC1 (military aircraft registration numbers XW788 to XW791) business jets in 1971,[14] these were Viper powered -400B series.

[23] Following a review by the MOD, in 2004, the squadron's aircraft lost their distinctive livery inherited from The Queen's Flight, featuring red flying surfaces.

[28] On 16 March 2015, the squadron's final BAe 125 returned from operations in Afghanistan, and the type's retirement from the RAF was brought forward due to defence budget cuts.

[29] Of the final four operational aircraft, three were put up for sale by the Ministry of Defence,[4] and one (ZD621) was placed on permanent display as a gate guardian at RAF Northolt.

[31] On 30 November 2015, a single AgustaWestland AW109SP GrandNew[1] (military aircraft registration number GZ100)[32] was delivered to the squadron to replace the unit's earlier AW109E (ZR322),[33] which was withdrawn the following year.

[34] On 11 October 2017, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced that Her Majesty The Queen had approved the award of Battle Honours 'Iraq 2003–2011' and 'Libya 2011', both without the right to emblazon, to the squadron.

[37] Shortly before, in February 2022, Defence Equipment and Support (DES) announced that the four aircraft would be replaced by two Dassault Falcon 900LX.

[38] One of the BAe 146-100s (ZE701) has been retired to the British Airliner Collection at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, the other (ZE700) joined South Wales Aviation Museum (SWAM) at St Athan in March 2022.

[40] In August 2023, it was announced that the Rotary Wing Command Support Air Transport contract, which provides the Squadron's AgustaWestland AW109SP GrandNew, would not be renewed and would end on 30 September 2023.