3 (Fighter) Squadron, of the Royal Air Force operates the Eurofighter Typhoon FGR.4 from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, since reforming on 1 April 2006.

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.

[5] In late 1913, the squadron carried out trials in the use of machine guns from aircraft, which eventually resulted in the selection of the Lewis gun for use by the RFC and from early in 1914 carried out trials in airborne photography, helping to develop the cameras that would be used by the RFC in the First World War.

[7][9] In December 1914, the squadron started to receive Morane-Saulnier L parasol-wing aircraft, and was almost solely equipped with the Morane Parasol by April 1915.

[17][18] There were nine flying aces among its ranks, including Douglas John Bell, George R. Riley, Will Hubbard, Adrian Franklyn, Hazel LeRoy Wallace, Lloyd Hamilton, David Hughes, Neil Smuts and William H Maxted.

[2] It was immediately reformed the next day at RAF Leuchars, Scotland, as a naval observation squadron equipped with the Airco DH.9A, receiving the Westland Walrus and Avro Bison.

[17][18] It reformed as a fighter squadron with Snipes a year later on 1 April 1924, operating a succession of different types, based in the UK, including the Gloster Gladiator.

[18] At the start of the Second World War No 3 Squadron was posted as part of Fighter Command to RAF Station Biggin Hill equipped with the Hawker Hurricane.

[21] In June 1941 No 3 Squadron moved from Martlesham Heath to RAF Stapleford Tawney operating four-cannon Hurricane IIs in 'Rhubarb' attacks on defended ground targets and shipping in northern France and Belgium.

It re-equipped in March 1944 with the new Hawker Tempest fighter, operating over the Normandy beach-head and against German V1 flying bombs, claiming 288 V-1s shot down.

Canadair Sabre F.4s and Hawker Hunter F.4s replaced the Vampires during the 1950s, followed by Gloster Javelin FAW.4s and then a conversion onto English Electric Canberra B(I).8 bombers.

3 (F) Squadron deployed to Southern Italy to take part in Operation Ellamy over Libya in support of UN Security Council Resolution 1973.

[30] Between April and August 2017, four Eurofighter Typhoons of the squadron were deployed to the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, Romania as part of Operation Biloxi.