It most recently operated the Raytheon Sentinel R1 Airborne STand-Off Radar (ASTOR) aircraft from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, between April 2004 until March 2021.

[2][3] First formed in July 1913, the squadron served throughout the First World War, holding the distinction of gaining the first loss and kill for the Royal Flying Corps.

5 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed at Farnborough, Hampshire, on 26 July 1913,[4] from members of No.

[5] The squadron moved to Netheravon on 28 May, Fort Grange, Gosport on 6 July then Swingate Down on 14 August.

V Squadron deployed to France on 15 August 1914, equipped with a variety of aircraft types to implement reconnaissance for the British Expeditionary Force (BEF).

V Squadron became the first unit in the RFC to shoot down an enemy aircraft with gunfire when Lt. Wilson and Lt. Rabagliati shot down a German Etrich Taube near Le Cateau-Cambrésis.

5 Squadron standardised on the Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2, specialising as observers for artillery, re-equipping with the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 in May 1917, and working closely with the Canadian Corps, through to the end of the war and into 1919, when it moved into Germany as part of the Army of Occupation.

[13] (Its association with the Canadian Corps led to the incorporation of a maple leaf in the squadron's badge when it was approved in June 1937).

V Squadron became tasked with escorting Bristol Blenheim bombers over north west Burma.

5 Squadron converted to Hawker Tempest F.2 in February 1946, but disbanded on 1 August 1947 due to the Partition of India.

[10] The squadron was reformed at RAF Wunstorf, West Germany, on 1 March 1952, and were equipped with the de Havilland Vampire F.5.

[14] On 20 January 1959, the squadron was reformed as a night fighter unit at RAF Laarbruch, West Germany, flying the Gloster Meteor NF.11.

[23] Between 6 and 25 October 1967, the squadron deployed to RAF Luqa, Malta, with nine Lightning F.6s and a single Lighting T.5 for an Air Defence Exercise (ADEX) against Avro Vulcan B.2s of No.

Long-distance route proving with the new overwing tanks had taken place previously in 1968 with a limited non stop deployment to RAF Muharraq in Bahrain.

[20] On 8 September 1970, the squadron lost Lightning F.6 XS894 when it crashed near Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, killing the pilot USAF Capt.

V (F) Squadron deployed two Lighting F.3s, seven Lightning F.6s and a single two-seat T.5 to RAF Luqa between 18 November and 13 December 1974, as part of Exercise Sunfinder alongside Avro Shackleton AEW.2s of No.

V (AC) Squadron put up a nine-ship of Lightning F.6s to mark the type's impending withdrawal after 22 years of service.

[20] The last Lightnings were withdrawn by December 1987,[18] with the squadron relocating to RAF Coningsby in preparation for the Panavia Tornado F.3.

29 (F) Squadron) to be deployed as part the UK's contribution to the Gulf War, with the first six Tornado F.3s arriving on 11 August at Dhahran Airfield, Saudi Arabia.

[29] Between 1993 and 1995, the squadron helped enforce the no-fly zone over Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of Operation Deny Flight.

[39][40] On 25 January 2013, a Sentinel R1 deployed to Dakar-Ouakam Air Base, Senegal, to assist with France's Operation Serval in Mali.

[42] On 18 May 2014, the squadron deployed a Sentinel to Kotoka International Airport, Ghana, in order to assist with searching for 223 schoolgirls who had been kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria.

5 (AC) Squadron sent a single Sentinel R.1 to Exercise Red Flag 15–1 at Nellis AFB, Nevada,[45] between 26 January and 13 February 2015.

5 (AC) Squadron deployed two Sentinel R1s to RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus, in support of Operation Shader.