IMHO the rot set in when we started declaring what we had for years been happy to give reserve squadron numbers to what had previously been squadrons at OCU's, TWU's, BFT's and METS (and the like).
The thought of 45(R) Sqn going to "war" in their King Airs or 72(R) Squadron with their Tucanos is just a joke......
If all of the second/third line "squadrons" at Cranwell, Valley, Linton, Shawbury and the like were left out just how many proper squadrons would we have left? Talk about massaging the numbers to prevent revelations of the sad truth is that the RAF like the Emperor, in the fable, hasn't got any clothes to wear...
MB
Last edited by Madbob; 22nd Nov 2013 at 16:37.