View source for 336th Bomber Squadron

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name= 336th Bomber Squadron
|native_name={{lang|el|336 Μοίρα Βομβαρδισμού}}
| image= 336 MB.png
| image_size = 100
|caption= The badge of 336 Bomber Sq.
|dates= 25 February 1943–
|country= {{flag|Greece}}
|branch= [[Hellenic Air Force]]
|type=
|role= Bomber
|size=
|command_structure= [[116th Combat Wing (HAF)|116th Combat Wing]]
|current_commander=
|garrison= [[Araxos Air Base]]
|garrison_label=
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|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|nickname=
|patron=
|motto=fly low hit hard
|colors=
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|anniversaries=
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<!-- Insignia -->
|identification_symbol=
|identification_symbol_label= Squadron Badge heraldry
|identification_symbol_2=
|identification_symbol_2_label= Squadron Codes
}}
The '''336th Bomber Squadron''' ({{langx|el|336 Μοίρα Βομβαρδισμού}}, 336 MB), [[callsign]] "[[Mount Olympus|Olympus]]", is the second oldest [[Squadron (aviation)|squadron]] in service with the [[Hellenic Air Force]], forming part of the [[116th Combat Wing (HAF)|116th Combat Wing]]. It is based at [[Araxos]] Air Base in the [[Peloponnese]], and operates the [[F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16 Block 52 Advanced]] aircraft.

==History==
===Foundation and service in World War II===
After the [[Battle of Greece|fall of Greece]] to the German ''[[Wehrmacht]]'', the [[Greek government in exile]] established Greek armed forces to fight alongside the Allies in the Middle East. By 1942, two Greek squadrons, the [[13th Light Bomber Squadron]] and the [[335th Squadron (HAF)|335th Fighter Squadron]], were operating under British command. Their good service record and the existence of sufficient numbers of Greek pilots, newly graduated from aviation schools in [[Rhodesia]], led to the establishment of a third squadron.

{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=No. 336 (Greek) Squadron RAF
| image= 336RHAF.png
|caption= The emblem of the 336 Squadron in World War II
|dates= 25 February 1943 – 31 July 1945
|country= {{flagicon|UK}} [[United Kingdom]]
|allegiance= {{GRE}}
|branch= [[Image:Ensign of the Royal Air Force.svg|23px]] [[Royal Air Force]]
|type=
|role= Fighter squadron
|size=
|command_structure= [[RAF Fighter Command]]
|motto={{lang|el|Αμύνεσθαι περί πάτρης}}<br>("Defend the Fatherland")
|identification_symbol=No official RAF badge awarded
|identification_symbol_label= Squadron Badge heraldry
}}
The '''336th Royal Hellenic Pursuit Squadron''' ({{lang|el|336 Βασιλική Ελληνική Μοίρα Διώξεως, 336 Β.Ε.Μ.Δ.}}), designated within the British [[Royal Air Force]] as '''No 336 (Greek) Squadron''', was established on 25 February 1943 at LG 219.<ref name=RAF>{{cite web|url=http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn330-352.htm|title=RAF Squadron Histories|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723131046/http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn330-352.htm|archive-date=23 July 2008}}</ref> Equipped with 21 [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricane]] Mk IIc aircraft and under the command of [[Flight Lieutenant]] Spyridon Diamantopoulos, it counted many veteran pilots from 335 Squadron in its ranks.<ref>''The Desert Squadrons'', p. 73</ref> This allowed the unit to quickly begin operations: its first combat mission was carried out on 1 March,<ref name=Desert74>''The Desert Squadrons'', p. 74</ref> and the unit was declared operational on 11 April.<ref name=HAF>{{cite web|url=https://www.haf.gr/structure/ata/116pm/336m/|title=336 Μοίρα Βομβαρδισμού|work=Hellenic Air Force website|language=Greek|access-date=2023-05-29}}</ref> It was subsequently employed in shipping protection and air defence duties along the Libyan coast, as well as fighter sweeps. The squadron received its first six [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]] Mk Vc aircraft on 12 October, and over the month of November it participated in several Allied raids against [[Crete]]. Although successful, these missions involved great danger from the German air defence and the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'', and resulted in several losses.<ref name=Desert74/> By March 1944, the unit had been completely re-equipped with Spitfires, and on 15 September, the squadron was moved along with its [[335th Bomber Squadron (HAF)|sister unit]] to the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian theatre]], from where it carried out operations primarily over [[occupied Yugoslavia]].<ref>''The Desert Squadrons'', p. 75</ref>

In November the Greek squadrons returned to liberated Greece, where they were engaged in operations from the [[Ellinikon International Airport|Ellinikon airfield]] against the remaining German garrisons in the Aegean islands and [[Crete]].<ref name=HAF/> In May 1945, the squadron moved to Sedes airfield near [[Thessaloniki]], where, on 31 July 1945, the squadron was disbanded from the RAF and transferred to Greek control.<ref name=RAF/>

===Post-war history===
[[Image:HAFm F-104 Olympus 1.jpg|thumb|F-104G Starfighter painted in the special "Olympus" scheme for the type's decommissioning from 336 Squadron.]]
Subsequently, 336 Squadron took part in the air operations of the [[Greek Civil War]] (1946–49). In February 1949 it was rebased to [[Larissa]] under the [[110th Combat Wing (HAF)|110th Combat Wing]]. In August, the squadron was equipped with the [[United States|US]]-made [[Curtiss SB2C Helldiver]] [[dive bomber]]s, being redesignated as the '''336th Light Bomber Squadron''' ({{lang|el|336 Μοίρα Ελαφρού Βομβαρδισμού}}). In 1953 it was equipped with [[Republic F-84 Thunderjet]]s and redesignated '''336th Fighter-Bomber Squadron''' ({{lang|el|336 Μοίρα Διώξεως-Βομβαρδισμού}}).<ref name=HAF/> On 28 December 1953, the squadron was transferred to [[111th Combat Wing (HAF)|111th Combat Wing]] at [[Nea Anchialos]], where it received the new [[Republic F-84F Thunderstreak]] in 1958. Redeployed again to Larissa in March 1959, it was transferred to 116th Combat Wing in December 1962.<ref name=HAF/> On 25 September 1963 it was redesignated as a Strike Squadron (Μοίρα Κρούσης) as a reflection of its new role.

On 15 January 1965 the squadron was partially equipped with the new [[Lockheed F-104 Starfighter|Lockheed F-104G Starfighter]] fighters, and the F-104 section moved to the [[114th Combat Wing (HAF)|114th Combat Wing]] at [[Tanagra]], while the remainder of the squadron, still equipped with the F-84F, remained at Araxos.<ref name=HAF/> In August, the F-84F-equipped section was designated as the 349 Fighter-Bomber Squadron, before being transferred to Larissa in November 1966. In December, the F-104G-equipped 336 Squadron returned from Tanagra to Araxos, where it remains to this day. The squadron would continue to fly the Starfighter until March 1993, following which the squadron was equipped with the [[Vought A-7 Corsair|Vought A-7E Corsair]] (from a batch of 62 handed over by the US Air Force as surplus following the [[Gulf War|First Gulf War]]), and established in its present form as the 336 Bomber Squadron on 3 April 1993. Since 2007 it was the last squadron in the world flying the A-7 Corsair II.<ref name=HAF/>

The A-7 was finally withdrawn from service on 17 October 2014, and replaced with the  [[F-16 Fighting Falcon|F-16 Block 52 Advanced]].<ref name=HAF/>

Four F-16s from the squadron participated in Exercise Tarang Shakti Phase II of the Indian Air Force that was held from 30 August to 16 September 2024. The jets along with 2 [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules]] landed at [[Jodhpur Airport|Jodhpur airbase]] on 29 August 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-29 |title=Greece makes first fighter jet landing in India ahead of Tarang Shakti Phase 2 |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/india/story/first-greek-fighter-hellenic-forces-jet-lands-on-indian-soil-as-tarang-shakti-phase-2-jodhpur-2590095-2024-08-29 |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-29 |title=Phase Two Of Tarang Shakti Takes Flight In Jodhpur |url=https://bharatshakti.in/phase-two-of-tarang-shakti-takes-flight-in-jodhpur/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Bharat Shakti |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918–1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. {{ISBN|0-85130-164-9}}.
* Jefford, C.G. ''RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). {{ISBN|1-85310-053-6}}.
* Rawlings, John D.R. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's (Publishers) Ltd., 1969 (2nd edition 1976). {{ISBN|0-354-01028-X}}.
* {{cite book |url=http://www.haf.gr/el/articles/pdf/desert_squadrons.pdf |title= Οι Μοίρες της Ερήμου ("The Desert Squadrons")|work=Hellenic Air Force website |publisher=Panhellenic Association of Air Force Veterans |date = November 2004|language=el }}
* {{cite web| last = Daloumis | first = Ilias | title = Το Hawker Hurricane στην Ελληνική Αεροπορία ("Hawker Hurricane in the Hellenic Air Force") | work = Hellenic Wings website | url = http://koti.welho.com/msolanak/HAFHawkerHurricane.html | access-date = 27 July 2008 | language = el | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080622151400/http://koti.welho.com/msolanak/HAFHawkerHurricane.html | archive-date = 22 June 2008 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://www.haf.gr/en/structure/units/ata/units/116pm.asp#336 336 Bomber Squadron | Hellenic Air Force website][https://web.archive.org/web/20070617085113/http://www.haf.gr/en/structure/units/ata/units/116pm.asp (Archived)]<span lang="en" dir="ltr">(English)</span>
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100304101439/http://www.raf.mod.uk/history/336squadron.cfm RAF – 336 Squadron]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080723131046/http://www.rafweb.org/Sqn330-352.htm Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation: Nos. 330–352 Squadron Histories]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090507181450/http://www.rafweb.org/SqnMark331-360.htm#336 336 Squadron markings in British service]
* HAF Video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rvk3vlPNHE Tribute to the 80th Anniversary of the founding of 336 SQ]<small><span lang="el" dir="ltr">(Greek)</span></small>

{{Hellenic Air Force squadrons}}
{{Greece during World War II}}
{{RAF Squadrons}}

[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1943]]
[[Category:Military units and formations of Greece in World War II]]
[[Category:Squadrons of the Hellenic Air Force]]