War II it was equipped with Avro Lincoln bombers, an update of the Lancaster. Based at RAF Upwood, the Lincoln was for several years the front line cold war bomber aircraft. It was used in the Malayan emergency, the Middle East, the Trucial States (the Emirates) and then Aden. The squadron disbanded on 2 January 1956 before reforming with the Vickers Valiant at RAF Honington in Suffolk in December that year, flying them in the Strategic Bomber role until disbanding in 1962. 7 Squadron was eventually reformed in 1970, this time as a target squadron flying the English Electric Canberra until January 1982. The squadron reformed in the Support Helicopter role, receiving Chinooks HC.1s in September 1982. The Chinook HC.2, equivalent to the US Army CH-47D standard, began to enter RAF service in 1993. Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, 7 Squadron took part in the UK's deployment to the Gulf in 1991. On 2 June 1994, a 7 Squadron Chinook HC.2 (ZD576) crashed into the Mull of Kintyre while carrying 25 senior members of the British security forces from RAF Aldergrove, Belfast to Inverness. All passengers and the four crew were killed. In April 2001, 7 Squadron RAF became part of the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing (JSFAW) with a role to support the United Kingdom Special Forces. On 19 August 2009, a Chinook made an emergency landing in Afghanistan after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). In March 2020, the squadron was awarded the right to emblazon battle honours on its squadron standard, recognising its role in the British military intervention in Sierra Leone in 2000 and the War in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014. Aircraft operated Aircraft operated include: See also List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons References Notes Bibliography Ashworth, Chris. Encyclopedia of Modern Royal Air Force Squadrons. Wellingborough, UK:PSL, 1989. . Bowyer, Michael J.F. The Stirling Story. Manchester: Crécy Publishing, 2002. . Docherty, Tom. Bomber Squadron No.7, The World War 2 Record. Pen & Sword Aviation, 2007. . J Falconer, Bomber Command Handbook 1939–1945, 2003, Sutton Publishing, Stroud, England, . Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians), 1980. . Halley, James J. The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth, 1918–1988. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. . Jefford, Wing Commander C.G. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment