§ Mr. Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of Royal Air Force squadrons engaged in the air defence of the United Kingdom and the number of aircraft in each squadron in(a) 1965, (b) 1975 and (c) 1985. [17425]
§ Mr. SoamesAs of 31 March in 1965 and 1985 the squadrons and operational aircraft strengths were as follows:
1965 1985 19 Squadron 12 5 Squadron 12 23 Squadron 12 11 Squadron 12 56 Squadron 14 right">29 Squadron 15 64 Squadron 1— 43 Squadron 17 74 Squadron 12 56 Squadron 13 92 Squadron 12 74 Squadron 14 111 Squadron 1 111 Squadron 16 Total 63 99 1 No. 64 Squadron had no operational aircraft on strength in the UK. It is understood that they were deployed to the far east. Individual figures for squadrons are not available for 1975. The overall strength of operational air defence aircraft on 31 March 1975 was 85 aircraft.