80 Years Special Tail Lithograph

Description

Official high resolution 80 Years special tail Lithograph. Ultra Fine print, manually signed by our Squadron Commander. Design: Johan Wolfs.

Format: A3 – 29,7cm x 42cm
Matte, 350g/m2 Ultra White paper

No 350 (F) Squadron was born in Valley, UK on the 12th of November 1941 as the first Belgian Fighter Squadron of the Royal Air Force and later on in the Belgian Air Force. Alternating between stepdown and active periods from numerous RAF locations in the UK and on the continent, No 350 (F) Squadron participated in the majority of the RAF operations including Dieppe, Normandy, France, Belgium and Germany. While during these campaigns No 350 (F) Squadron predominantly engaged in an Air Defence role, achieving numerous confirmed air-to-air victories, the Squadron also distinguished itself in an air-to-ground role. The long war produced an exceptional fighter spirit and can-do attitude that is still present in our culture today. As post-war tensions cascaded into the Cold War, No 350 (F) Squadron was once more first in line and permanently in alert to protect Belgian and NATO territory against a possible Soviet attack. As from the 1990’s and equipped with the mighty Viper or F-16 Fighting Falcon, No 350 (F) Squadron successfully reconverted into a multirole Squadron. Combined with the end of the Cold War this transformation entailed the beginning of almost three decennia of expeditionary operations in a myriad theatres all over the world. From 1997 until 2001, No 350 (F) Squadron deployed in the Balkans under Operation Decisive Endeavour, Deliberate Guard, and Allied Force demonstrating once again its Air Defence expertise. In 2004 the Squadron engaged for the first time in the recurrent NATO Baltic Air Policing deployments, a perpetual and still ongoing peacetime mission with shared responsibility across the Alliance yet also a vivid reminder of the Cold War era. One year later No 350 (F) Squadron deployed in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force – ISAF. Ever since, the Middle Eastern theatre has been the Squadron’s main area of operations, including combat sorties over Libya, protecting the country’s civilian population as part of Operation Unified Protector in 2011, and overthrowing DAESH in Iraq and Syria as from 2014 on the front lines of the recurrent and still ongoing Operation Inherent Resolve. For more than 80 years, No 350 (F) Squadron has demonstrated to be permanently ready to deploy in complex hostile environments with a fighter spirit that is as much alive now as it was in 1941. La Chasse!