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No. 80 Wing RAF

former military unit of the Royal Air Force

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 20, 2026
Entity authorityQ24885056 ↗
Source-derived summary

No. 80 Wing RAF was a unit of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during both World Wars and briefly in the 1950s. In the last months of World War I it controlled RAF and Australian Flying Corps (AFC) fighter squadrons. It was reformed in 1940 to operate electronic countermeasures in the Battle of the Beams.

First World War

No. 80 Wing was formed at Serny, Pas-de-Calais, on 1 July 1918, as an Army Wing of squadrons equipped with scout (fighter) aircraft. From 26 June, it was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Louis Strange.

The wing specialised in large-scale raids against airfields belonging to the Imperial German Air Service (Luftstreitkräfte ).

Its subordinate squadrons were:

2 Squadron AFC, Australian Flying Corps

4 Squadron AFC, Australian Flying Corps

46 Squadron RAF

54 Squadron RAF

88 Squadron RAF

92 Squadron RAF

103 Squadron RAF

No. 80 Wing was disbanded on 1 March 1919.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “No. 80 Wing RAF” as former military unit of the Royal Air Force. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1940, 1918, 1919—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1918-07-01. The account is most persuasive where Wing, former and military can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as former military unit of the Royal Air Force. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q24885056. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1940, 1918 and 1919.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “No. 80 Wing RAF”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow No. 80 Wing RAF primary sources, No. 80 Wing RAF archive and Wing research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “No. 80 Wing RAF”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “No. 80 Wing RAF” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.