Squadron history shows that navies preserve institutional memory in different ways. Since regaining and reorganizing its aviation squadrons in 1933, the Royal Navy has assigned weight to a unit's history and considered that legacy when choosing which numbers to reactivate. The US Navy more readily creates or retires squadrons within a carrier-air-group structure, making long-lived identities such as the Jolly Rogers conspicuous exceptions. French, Soviet, and Imperial Japanese practice followed other systems. Japan's contemporary approach cannot yet be judged from limited carrier operations.
Notable Point · 38:25-40:43
How navies preserve or replace aviation squadron identities
Royal Navy aviation treats squadron lineage as an institutional asset, while the US Navy has more often organized continuity around carrier air groups.