RAF Fighter Command
Fighter Command | |
---|---|
Sir Sholto Douglas | |
Aircraft flown | |
Fighter | Hawker Hurricane Supermarine Spitfire Gloster Meteor Hawker Hunter English Electric Lightning |
RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940, when the Few held off the Luftwaffe attack on Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when it was disbanded and the RAF fighter force was split into two categories; defence and attack. The defensive force became Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) and the offensive force became the RAF Second Tactical Air Force. Air Defence of Great Britain was renamed back to Fighter Command in October 1944 and continued to provide defensive patrols around Great Britain.[2] It was disbanded for the second time in 1968, when it was subsumed into the new Strike Command.
Origins
On 20 May 1926, the forerunner of Fighter Command was established as a
Second World War
Battle of Britain
Over the next few years, the Command expanded greatly and replaced its obsolete
1941 air offensive
By May 1941, the squadrons based at all the main fighter airfields operated in wings, under the tactical control of the new post of
The advantages enjoyed by Fighter Command during the
The Blitz of 1940 continued against civilian and industrial targets. Fighter Command night defences improved considerably in the new year; the Bristol Beaufighter supplanted the Bristol Blenheim as the principal night fighter, equipped with improved Airborne Interception radar and became increasingly effective in ground-controlled interception (GCI). More anti-aircraft guns and searchlights were fitted with radar sets, which improved accuracy. Luftwaffe losses mounted from 28 in January 1941 to 124 in May, when transfers of German bomber units to eastern Europe for the forthcoming Operation Barbarossa ended the Blitz in May 1941.
1942–45
The difficult task of slowly grinding down the Germans continued into 1942 and 1943. Squadrons also found themselves on tiring defensive patrols as small formations of Fw 190s flew 'hit and run' nuisance raids all along the south coast and the
By the autumn of 1942, the arrival of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 8th Air Force and its daylight bombers would add bomber escort to Fighter Command's tasks. Until American Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter groups were operational in May 1943, the Command's Spitfires performed a vital role in protecting the increasing numbers of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators operating over Occupied Europe. The Spitfire's chronic lack of operational range – not entirely unlike the Bf 109E's similar dilemma during the Battle of Britain – however meant such protection was limited to the Channel and the European coast.
In February 1944, Fighter Command was split into the Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB), the former name of Fighter Command, to defend Britain and the Second Tactical Air Force to support ground forces after the invasion of Europe.[9] The same year, No. 14 Group RAF (established 26 June 1940) was disestablished, on 15 July. In 1944 ADGB made the greatest effort in its history during Operation Overlord, the invasion of France which began on 6 June 1944. RAF and Allied fighter units suppressed the meagre German air opposition and supported ground forces by strafing German positions and transport. Later in the year, the final test of ADGB (renamed Fighter Command in October 1944) in the war occurred against the V-1 flying bomb during Operation Crossbow.[10] RAF fighters also flew long-range night intruder operations against German airfields and aircraft (e.g., at take-off/landing) at the time the Luftwaffe night fighters would be scrambled against RAF Bomber Command (see Operation Hydra).[11]
In January 1945, the command included 10, 11, 12 and 13 Groups, plus
Royal Observer Corps
As a direct result of their efforts during the Battle of Britain the
With their headquarters at RAF Bentley Priory, the ROC remained administered by Fighter Command until 31 March 1968, when responsibility was handed over to the newly formed RAF Strike Command.
The ROC was a defence warning organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 1925 and 31 December 1995, when it was stood down. Initially established for an aircraft recognition and reporting role that lasted through both world wars, the organisation switched to a Cold War nuclear reporting role during the 1950s. The 10,500 ROC volunteers were trained and administered by a small cadre of 69 uniformed full-time professional officers under the command of a serving RAF Air Commodore.
Cold War years
In the aftermath of World War II, the role of Fighter Command was still to protect the UK from air attack. Only the threat had changed, from Germany to the Soviet Union. The Cold War saw the threat of Soviet bombers attacking the United Kingdom loom large. A Canadian fighter wing, No. 1 Wing, arrived at RAF North Luffenham in late 1951 to bolster NATO's strength, and was in a position to assist Fighter Command until it relocated to bases in France and West Germany in 1954–55.[15] After 1949, those Soviet bombers could be carrying nuclear weapons, and so intercepting them was crucial if the United Kingdom was to be saved during a war. A long succession of fighter aircraft saw service with Fighter Command during the 1950s and 1960s. Particularly notable types were the Gloster Meteor, Hawker Hunter, Gloster Javelin and the English Electric Lightning.
The Lightning was the only purely British supersonic aircraft to enter service. That was due to a disastrous defence review in 1957. During the mid-1950s, the performance of the new surface to air missiles was improving at an enormous rate.
In 1961, RAF Fighter Command was assigned to NATO's air defence system. On 1 May, Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Fighter Command, Air Marshal Sir Hector McGregor assumed the additional title of Commander United Kingdom Air Defence Region.[16] The ADR itself stretched some hundreds of miles to the north, west and south of the country and almost to the continental coastline in the east.[17]
In organisational terms, Nos
Strike Command
As the 1960s dawned, the RAF continued to shrink. The three functional commands, Fighter Command, Bomber Command, and Coastal Command had all been formed in 1936 to help command an expanding RAF. It was now becoming clear that the RAF was simply becoming too small to justify their continued existence as separate entities. Consequently, in 1968, Fighter Command and Bomber Command were joined together to form Strike Command, both becoming groups within the new command.[19] Coastal Command was disbanded and subsumed into the new Strike Command in November 1969.[20]
Air Officers Commanding-in-Chief
From | To | Name |
---|---|---|
14 July 1936 | 25 November 1940 | Hugh Dowding
|
25 November 1940 | 28 November 1942 | Sholto Douglas
|
28 November 1942 | 15 November 1943 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory |
15 November 1943 | 14 May 1945 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Roderic Hill |
14 May 1945 | 17 November 1947 | Air Chief Marshal Sir James Robb |
17 November 1947 | 19 April 1949 | Air Chief Marshal Sir William Elliot |
19 April 1949 | 7 April 1953 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Basil Embry |
7 April 1953 | 1 January 1956 | MRAF Sir Dermot Boyle |
1 January 1956 | 8 August 1956 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Hubert Patch |
8 August 1956 | 30 July 1959 | MRAF Sir Thomas Pike |
30 July 1959 | 18 May 1962 | Air Marshal Sir Hector McGregor |
18 May 1962 | 3 March 1966 | Air Marshal Sir Douglas Morris |
3 March 1966 | 30 April 1968 | Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Rosier |
See also
References
Notes
- ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
- ^ Franks 1998, p. 7.
- ^ 'The JG 26 War Diary' (Volume 1), Caldwell (1996) page 199.
- ^ Franks 1998, pp. 56–62.
- ^ a b Weal 1996, p. 26.
- ^ Franks 1998, p. 56-62.
- ^ Delve 2007, p. 73.
- ^ The JG 26 War Diary (Volume 1), Caldwell (1996)
- ISBN 9781910415672.
- ISBN 9781910415672.
- ^ Irving 1964, pp. 214, 249.
- ^ https://usacac.army.mil/sites/default/files/documents/carl/nafziger/945BARB.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Air of Authority, List of Groups 70 - 106, accessed September 2020.
- ^ 'Fighter Command' Chaz Bowyer, 1980
- ^ Rawlings 1984, p. 204.
- ^ "British Military Aviation in 1961". Archived from the original on 21 November 2008.
- ^ Flight International, UK Air Defence Region, 27 June 1974, p.840
- ^ "Groups 10-19_U".
- ^ Delve 1994, pp. 98–99.
- ISBN 1-85260-345-3.
- ^ Rawlings 1978, p. 522.
Bibliography
- Austin, A.B. Fighter Command. London: Victor Gollancz, 1941.
- Bowyer, Chaz. RAF Fighter Command, 1936–1968. BCA/J.M. Dent, 1980. ISBN 0-460-04388-9.
- Delve, Ken. Fighter Command 1936–1968: An Operational and Historical Record. Pen & Sword Aviation, 2007. ISBN 1-84415-613-3.
- Delve, Ken. The Source Book of the RAF. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 1994. ISBN 1-85310-451-5.
- Franks, Norman L.R. RAF Fighter Command, 1936–1968. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., 1992. ISBN 1-85260-344-5.
- Franks, Norman L.R. Royal Air Force Losses of the Second World War, Volume 2. Operational Losses: Aircraft and crews, 1942–1943. London: Midland Publishing Limited, 1998. ISBN 1-85780-075-3.
- Franks, Norman L.R. Royal Air Force Losses of the Second World War, Volume 3. Operational Losses: Aircraft and crews, 1944–1945 (Incorporating Air Defence Great Britain and 2nd TAF). London: Midland Publishing Limited, 1998. ISBN 1-85780-093-1.
- Irving, David (1964). The Mare's Nest. London: William Kimber and Co.
- James, T.C.G. and Sebastian Cox. Growth of Fighter Command, 1936–1940: v. 1: Air Defence of Great Britain: v. 1 (Royal Air Force Official Histories). Routledge, 2001. ISBN 0-7146-5118-4.
- Jefford, C.G. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1998 (second edition 2001). ISBN 1-84037-141-2.
- Rawlings, John D. R. (1978) [1969]. Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft (2nd rev. ed.). London: Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN 0-354-01028-X.
- Rawlings, John D. R. (1984). The History of the Royal Air Force. Feltham: Temple Press Aerospace. ISBN 978-0-600-34990-7.
- Wykeham, Peter. Fighter Command. London: Putnam, 1960.