List of Royal Air Force commands
Encyclopedia
This is a list of Royal Air Force Commands, both past and present.
Although the concept of a command
dates back to the foundation of the Royal Air Force, the term command (as the name of a formation) was first used in purely RAF-context in 1936 when Bomber Command, Fighter Command, Coastal Command and Training Command were formed. Since that time the RAF has made considerable use of the term. Until early 2007, the RAF had two commands, Strike Command and Personnel and Training Command, which were co-located at RAF High Wycombe. On 1 April 2007, the two were merged to form the present Air Command.
Although the concept of a command
Command (military formation)
A command in military terminology is an organisational unit that the individual in Military command has responsibility for. A Commander will normally be specifically appointed into the role in order to provide a legal framework for the authority bestowed...
dates back to the foundation of the Royal Air Force, the term command (as the name of a formation) was first used in purely RAF-context in 1936 when Bomber Command, Fighter Command, Coastal Command and Training Command were formed. Since that time the RAF has made considerable use of the term. Until early 2007, the RAF had two commands, Strike Command and Personnel and Training Command, which were co-located at RAF High Wycombe. On 1 April 2007, the two were merged to form the present Air Command.
- Aden CommandBritish Forces AdenBritish Forces Aden was the name given to the British Armed Forces stationed in the Aden Protectorate during part of the 20th century. Their purpose was to preserve the security of the Protectorate from both internal threats and external aggression.-History:...
- Air CommandRAF Air CommandAir Command is the only Command currently active in the Royal Air Force. It was formed by the merger of Royal Air Force Strike and Personnel and Training Commands on 1 April 2007, and has its headquarters at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire....
(2007 - ) - Air Command Far East (1946 - 1949)
- Air Command South East Asia
- Air Support CommandRAF Air Support CommandAir Support Command of the Royal Air Force was formed on 1 August 1967 by the redesignation of Transport Command. Its change of name reflected the change of emphasis of the Command from merely transporting materials and men around the world to providing general support to RAF operations around the...
(1967 – 1972) - Army Cooperation CommandRAF Army Cooperation CommandRAF Army Cooperation Command was a short-lived major command of the Royal Air Force during World War II, comprising the army cooperation units of the RAF.The command was formed on 1 December 1940 when No...
(1940 - 1943) - Balloon CommandRAF Balloon CommandBalloon Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling all the United Kingdom-based barrage balloon units during World War II.- History :...
(1938 - 1945) - Bomber CommandRAF Bomber CommandRAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
(1936 – 1968) - Coastal CommandRAF Coastal CommandRAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...
(1936 – 1969) - Eastern Air Command - formed on the basis of No 333 (Special Operations) Group, November 1942.
- Far East Air Force (1943 - 1971)
- Ferry CommandRAF Ferry CommandThe RAF Ferry Command had a short life, but it spawned, in part, an organisation that lasted well beyond the war years during which it was formed.-History:...
(1941 - 1943) - Fighter CommandRAF Fighter CommandRAF Fighter Command was one of three functional 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, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when...
(1936 – 1968) - Flying Training CommandRAF Flying Training CommandFlying Training Command was an organization within the Royal Air Force which controlled units responsible for delivering flying training. The command's headquarters were at Shinfield Park, Reading in Berkshire.-History:...
(1940 - 1968) - Home CommandRAF Home CommandRAF Home Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for the maintenance and training of reserve organisations from formation on 1 February 1939 as RAF Reserve Command with interruptions until it ceased to exist on 1 April 1959.-History:...
(1950-1959) - Iraq CommandRAF Iraq CommandIraq Command was the RAF commanded inter-service command in charge of British forces in Iraq in the 1920s and early 1930s, during the period of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. It continued as British Forces in Iraq until 1941 when it was replaced by AHQ Iraq...
(1922-1932) - Joint Helicopter CommandJoint Helicopter CommandJoint Helicopter Command is a tri-service organisation uniting military helicopters of the British Armed Forces for command and coordination purposes...
(1999 - ) - Under British ArmyBritish ArmyThe British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
command - Logistics CommandRAF Logistics CommandThe Royal Air Force's Logistics Command was a command formed to provide logistics support for the RAF.-History:The Command was formed on 1 April 1994 and its role was to provide logistics support to the RAF...
(1994 – 1999) - Maintenance CommandRAF Maintenance CommandRAF Maintenance Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling maintenance for all the United Kingdom-based units from formation on 1 April 1938 until being renamed RAF Support Command on 31 August 1973.- History :...
- Mediterranean Air CommandMediterranean Air CommandThe Mediterranean Air Command was the official Allied air force command organization in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations between February 18 and December 10, 1943. MAC was commanded by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder whose headquarters were established next to those...
- Near East Air ForceNear East Air Force (Royal Air Force)The former Royal Air Force Near East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Near East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the Western Mediterranean .-History:...
- Middle East CommandRAF Middle East CommandMiddle East Command was a command of the Royal Air Force formed on December 29, 1941 by renaming Headquarters RAF Middle East. During the early part of the Second World War the Command was one of the three major British service commands in the Middle East, the others being the British Army's...
- Personnel and Training CommandRAF Personnel and Training CommandPersonnel and Training Command was one of two commands of the Royal Air Force that were merged to form Air Command on 1 April 2007.- Formation :...
(1994 - 2007) - Reserve CommandRAF Home CommandRAF Home Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for the maintenance and training of reserve organisations from formation on 1 February 1939 as RAF Reserve Command with interruptions until it ceased to exist on 1 April 1959.-History:...
(1939-1940; 1946-1950) - Signals CommandRAF Signals CommandSignals Command was the RAF's command responsible for control of signals units from 1958 to 1969. It was based at RAF Medmenham near Marlow, Buckinghamshire.-History:The Command was formed on 3 November 1958 by raising No. 90 Group to Command status...
(1958 – 1969) - Strike CommandRAF Strike CommandThe Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007: it was merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air Command. It latterly consisted of two formations - No. 1...
(1968 - 2007) - Support CommandRAF Support Command-History:It was formed on 31 August 1973 by the renaming of Maintenance Command, with No. 90 Group being added to it. Its responsibilities included all logistical and maintenance support requirements of the RAF...
(1973 - 1994) - Technical Training CommandRAF Technical Training CommandTechnical Training Command was an organization within the Royal Air Force which controlled units responsible for delivering aircraft maintenance training and other non-flying training, initially in Berkshire then in Cambridgeshire.-History:...
(1940 - 1968) - Training CommandRAF Training CommandTraining Command was the RAF's command responsible for flying and ground training from 1936 to 1940 and again from 1968 to 1977.-History:Training Command was formed from Inland Area on 1 May 1936 and absorbed into RAF Support Command on 13 June 1977...
(1936 - 1977) - Transport CommandRAF Transport CommandRAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 1967.-History:...
(1943 - 1967)
- Air Defence of Great BritainAir Defence of Great BritainThe Air Defence of Great Britain was a RAF command comprising substantial Army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles...
- Advanced Air Striking ForceRAF Advanced Air Striking ForceBefore the Second World War it had been agreed between the United Kingdom and France that in case of war, the light bomber force of the Royal Air Force would move to bases within France from which it could operate against targets in Nazi Germany. To achieve this, the RAF Advanced Air Striking Force...
- British Air Forces in France
- No. 1 Area
- No. 2 Area
- No. 3 Area
- No. 4 Area
- No. 5 Area
- Training Division
- Coastal AreaRAF Coastal AreaRAF Coastal Area was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1919, it was to act as the RAFs premier maritime arm. It was replaced by RAF Coastal Command on 14 July 1936.-See also:*RAF station*List of Royal Air Force commands...
- Central Area
- North Eastern Area
- North Western Area
- Northern Area
- South Eastern Area
- South Western Area
- Southern Area
- Western Area
- RAF Bengal and Burma
- RAF Burma
- RAF GermanyRoyal Air Force GermanyThe former Royal Air Force Germany was a command of the Royal Air Force and part of British Forces Germany, consisting of those units located in Germany initially as part of the occupation following World War II, and later as part of the RAF's commitment to the defence of Europe during the Cold...
- RAF GibraltarRAF GibraltarRoyal Air Force Station Gibraltar, better known as RAF Gibraltar and formally as North Front, is a Royal Air Force station on Gibraltar. No military aircraft are currently stationed there, but there are regular visits...
- RAF Iceland
- RAF in Northern Ireland
- RAF India
- RAF Iraq
- RAF Ireland
- RAF Mediterranean
- RAF Mediterranean and Middle EastNear East Air Force (Royal Air Force)The former Royal Air Force Near East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Near East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the Western Mediterranean .-History:...
- RAF Middle East
- RAF RhineRAF RhineRAF Rhine was the name of the Royal Air Force command that comprised units posted to Germany in 1918 as part of the occupying forces following World War I. The RAF presence in Germany was wound down to a single squadron by 1920 and RAF Rhine was disbanded....
- First Tactical Air Force (Desert Air Force)
- Second Tactical Air ForceRAF Second Tactical Air ForceThe former RAF Second Tactical Air Force was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force during and after the Second World War...
- Third Tactical Air ForceRAF Third Tactical Air ForceThe RAF Third Tactical Air Force , which was formed in South Asia in December 1943, was one of three tactical air forces formed by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF and the air forces of the British Commonwealth...
- Allied Expeditionary Air ForceAllied Expeditionary Air ForceThe Allied Expeditionary Air Force was a component of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force which controlled the tactical air power of the Allied forces during Operation Overlord.Its effectiveness was less than optimal on two counts...
- Balkan Air Force
- Far East Air Force (Royal Air Force)
- Mediterranean Allied Air ForcesMediterranean Allied Air ForcesThe Mediterranean Allied Air Forces was the major Allied air force command organization in the Mediterranean theater from mid-December 1943 until the end of the Second World War.-Formation:...
- Mediterranean Allied Coastal Air Force
- Mediterranean Allied Strategic Air Force
- Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force
- Mediterranean Coastal Air Force
- Middle East Air ForceNear East Air Force (Royal Air Force)The former Royal Air Force Near East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Near East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the Western Mediterranean .-History:...
- Near East Air ForceNear East Air Force (Royal Air Force)The former Royal Air Force Near East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Near East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the Western Mediterranean .-History:...
- Northwest African Coastal Air ForceNorthwest African Coastal Air ForceThe Northwest African Coastal Air Force was a sub-command of the Northwest African Air Forces which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command...
- Northwest African Tactical Air ForceNorthwest African Tactical Air ForceThe Northwest African Tactical Air Force was a sub-command of the Northwest African Air Forces which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command...
- Northwest African Strategic Air ForceNorthwest African Strategic Air ForceThe Northwest African Strategic Air Force was a sub-command of the Northwest African Air Forces which itself was a sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command...
See also
- Command (military formation)Command (military formation)A command in military terminology is an organisational unit that the individual in Military command has responsibility for. A Commander will normally be specifically appointed into the role in order to provide a legal framework for the authority bestowed...
- Royal Air ForceRoyal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
- British Armed ForcesBritish Armed ForcesThe British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...