No. 1 Wing RAF
Encyclopedia
Number 1 Wing of the Royal Air Force
was a wing
of aircraft squadrons which was originally established as the First Wing of the Royal Flying Corps
.
who had been appointed a few days earlier.
The 1st Wing was assigned to the support of the 1st Army in France. The wing saw action on the Western Front
, including at the Battle of Aubers Ridge
.http://www.1914-1918.net/BATTLES/bat11_aubers/bat.htm. It was stood down on 5 March 1919.http://www.rafweb.org/Wings1.htm
on 15 May 1919. The wing was subsequently disbanded and was not re-established for the second time until 1 January 1926 which it acted as an Army Co-operation unit, controlling No. 4 Squadron and No. 13 Squadron whilst itself being subordinate to 7 Group RAF
. This establishment was short-lived and the wing was stood down on 12 April 1926. The next period of the wing's existence came in 1937. On 23 September 1937 the wing was re-created, this time controlling No. 209 Squadron
and No. 210 Squadron
which acted in the general reconnaissance role during the Spanish Civil War
. Specifically, the wing was part of an Anglo-French force charged with countering submarine attacks on neutral shipping. The wing was disestablished later that year on 15 December 1937.http://www.rafweb.org/Wings1.htm
.
Royal Air Force
The 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...
was a wing
Wing (air force unit)
Wing is a term used by different military aviation forces for a unit of command. The terms wing, group or Staffel are used for different-sized units from one country or service to another....
of aircraft squadrons which was originally established as the First Wing of the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
.
World War I
By November 1914 the Flying Corps had significantly expanded and it was felt necessary to create organizational units which would control collections of squadrons. Accordingly, the First Wing and the Second Wing were established. These two wings came into existence on 29 November 1914 and were the earliest RFC numbered wings to be formed. The wing's first commander was Hugh TrenchardHugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard GCB OM GCVO DSO was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force...
who had been appointed a few days earlier.
The 1st Wing was assigned to the support of the 1st Army in France. The wing saw action on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
, including at the Battle of Aubers Ridge
Second Battle of Artois
The Second Battle of Artois, of which the British contribution was the Battle of Aubers Ridge, was a battle on the Western Front of the First World War, it was fought at the same time as the Second Battle of Ypres. Even though the French under General Philippe Pétain gained some initial victories,...
.http://www.1914-1918.net/BATTLES/bat11_aubers/bat.htm. It was stood down on 5 March 1919.http://www.rafweb.org/Wings1.htm
Inter-war activity
During the years between the First and Second World Wars, No. 1 Wing was re-established and disestablished several times for several purposes. Only two months after its disbandment, the wing was re-established at YatesburyYatesbury
Yatesbury is a village adjacent to Cherhill, 1 mile north of the A4 road between Calne and Marlborough in Wiltshire, England. Yatesbury forms part of The Oldbury Benefice, which comprises the five parishes of Cherhill, Compton Bassett, Heddington, Calstone Wellington and Yatesbury.-RAF...
on 15 May 1919. The wing was subsequently disbanded and was not re-established for the second time until 1 January 1926 which it acted as an Army Co-operation unit, controlling No. 4 Squadron and No. 13 Squadron whilst itself being subordinate to 7 Group RAF
No. 7 Group RAF
Number 7 Group of the Royal Air Force was an RAF group active in the latter part of World War I, during the 1920s and also in World War II.-Organizational history:...
. This establishment was short-lived and the wing was stood down on 12 April 1926. The next period of the wing's existence came in 1937. On 23 September 1937 the wing was re-created, this time controlling No. 209 Squadron
No. 209 Squadron RAF
No. 209 Squadron of the British Royal Air Force was originally formed from a nucleus of "Naval Eight" on 1 February 1917 at Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, France, as No. 9 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service and saw active service in both World Wars, the Korean War and in Malaya...
and No. 210 Squadron
No. 210 Squadron RAF
No. 210 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit established in World War I. Disbanded and reformed a number of times in the ensuing years, it operated as a fighter squadron during World War I and as a maritime patrol squadron during the Spanish Civil War, World War II and the Cold War before it was...
which acted in the general reconnaissance role during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. Specifically, the wing was part of an Anglo-French force charged with countering submarine attacks on neutral shipping. The wing was disestablished later that year on 15 December 1937.http://www.rafweb.org/Wings1.htm
World War II
No. 1 Wing was re-established once more just before the outbreak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Commanders
- 19 November 1914 Lieutenant-Colonel H M TrenchardHugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount TrenchardMarshal of the Royal Air Force Hugh Montague Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard GCB OM GCVO DSO was a British officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Air Force...
- 10 May 1915 Lieutenant-Colonel E B Ashmore
- 1 November 1915 Lieutenant-Colonel J H W BeckeJohn BeckeBrigadier-General John Harold Whitworth Becke CMG DSO AFC was an infantry officer in the Second Boer War and commander in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. He transferred to the RAF on its creation on 1 April 1918 as a temporary Brigadier-General...
- List incomplete
- Late 1917 Lieutenant-Colonel T W C Carthew
- List incomplete
- 5 December 1917 Lieutenant-Colonel E L GossageLeslie GossageAir Marshal Sir Ernest Leslie Gossage KCB, CVO, DSO, MC . He was a former artillery officer who become a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps and later a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War...
- January 1919 Lieutenant-Colonel C F A PortalCharles Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of HungerfordMarshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford KG GCB OM DSO & Bar MC was a senior Royal Air Force officer and an advocate of strategic bombing...
- 5 December 1917 Lieutenant-Colonel E L Gossage
- List incomplete