No. 216 Group was a command of the Royal Air Force

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...

 (RAF) during World War II

World 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...

 established on May 21, 1942. The group was renamed No. 216 (Air Transport and Ferry) Group on September 9, 1942 and placed under the command of Air Commodore Whitney Straight

Whitney Straight

Air Commodore Whitney Willard Straight CBE, MC, DFC was a Grand Prix motor racing driver, aviator, businessman, and a member of the prominent Whitney family of the United States....

 the following day.

No. 216 Group became a major sub-command of the Mediterranean Air Command

Mediterranean Air Command

The 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...

 that was created at the Casablanca Conference in January of 1943.Army Air Forces Historical Office Headquarters, Participation of the Ninth & Twelfth Air Forces in the Sicilian Campaign, Army Air Forces Historical Study No. 37, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, 1945. On March 25, 1943, No. 216 Group also became a sub-command of the newly created Transport Command, an umbrella organization of all British transport units worldwide under the command of Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Bowhill

Frederick Bowhill

Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick William Bowhill, GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO & Bar was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force before and during World War II.-RAF career:...

. The group was sometimes aided by British Overseas Airways Corporation

British Overseas Airways Corporation

The British Overseas Airways Corporation was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974. The company started life with a merger between Imperial Airways Ltd. and British Airways Ltd...

 in the receiving, preparing, and dispatching of aircraft reinforcements into the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations

Mediterranean Theater of Operations

The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army was originally called North African Theater of Operations and is an American term for the conflict that took place between the Allies and Axis Powers in North Africa and Italy during World War II...

. The components of No. 216 Group at the time of the Allied invasion of Sicily

Allied invasion of Sicily

The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...

 (Operation Husky) on July 10, 1943 are indicated below.


No. 216 (Air Transport and Ferry) Group
Air Commodore Whitney Straight

Whitney Straight

Air Commodore Whitney Willard Straight CBE, MC, DFC was a Grand Prix motor racing driver, aviator, businessman, and a member of the prominent Whitney family of the United States....

Order of Battle, July 10, 1943

Units	Aircraft
No. 17 Squadron (SAAF)	Junkers 52
No. 28 Squadron (SAAF)	Anson
No. 117 Squadron No. 117 Squadron RAF No. 117 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron formed to be a bomber unit in World War I and reformed as a transport and communications unit in World War II.-Formation and World War I:...  (RAF)	Hudson
No. 173 Squadron No. 173 Squadron RAF No. 173 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron that was a communications unit in World War II.-Formation in World War II:The squadron formed on 9 July 1942 at Heliopolis, Egypt and equipped with the Hawker Audax and it went on to operate many other types of aircraft...  (RAF)	Lodestar, Proctor, Hurricane
No. 216 Squadron No. 216 Squadron RAF No. 216 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Lockheed Tristar K1, KC1 and C2 from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.- History :216 Squadron was formed at RAF Manston by re-numbering No. 16 Squadron RNAS when the RAF was established in 1918, hence it is always spoken of as 'two-sixteen Squadron'...  (RAF)	C-47 Dakota
No. 230 Squadron No. 230 Squadron RAF No. 230 Squadron is an RAF squadron, currently based at RAF Benson.The squadron was part of Royal Air Force Germany, operating the Puma HC.1 there from 1980. Following the drawdown at the end of the Cold War, the squadron disbanded on 30 April 1992...  (RAF)	Sunderland
No. 267 Squadron No. 267 Squadron RAF No. 267 Squadron RAF was a unit of the Royal Air Force that served during World War I & World War II. The squadron has been formed a total of four times.The squadron was formed at RAF Kalafrana, Malta on 27 September 1918 from Nos... (RAF)	Hudson

No. 216 (Air Transport and Ferry) Group was disbanded on October 26, 1946.