No. 9 Group RAF
Encyclopedia
History
No. 9 Group RAF was first formed on 1 April 1918 in No. 2 Area. The next month it was transferred to South-Western Area and then disbanded on 15 May 1919.Its next incarnation was as part of Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command
RAF 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...
. As 1940 wore on, the need for another Group headquarters to control fighter operations became more and more apparent. No. 9 Group was formed in September 1940 to cover north-west England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. It was based at Samlesbury Aerodrome
Samlesbury Aerodrome
Samlesbury Aerodrome is a disused airfield at Balderstone near Samlesbury, in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire. The aerodrome is owned by defence company BAE Systems which uses the site for manufacturing of several aircraft types...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, which eventually had three runways, and was the site of an English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...
factory building Handley Page Hampden
Handley Page Hampden
The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a British twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the Second World War. With the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane...
and Handley Page Halifax
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
bombers.
No 9 Group itself flew Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
s and Airspeed Oxford
Airspeed Oxford
The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery during the Second World War.-Design and development:...
s from Samlesbury Aerodrome
Samlesbury Aerodrome
Samlesbury Aerodrome is a disused airfield at Balderstone near Samlesbury, in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire. The aerodrome is owned by defence company BAE Systems which uses the site for manufacturing of several aircraft types...
. But it had a relative short lifespan, and was absorbed four years later into No. 12 Group
No. 12 Group RAF
No. 12 Group of the Royal Air Force was a command organization that exisited over two separate periods, namely the end of World War I when it had a training function and from just prior to World War II until the early 1960s when it was tasked with an air defence role.No. 12 Group was first formed...
on 15 September 1944.
1940 to 1944
- 16 September 1940 Air Vice-MarshalAir Vice-MarshalAir vice-marshal is a two-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in...
W A McClaughryWilfred McClaughryAir Vice-Marshal Wilfred Ashton McClaughry CB DSO MC DFC was a senior Royal Air Force officer who commanded British Forces Aden.-RAF career:... - April 1942 Air Vice-Marshal L H SlatterLeonard SlatterAir Marshal Sir Leonard Horatio Slatter KBE, CB, DSC & Bar, DFC, RAF was a naval aviator during World War I and a senior Royal Air Force commander during World War II. Slatter ended his career as the commander-in-chief of Coastal Command.-Early life and World War I:Slatter was born in Durban,...
- 26 June 1942 Air Vice-Marshal W F DicksonWilliam Dickson (RAF officer)Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir William Forster Dickson GCB, KBE, DSO, AFC was a Royal Naval Air Service aviator during World War I, an middle-ranking Royal Air Force officer during the inter-war years and a senior Royal Air Force commander during and after World War II...
- 1942 Air CommodoreAir CommodoreAir commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
C R SteeleCharles SteeleAir Marshal Sir Charles Ronald Steele KCB DFC was a Royal Air Force officer who became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Coastal Command.-RAF career:...
(Temporary appointment) - 10 November 1942 Air Vice-Marshal J W JonesJohn Whitworth-JonesAir Chief Marshal Sir John Whitworth-Jones GBE, KCB, RAF was a World War I pilot and senior Royal Air Force commander during World War II...
- 2 July 1943 Air Vice-Marshal L N HollinghurstLeslie Norman HollinghurstAir Chief Marshal Sir Leslie Norman Hollinghurst GBE, KCB, DFC , was a British First World War Flying Ace who later became an Air Chief Marshal in the RAF.-Involvement in the First World War:...
- 6 November 1943 Air Commodore C A Stevens (Temporary appointment)
- 7 December 1943 Air Vice-Marshal D F Stevenson