RAF Fighter Command
Encyclopedia
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 it was disbanded. The RAF fighter force was split into two categories; defence and attack. The defensive force became Air Defence Great Britain (ADGB) and the offensive force became the RAF Second Tactical Air Force
. The Air Defence of Great Britain was later renamed Fighter Command.
within Inland Area. On 1 June 1926, Fighting Area (as it was then called) was transferred to the Air Defence of Great Britain
. Fighting Area was raised to Command status in 1932 and renamed Fighter Command on 1 May 1936.
Over the next few years, the Command expanded greatly and replaced its obsolete biplane
squadrons with two of the most famous aircraft ever to fly with the RAF, the Hawker Hurricane
and the Supermarine Spitfire
. The supreme test of Fighter Command came during the summer of 1940 when the German
Luftwaffe
launched an offensive aimed at attaining air superiority over the Channel
and the UK
as a prerequisite to the launch of a seaborne invasion force (codenamed Operation Sea Lion). Fighter Command was divided into a number of Groups, each controlling a different part of the UK. 11 Group
took the brunt of the German attack, as it controlled southeast England and London
. It was reinforced by 10 Group
, which covered southwest England, 12 Group
, which covered the Midlands
and East Anglia
and 13 Group
which covered the North of England and Scotland. In the end, the Germans failed to attain air superiority, although the RAF had been eating into its reserves during the battle, as had the Luftwaffe.
from the Germans. By May 1941, the Squadrons based at all the main fighter airfields were now to operate together as integral Fighter Wings, under the tactical control of the newly created post of 'Wing Leader', invariably an experienced 1940 veteran of Wing Commander
rank. Various types of short-penetration fighter operations were tried out in a bid to draw the Luftwaffe into a war of attrition, and keep inordinate numbers of fighters tied down in France, particularly after the German attack on the Soviet Union
in June 1941. Large numbers of Spitfires were sent out with small groups of medium bombers in often vain attempts to lure the German fighters into combat. Results of these operations through 1941 were decidedly mixed, as the short range of the Spitfire precluded an overly aggressive stance, and with just two experienced Jagdgeschwader units left in Western Europe (JG 2
& JG 26
; comprising 180 fighters at most) targets were often few but dangerous. Most of the factors that had allowed Fighter Command to win the Battle of Britain
were now reversed. For example, British pilots who were shot down in 1940 and survived would be patched up and sent back to their units as quickly as possible. In 1941, over France, a shot down pilot would, as likely as not, end up a prisoner of war
. The year saw RAF Fighter Command claim some 711 Luftwaffe fighters shot down (although only 236 were lost from all causes, 103 in combat) for losses of approximately 400 RAF fighters lost. As 1941 ended, the appearance of the new FW-190
, with its obvious technical superiority over the current Spitfire Mark V, would make Fighter Command's job that much harder in 1942.
By August 1941, AOC Air Vice Marshal Sholto Douglas himself expressed doubts over the wisdom of continuing such European fighter operations. However, the Western Allies needed to emphasise their continuing support for the Soviet war effort by pressing on with high profile offensive operations such as the fighter sweeps, irrespective of their material effect on the minimal Luftwaffe presence in North Western Europe.
Parallel to the day offensive in 1941 was the ongoing night bomber attacks against the United Kingdom in January to May. By this time, until May 1941, the Luftwaffe effort was aimed against both civilian and industrial targets. Fighter Command's defences, however improved almost daily during the first six months of 1941. The Bristol Beaufighter
became the prime nightfighter
, equipped with airborne radar
, it proved ever more effective against the bombers, with the ground-based organisation that proved so efficient in 1940 now guiding the night fighters to their targets. An increasing number of anti-aircraft
guns and searchlight
s were also radar-controlled, improving accuracy. From the start of 1941, the Luftwaffe's losses mounted (from 28 in January to 124 in May). With the impending invasion of Russia requiring the movement of air power to the East, the Blitz
ended in May 1941 with Fighter Command in complete control of the night sky over the UK. This was to remain so until the end of the war.
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 started to fly 'hit and run' nuisance raids all along the South Coast, though Fighter Command's new Hawker Typhoon
units proved capable of catching these fighter-bomber interdictions. The most notable offensive battle took place over Dieppe, France when an ill-fated commando-style raid was mounted there in August 1942 (Dieppe Raid
). The Luftwaffe and RAF clashed in the skies over the French city. Although the RAF succeeded in preventing the Luftwaffe from interfering with the shipping, which was its primary aim, its perceived success was misleading. Despite claims at the time that more German aircraft than British had been shot down (106 kills were claimed by the RAF) postwar analysis showed Allied aircraft losses amounted to 106, including 88 RAF fighters and 18 bombers. Of the fighter losses 29 were from flak, one ran out of fuel, two collided, and one was a victim of friendly fire. Against this, 48 Luftwaffe aircraft were lost. Included in that total were 28 bombers, half of them Dornier Do 217
s from KG 2. One of the two Jagdgeschwader's, JG 2, lost 14 Fw 190s and eight pilots killed. JG 26 lost six Fw 190s with their pilots. Spitfire losses stood at 70 destroyed and damaged to all causes. The Spitfire squadrons (42 with Mark Vs, and four with Mark IXs) were tasked with ground-attack, escort and air-superiority missions, so the exact number of Spitfire losses to the Fw 190 is unknown. The Luftwaffe claimed 61 of the 106 RAF machines lost, which included all types (JG 2 claimed 40 and JG 26 claimed 21 kills).
1942 statistics yielded 560 claims (272 German fighters were lost from all causes) for 574 RAF day fighters destroyed.
By the autumn of 1942, the arrival of the USAAF
8th Air Force
and its daylight bombers would add bomber escort to Fighter Command's tasks. Until American P-47 Thunderbolt
fighter groups were operational in May 1943, the Command's Spitfires performed a vital role in protecting the increasing numbers of B-17's and B-24 Liberator
's operating over Occupied Europe. The Spitfire's chronic lack of operational range however meant such protection was limited to the Channel and the European coast.
In 1943, the most notable event was a very important administrative one. Fighter Command was split up into the Air Defence of Great Britain
and the Second Tactical Air Force
. As the name of the former suggests, its primary aim was defence of the UK from attack, with the latter concentrating on supporting ground forces after the eventual invasion of Europe.
1944 saw the greatest effort by the Air Defence of Great Britain in its history. Operation Overlord
, the invasion of France was launched on 6 June 1944. RAF fighters swarmed over the battle area and, along with their American counterparts, suppressed the meagre German opposition. They also directly supported ground forces by strafing enemy positions and transport. Later in the year, the final major test of Fighter Command (renamed back in October 1944) in the war occurred against the V-1 flying bomb during Operation Crossbow. RAF fighters also supported the Strategic Bombing of Operation Crossbow, such as with Long Range Intruder Operations that attacked German airfields and aircraft (e.g., at take-off/landing) at the time the Luftwaffe fighters would be scrambled against RAF Bomber Command
(see Operation Hydra).
During 1939-45, RAF Fighter Command lost 3,690 killed, 1,215 wounded and 601 POW. 4,790 aircraft were lost.
was granted the title Royal by King George VI and became a uniformed volunteer branch of the RAF from April 1941 for the remainder of its existence, retitled the Royal Observer Corps
(the ROC). The corps would continue as a civilian organisation but wearing a Royal Air Force uniform
and administered by Fighter Command.
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 sixty nine uniformed full time professional officers under the command of a serving RAF Air Commodore
.
In the aftermath of World War II, the role of Fighter Command was still to protect the UK from air attack. However, its target 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 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 Germany in 1954-55. 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
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. Duncan Sandys
, the Minister of Defence
at the time needed to find cuts in the British defence budget, since the UK was in serious danger of being bankrupted by its defence spending. The rate of improvement of surface to air missiles seemed to indicate that they would soon be able to shoot any manned aircraft out of the sky. Consequently, in an infamous statement in the 1957 Defence White Paper
the Sandys' review declared that manned aircraft were obsolescent and would soon become obsolete. All programmes for manned aircraft that were not too far along were cancelled. The Lightning was the only one of a number of new supersonic aircraft that was too far along to cancel. That decision, combined with the increasing costs of developing aircraft crippled the British aircraft industry and made Fighter Command and the RAF reliant on foreign or jointly developed aircraft.
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. 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.
, 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
, each becoming groups within the new command.
Fighter Command had only existed for 32 years, but in that time it had fought in the largest war in history and had progressed from biplanes to supersonic jets.
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...
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...
. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
. It served throughout the Second World War, gaining recognition in the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when it was disbanded. The RAF fighter force was split into two categories; defence and attack. The defensive force became Air Defence Great Britain (ADGB) and the offensive force became the RAF Second Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The 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...
. The Air Defence of Great Britain was later renamed Fighter Command.
Origins
On 20 May 1926, Fighter Command's precursor organisation was established as a groupGroup (air force unit)
A group is a military aviation unit, a component of military organization and a military formation. Usage of the terms group and wing differ from one country to another, as well as different branches of a defence force, in some cases...
within Inland Area. On 1 June 1926, Fighting Area (as it was then called) was transferred to the Air Defence of Great Britain
Air Defence of Great Britain
The Air Defence of Great Britain was a RAF command comprising substantial Army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles...
. Fighting Area was raised to Command status in 1932 and renamed Fighter Command on 1 May 1936.
Battle of Britain
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
squadrons with two of the most famous aircraft ever to fly with the RAF, the 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...
and the Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
. The supreme test of Fighter Command came during the summer of 1940 when the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
launched an offensive aimed at attaining air superiority over the Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
and the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as a prerequisite to the launch of a seaborne invasion force (codenamed Operation Sea Lion). Fighter Command was divided into a number of Groups, each controlling a different part of the UK. 11 Group
No. 11 Group RAF
No. 11 Group was a group in the Royal Air Force for various periods in the 20th century, finally disbanding in 1996. Its most famous service was during 1940 when it defended London and the south-east against the attacks of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain.-First World War:No. 11 Group was...
took the brunt of the German attack, as it controlled southeast England and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. It was reinforced by 10 Group
No. 10 Group RAF
No. 10 Group of the Royal Air Force was formed on 1 April 1918 in No. 2 Area. On 8 May of the next year it was transferred to South-Western Area. In 1919 it was transferred to Coastal Area where it remained until it was disbanded on 18 January 1932....
, which covered southwest England, 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...
, which covered the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
and East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
and 13 Group
No. 13 Group RAF
No. 13 Group was a group in the Royal Air Force for various periods in the 20th century. It is most famous for having the responsibility for defending the North of Great Britain during the Battle of Britain-World War I:...
which covered the North of England and Scotland. In the end, the Germans failed to attain air superiority, although the RAF had been eating into its reserves during the battle, as had the Luftwaffe.
1941 air offensive
As 1941 began, Fighter Command began the onerous task of winning air superiority over North Western FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
from the Germans. By May 1941, the Squadrons based at all the main fighter airfields were now to operate together as integral Fighter Wings, under the tactical control of the newly created post of 'Wing Leader', invariably an experienced 1940 veteran of Wing Commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
rank. Various types of short-penetration fighter operations were tried out in a bid to draw the Luftwaffe into a war of attrition, and keep inordinate numbers of fighters tied down in France, particularly after the German attack on the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
in June 1941. Large numbers of Spitfires were sent out with small groups of medium bombers in often vain attempts to lure the German fighters into combat. Results of these operations through 1941 were decidedly mixed, as the short range of the Spitfire precluded an overly aggressive stance, and with just two experienced Jagdgeschwader units left in Western Europe (JG 2
Jagdgeschwader 2
Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" was a World War II Luftwaffe wing. It was named after World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen.-History:...
& JG 26
Jagdgeschwader 26
Jagdgeschwader 26 Schlageter was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. It operated mainly in Western Europe against Great Britain, France the United States but also saw service against Russia. It was named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a World War I veteran and Freikorps member arrested and...
; comprising 180 fighters at most) targets were often few but dangerous. Most of the factors that had allowed Fighter Command to win the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
were now reversed. For example, British pilots who were shot down in 1940 and survived would be patched up and sent back to their units as quickly as possible. In 1941, over France, a shot down pilot would, as likely as not, end up a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
. The year saw RAF Fighter Command claim some 711 Luftwaffe fighters shot down (although only 236 were lost from all causes, 103 in combat) for losses of approximately 400 RAF fighters lost. As 1941 ended, the appearance of the new FW-190
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger was a German Second World War single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. Powered by a radial engine, the 190 had ample power and was able to lift larger loads than its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109...
, with its obvious technical superiority over the current Spitfire Mark V, would make Fighter Command's job that much harder in 1942.
By August 1941, AOC Air Vice Marshal Sholto Douglas himself expressed doubts over the wisdom of continuing such European fighter operations. However, the Western Allies needed to emphasise their continuing support for the Soviet war effort by pressing on with high profile offensive operations such as the fighter sweeps, irrespective of their material effect on the minimal Luftwaffe presence in North Western Europe.
Parallel to the day offensive in 1941 was the ongoing night bomber attacks against the United Kingdom in January to May. By this time, until May 1941, the Luftwaffe effort was aimed against both civilian and industrial targets. Fighter Command's defences, however improved almost daily during the first six months of 1941. The Bristol Beaufighter
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
became the prime nightfighter
Night fighter
A night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility...
, equipped with airborne radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, it proved ever more effective against the bombers, with the ground-based organisation that proved so efficient in 1940 now guiding the night fighters to their targets. An increasing number of anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
guns and searchlight
Searchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
s were also radar-controlled, improving accuracy. From the start of 1941, the Luftwaffe's losses mounted (from 28 in January to 124 in May). With the impending invasion of Russia requiring the movement of air power to the East, the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
ended in May 1941 with Fighter Command in complete control of the night sky over the UK. This was to remain so until the end of the war.
1942-1945
Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. While the Typhoon was designed to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, and a direct replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, several design problems were encountered, and the Typhoon never completely satisfied...
units proved capable of catching these fighter-bomber interdictions. The most notable offensive battle took place over Dieppe, France when an ill-fated commando-style raid was mounted there in August 1942 (Dieppe Raid
Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied...
). The Luftwaffe and RAF clashed in the skies over the French city. Although the RAF succeeded in preventing the Luftwaffe from interfering with the shipping, which was its primary aim, its perceived success was misleading. Despite claims at the time that more German aircraft than British had been shot down (106 kills were claimed by the RAF) postwar analysis showed Allied aircraft losses amounted to 106, including 88 RAF fighters and 18 bombers. Of the fighter losses 29 were from flak, one ran out of fuel, two collided, and one was a victim of friendly fire. Against this, 48 Luftwaffe aircraft were lost. Included in that total were 28 bombers, half of them Dornier Do 217
Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by German Luftwaffe during World War II as a more powerful version of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift . Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber, its design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940...
s from KG 2. One of the two Jagdgeschwader's, JG 2, lost 14 Fw 190s and eight pilots killed. JG 26 lost six Fw 190s with their pilots. Spitfire losses stood at 70 destroyed and damaged to all causes. The Spitfire squadrons (42 with Mark Vs, and four with Mark IXs) were tasked with ground-attack, escort and air-superiority missions, so the exact number of Spitfire losses to the Fw 190 is unknown. The Luftwaffe claimed 61 of the 106 RAF machines lost, which included all types (JG 2 claimed 40 and JG 26 claimed 21 kills).
1942 statistics yielded 560 claims (272 German fighters were lost from all causes) for 574 RAF day fighters destroyed.
By the autumn of 1942, the arrival of the USAAF
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
8th Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
and its daylight bombers would add bomber escort to Fighter Command's tasks. Until American P-47 Thunderbolt
P-47 Thunderbolt
Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...
fighter groups were operational in May 1943, the Command's Spitfires performed a vital role in protecting the increasing numbers of B-17's and B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
's operating over Occupied Europe. The Spitfire's chronic lack of operational range however meant such protection was limited to the Channel and the European coast.
In 1943, the most notable event was a very important administrative one. Fighter Command was split up into the Air Defence of Great Britain
Air Defence of Great Britain
The Air Defence of Great Britain was a RAF command comprising substantial Army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles...
and the Second Tactical Air Force
RAF Second Tactical Air Force
The 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...
. As the name of the former suggests, its primary aim was defence of the UK from attack, with the latter concentrating on supporting ground forces after the eventual invasion of Europe.
1944 saw the greatest effort by the Air Defence of Great Britain in its history. Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
, the invasion of France was launched on 6 June 1944. RAF fighters swarmed over the battle area and, along with their American counterparts, suppressed the meagre German opposition. They also directly supported ground forces by strafing enemy positions and transport. Later in the year, the final major test of Fighter Command (renamed back in October 1944) in the war occurred against the V-1 flying bomb during Operation Crossbow. RAF fighters also supported the Strategic Bombing of Operation Crossbow, such as with Long Range Intruder Operations that attacked German airfields and aircraft (e.g., at take-off/landing) at the time the Luftwaffe fighters would be scrambled against RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF 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...
(see Operation Hydra).
During 1939-45, RAF Fighter Command lost 3,690 killed, 1,215 wounded and 601 POW. 4,790 aircraft were lost.
Royal Observer Corps
As a direct result of their efforts during the Battle of Britain the Royal Observer CorpsRoyal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
was granted the title Royal by King George VI and became a uniformed volunteer branch of the RAF from April 1941 for the remainder of its existence, retitled the Royal Observer Corps
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps was a civil defence organisation operating in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down....
(the ROC). The corps would continue as a civilian organisation but wearing a Royal Air Force uniform
Royal Air Force uniform
The Royal Air Force uniform is the standardised military dress worn by members of the Royal Air Force. The predominant colours of Royal Air Force uniforms are blue-grey and Wedgewood blue. Many Commonwealth air forces' uniforms are also based on the RAF pattern, but with nationality shoulder...
and administered by Fighter Command.
With their Headquarters at RAF Bentley Priory
RAF Bentley Priory
RAF Bentley Priory was a non-flying Royal Air Force station near Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow. It was famous as the headquarters of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and the Second World War. The RAF Bentley Priory site includes a Grade II* listed Officers' Mess and Italian...
the ROC remained administered by Fighter Command until 31 March 1968 when responsibility was handed over to the newly formed RAF Strike Command
RAF Strike Command
The 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...
.
The ROC was a defence warning organisation operating in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
nuclear reporting role during the 1950s. The 10,500 ROC volunteers were trained and administered by a small cadre of sixty nine uniformed full time professional officers under the command of a serving RAF Air Commodore
Commandant Royal Observer Corps
The Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps was the Royal Air Force commander of the Royal Observer Corps. All the holders of the post were RAF officers in the rank of Air Commodore, initially retired reserve officers then Auxiliary officers and, since the end of World War II, serving officers...
.
Cold War years
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
saw the threat of Soviet bombers attacking the United Kingdom loom large. A Canadian fighter wing, No. 1 Wing
RCAF Station Marville
RCAF Station Marville was a Royal Canadian Air Force station located near Marville in the Meuse department, Lorraine, northeastern France. It was one of four RCAF wings consisting of three fighter squadrons each, established in Europe in the early 1950s to support the goals of NATO in Europe...
, arrived at North Luffenham
North Luffenham
North Luffenham is a village in Rutland, in the East Midlands of England. It lies to the north of the River Chater, east of Uppingham and west of Stamford.Located to the north of the village is St George's Barracks, formerly 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 Germany in 1954-55. 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
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...
, Hawker Hunter
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...
and the English Electric Lightning
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...
.
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. Duncan Sandys
Duncan Sandys
Edwin Duncan Sandys, Baron Duncan-Sandys CH PC was a British politician and a minister in successive Conservative governments in the 1950s and 1960s...
, the Minister of Defence
Minister of Defence (UK)
The post of Minister of Defence was responsible for co-ordination of defence and security from its creation in 1940 until its abolition in 1964. The post was a Cabinet level post and generally ranked above the three service ministers, some of whom, however, continued to also serve in...
at the time needed to find cuts in the British defence budget, since the UK was in serious danger of being bankrupted by its defence spending. The rate of improvement of surface to air missiles seemed to indicate that they would soon be able to shoot any manned aircraft out of the sky. Consequently, in an infamous statement in the 1957 Defence White Paper
1957 Defence White Paper
The 1957 White Paper on Defence was a British white paper setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected was the British aircraft industry...
the Sandys' review declared that manned aircraft were obsolescent and would soon become obsolete. All programmes for manned aircraft that were not too far along were cancelled. The Lightning was the only one of a number of new supersonic aircraft that was too far along to cancel. That decision, combined with the increasing costs of developing aircraft crippled the British aircraft industry and made Fighter Command and the RAF reliant on foreign or jointly developed aircraft.
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. 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.
Strike Command
As the 1960s dawned, the RAF continued to shrink. The three functional commands, Fighter Command, Bomber CommandRAF Bomber Command
RAF 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...
, and Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command
RAF 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...
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
RAF Strike Command
The 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...
, each becoming groups within the new command.
Fighter Command had only existed for 32 years, but in that time it had fought in the largest war in history and had progressed from biplanes to supersonic jets.
Air Officer Commanders-in-Chief 1936 - 1968
| From | To | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 14 July 1936 | 25 November 1940 | Air Chief Marshal Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force... Sir Sir Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures... Hugh Dowding Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding Air Chief Marshal Hugh Caswall Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding GCB, GCVO, CMG was a British officer in the Royal Air Force... |
| 25 November 1940 | 28 November 1942 | Air Marshal Air Marshal Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force... Sir Sholto Douglas William Sholto Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Kirtleside Marshal of the Royal Air Force William Sholto Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Kirtleside GCB, MC, DFC was a senior figure in the Royal Air Force up to and during World War II.-Early life:... |
| 28 November 1942 | 15 November 1943 | Air Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory Trafford Leigh-Mallory Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory KCB, DSO & Bar was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. Leigh-Mallory served as a Royal Flying Corps pilot and squadron commander during World War I... |
| 15 November 1943 | 14 May 1945 | Air Marshal Sir Roderic Hill Roderic Hill Air Chief Marshal Sir Roderic Maxwell Hill KCB, MC, AFC & Bar, RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander during World War II, and a past Rector of Imperial College... |
| 14 May 1945 | 17 November 1947 | Air Marshal Sir James Robb James Robb (RAF officer) Air Chief Marshal Sir James Milne Robb GCB, KBE, DSO, DFC, AFC, RAF, was a senior Royal Air Force commander. After early service in the First World War with the Northumberland Fusiliers, Robb joined the Royal Flying Corps and became a flying ace credited with seven aerial victories... |
| 17 November 1947 | 19 April 1949 | Air Marshal Sir William Elliott William Elliott (RAF officer) Air Chief Marshal Sir William Elliott GCVO, KCB, KBE, DFC & Bar, ADC, RAF, was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:... |
| 19 April 1949 | 7 April 1953 | Air Marshal Sir Basil Embry Basil Embry Air Chief Marshal Sir Basil Edward Embry GCB, KBE, DSO & Three Bars, DFC, AFC, RAF, was a senior Royal Air Force commander... |
| 7 April 1953 | 1 January 1956 | Air Marshal Sir Dermot Boyle Dermot Boyle Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Dermot Alexander Boyle GCB, KCVO, KBE, AFC, RAF was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force.-RAF career:... |
| 1 January 1956 | 8 August 1956 | Air Marshal Sir Hubert Patch Hubert Patch Air Chief Marshal Sir Hubert Leonard Patch KCB CBE RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:Patch joined the Royal Air Force as a flight cadet in 1923 and served in World War II.... |
| 8 August 1956 | 30 July 1959 | Air Marshal Sir Thomas Pike Thomas Pike Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Thomas Geoffrey Pike GCB CBE DFC & Bar DL RAF was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force.-RAF career:... |
| 30 July 1959 | 18 May 1962 | Air Marshal Sir Hector McGregor Hector McGregor Air Marshal Sir Hector Douglas McGregor, KCB, CBE, DSO, RAF, was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:... |
| 18 May 1962 | 3 March 1966 | Air Marshal Sir Douglas Morris Douglas Morris Air Marshal Sir Douglas Morris KCB CBE DSO DFC was a Royal Air Force Officer who became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of RAF Fighter Command.-RAF career:... |
| 3 March 1966 | 30 April 1968 | Air Marshal Sir Frederick Rosier Frederick Rosier Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Rosier GCB, CBE, DSO was a Royal Air Force commander.-Early and wartime career:Born in Wrexham on 13 October 1915, son of E. G... |