RAF Second Tactical Air Force
Encyclopedia
The former RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air force
s within the Royal Air Force
(RAF) during and after the Second World War
. It was made up of squadrons
and personnel from the RAF, the air forces of the British Commonwealth
and exiles from German
-occupied Europe.
in connection with preparations then in train to invade Europe a year later. It took units from both Fighter Command
and Bomber Command
in order to form a force capable of supporting the Army
in the field. Bomber Command lent No. 2 Group
with light bomber
s, and Fighter Command was split up into the Air Defence of Great Britain
, retaining fighter units for home defence, and No. 83 Group
and No. 84 Group for the Second Tactical Air Force.
Sir John d'Albiac
, who, on 21 January 1944, was succeeded by the man most associated with Second TAF, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham
. Coningham had great experience of the type of operations required for supporting fast moving ground warfare due to his command of the Desert Air Force in North Africa and Italy
. He honed Second TAF into a command up to the challenges presented to it, and incorporated many of the lessons from Italy, including the use of the "cab rank
" system for aircraft for close air support
, into the doctrine of Second TAF.
By this late stage in the war, the Luftwaffe
was but a pale shadow of the organisation it had once been. Mostly Second TAF spent its time supporting the British and Canadian forces on the left flank of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
's command. One notable exception was the last great attack of the Luftwaffe, Operation Bodenplatte
, mounted on New Year's Day
1945, when the Second TAF suffered serious losses on the ground. However, the standard of training of the Luftwaffe pilots was very poor and many of them were shot down, either by ground fire or Allied fighters, and others simply crashed when they ran out of fuel due to navigation errors.
controlled 2TAF's southern area from 1952 to 1958. The Second Tactical Air Force was redesignated Royal Air Force Germany
on 1 January 1959; however the former usage persisted and RAF Germany was often referred to as 2TAF.
The NATO allied air component supporting the Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) in the northern part of Germany was later named Second Allied Tactical Air Force or 2 ATAF, part of the larger Allied Air Forces Central Europe
and active until 1993.
Tactical Air Force
The term Tactical Air Force was used by the air forces of the British Commonwealth during the later stages of World War II, for formations of more than one fighter group. A tactical air force was intended to achieve air supremacy and perform ground attack missions...
s within 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 and after the Second World War
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...
. It was made up of squadrons
Squadron (aviation)
A squadron in air force, army aviation or naval aviation is mainly a unit comprising a number of military aircraft, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, depending on aircraft type and air force...
and personnel from the RAF, the air forces of the British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
and exiles from 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...
-occupied Europe.
Formation
It was formed on 1 June 1943 as HQ Tactical Air Force from Army Co-operation CommandRAF Army Cooperation Command
RAF 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...
in connection with preparations then in train to invade Europe a year later. It took units from both 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...
and 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...
in order to form a force capable of supporting the Army
British Army
The 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...
in the field. Bomber Command lent No. 2 Group
No. 2 Group RAF
Number 2 Group is a Group of the Royal Air Force which was first activated in 1918, served from 1918–20, from 1936 through the Second World War to 1947, from 1948 to 1958, from 1993 to 1996, was reactivated in 2000, and is today part of Air Command....
with light bomber
Light bomber
A light bomber is a relatively small and fast class of military bomber aircraft which were primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance....
s, and 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...
, retaining fighter units for home defence, and No. 83 Group
No. 83 Group RAF
No. 83 Group was a group within the Royal Air Force's 2nd Tactical Air Force during the Second World War and the post-war era. In 2006, the group was re-established as No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group.-History:...
and No. 84 Group for the Second Tactical Air Force.
Second World War
Its first commander was Air MarshalAir Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir John d'Albiac
John D'Albiac
Air Marshal Sir John Henry D'Albiac KCVO, KBE, CB, DSO was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during World War II.-Biography:...
, who, on 21 January 1944, was succeeded by the man most associated with Second TAF, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham
Arthur Coningham (RAF officer)
Air Marshal Sir Arthur "Mary" Coningham KCB, KBE, DSO, MC, DFC, AFC, RAF was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. During the First World War, he was at Gallipoli with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, where he became a flying ace...
. Coningham had great experience of the type of operations required for supporting fast moving ground warfare due to his command of the Desert Air Force in North Africa and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. He honed Second TAF into a command up to the challenges presented to it, and incorporated many of the lessons from Italy, including the use of the "cab rank
Cab rank
A cab rank or taxi rank is a primarily British English term for a queueing area where taxicabs queue to await passengers. In United States English they are known as "taxi stands".The phrase also has three other uses:...
" system for aircraft for close air support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
, into the doctrine of Second TAF.
By this late stage in the war, the 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....
was but a pale shadow of the organisation it had once been. Mostly Second TAF spent its time supporting the British and Canadian forces on the left flank of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force , was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was in command of SHAEF throughout its existence...
's command. One notable exception was the last great attack of the Luftwaffe, Operation Bodenplatte
Operation Bodenplatte
Operation Bodenplatte launched on 1 January 1945, was an attempt by the Luftwaffe to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries during the Second World War. The goal of Bodenplatte was to gain air superiority during the stagnant stage of the Battle of the Bulge, to allow the German Army and...
, mounted on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
1945, when the Second TAF suffered serious losses on the ground. However, the standard of training of the Luftwaffe pilots was very poor and many of them were shot down, either by ground fire or Allied fighters, and others simply crashed when they ran out of fuel due to navigation errors.
Post Second World War
The Second TAF did not last long after the war before redesignation. It was renamed as the British Air Forces of Occupation on 15 July 1945. However, six years later the British Air Forces of Occupation reverted to their former name with the re-creation of the Second Tactical Air Force on 1 September 1951. No. 83 Group RAFNo. 83 Group RAF
No. 83 Group was a group within the Royal Air Force's 2nd Tactical Air Force during the Second World War and the post-war era. In 2006, the group was re-established as No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group.-History:...
controlled 2TAF's southern area from 1952 to 1958. The Second Tactical Air Force was redesignated Royal Air Force Germany
Royal Air Force Germany
The 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...
on 1 January 1959; however the former usage persisted and RAF Germany was often referred to as 2TAF.
The NATO allied air component supporting the Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) in the northern part of Germany was later named Second Allied Tactical Air Force or 2 ATAF, part of the larger Allied Air Forces Central Europe
Allied Air Forces Central Europe
Allied Air Forces Central Europe was the headquarters for NATO air forces in Central Europe from 1951 to 1967 and from 1974 to 1993.-History:It was first based at Fontainebleau , and originally activated in April 1951...
and active until 1993.
Second Tactical Air Force
- 1 June 1943 Air MarshalAir MarshalAir marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir John D'AlbiacJohn D'AlbiacAir Marshal Sir John Henry D'Albiac KCVO, KBE, CB, DSO was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during World War II.-Biography:... - 21 January 1944 Air Marshal Sir Arthur ConinghamArthur Coningham (RAF officer)Air Marshal Sir Arthur "Mary" Coningham KCB, KBE, DSO, MC, DFC, AFC, RAF was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. During the First World War, he was at Gallipoli with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, where he became a flying ace...
British Air Forces of Occupation
- 15 July 1945 Air Chief MarshalAir Chief MarshalAir chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir Sholto Douglas - 1 February 1946 Air Marshal Sir Philip WigglesworthPhilip WigglesworthAir Marshal Sir Philip Wigglesworth KBE CB DSC was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force.-RAF career:...
- 30 October 1948 Air Marshal Sir Thomas WilliamsThomas Williams (RAF officer)Air Marshal Sir Thomas Melling Williams KCB, OBE, MC, DFC & Bar, RAF was an ace pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, scoring nine aerial victories...
Second Tactical Air Force
- 1 October 1951 Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert FosterRobert Foster (RAF officer)Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Mordaunt Foster KCB, CBE, DFC, DL, RAF was a Royal Flying Corps pilot in World War I and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during World War II and the immediate post-war years....
- 3 December 1953 Air Marshal Sir Harry BroadhurstHarry BroadhurstAir Chief Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst GCB, KBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, AFC, RAF , commonly known as Broady, was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-Early life:...
- 22 January 1956 Air Marshal The Earl of BandonPercy Bernard, 5th Earl of BandonAir Chief Marshal Percy Ronald Gardner Bernard, 5th Earl of Bandon, GBE, CB, CVO, DSO, RAF was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in the mid-20th century. He was a squadron, station and group commander during World War II and the fifth Commandant of the Royal Observer Corps after the War...
- 1 June 1957 - Air Marshal Sir Humphrey Edwardes-JonesHumphrey Edwardes-JonesAir Marshal Sir Humphrey Edwardes-Jones KCB CBE DFC AFC RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:...
Royal Air Force Germany
- 1 January 1959 - Air MarshalAir MarshalAir marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir Humphrey Edwardes-JonesHumphrey Edwardes-JonesAir Marshal Sir Humphrey Edwardes-Jones KCB CBE DFC AFC RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:... - 7 January 1961 - Air Marshal Sir John GrandyJohn GrandyMarshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Grandy GCB GCVO KBE DSO KStJ RAF was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force...
- 25 June 1963 - Air Marshal Sir Ronald LeesRonald LeesAir Marshal Sir Ronald Beresford Lees KCB CBE DFC & Bar RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:...
- 6 December 1965 - Air Marshal Sir Denis SpotswoodDenis SpotswoodMarshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Denis Frank Spotswood GCB, CBE, DSO, DFC, RAF was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force.-RAF career:...
- 16 July 1968 - Air Marshal Christopher Foxley-NorrisChristopher Foxley-NorrisAir Chief Marshal Sir Christopher Neil Foxley-Norris GCB, DSO, OBE, FRSA was a squadron commander during World War II and, later, the RAF's commander-in-chief in Germany.-Early life:...
- 10 November 1970 - Air Marshal Harold Brownlow MartinHarold Brownlow MartinAir Marshal Sir Harold Brownlow Morgan "Micky" Martin, KCB, DSO & Bar, DFC & Two Bars, AFC was an Australian pilot in the Royal Air Force....
- 4 April 1973 - Air Marshal Nigel MaynardNigel MaynardAir Chief Marshal Sir Nigel Martin Maynard KCB, CBE, DFC, AFC, RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:...
- 19 January 1976 - Air Marshal Sir Michael BeethamMichael BeethamMarshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael James Beetham GCB, CBE, DFC, AFC, DL is a former World War II bomber pilot and a high-ranking commander in the Royal Air Force from the 1960s to the 1980s....
- 25 July 1977 - Air Marshal Sir John StaceyJohn StaceyAir Chief Marshal Sir John Stacey KCB, CBE, FRAeS, RAF, was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in the 1970s and until his sudden death in 1981.-RAF career:...
- 30 April 1979 - Air Marshal Sir Peter TerryPeter TerryAir Chief Marshal Sir Peter David George Terry GCB is a retired senior Royal Air Force commander.-Royal Air Force career:...
- 2 February 1981 - Air Marshal Sir Thomas KennedyThomas Kennedy (RAF officer)Air Chief Marshal Sir Thomas Lawrie Kennedy GCB AFC DL is a former Royal Air Force officer who became Deputy Commander of RAF Strike Command.-RAF career:...
- 9 April 1983 - Air Marshal Sir Patrick HinePatrick HineAir Chief Marshal Sir Patrick "Paddy" Bardon Hine GCB, GBE is a former senior Royal Air Force commander. Most notably, he was joint commander of all British forces during the first Gulf War.-RAF career:...
- 1 July 1985 - Air Marshal Sir David Parry-EvansDavid Parry-EvansAir Marshal Sir David George Parry-Evans GCB CBE RAF is a former senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:Educated at Berkhamsted School, Parry-Evans joined the Royal Air Force in 1956. He became Officer Commanding No. 214 Squadron in 1974 and Station Commander at RAF Marham in 1975...
- 13 April 1987 - Air Marshal Sir Anthony SkingsleyAnthony SkingsleyAir Chief Marshal Sir Anthony Gerald Skingsley GBE KCB RAF is a former senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:Educated at St Bartholomew's School in Newbury and the University of Cambridge, Skingsley joined the Royal Air Force in 1955...
- 14 April 1989 - Air Marshal Sir Roger PalinRoger PalinAir Chief Marshal Sir Roger Hewlett Palin KCB OBE RAF is a former senior Royal Air Force commander.-RAF career:Educated at Canford School and St John's College, Cambridge, Palin was commissioned into the King's Royal Rifle Corps in 1958. He later transferred to the Royal Air Force and became...
- 22 April 1991 - Air Marshal Sir Andrew WilsonAndrew Wilson (RAF officer)Air Chief Marshal Sir Ronald Andrew Fellowes Wilson KCB AFC FRAes RAF often known as Sir Andrew Wilson and sometimes known informally as Sir Sandy Wilson is a retired senior Royal Air Force officer.-RAF career:...