RAF Strike Command
The RAF Strike Command was a command of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) that was responsible for the majority of the bomber and fighter aircraft formations between 1968 and 2007 . The headquarters of the command was at the RAF High Wycombe Air Force Base .
history
The RAF Strike Command was formed on April 30, 1968 from the merger of the Bomber Command ( RAF Bomber Command ) and Jägerkommando ( RAF Fighter Command ). The previous RAF Bomber Command became No. 1 (Strike) Group RAF and the RAF Fighter Command for No. 11 (Air Defense) Group RAF . On January 1, 1969, the Strike Command was expanded to include the previous telecommunications command ( RAF Signals Command ) and on November 28, 1969 by the previous coastal command ( RAF Coastal Command ). The Signals Command also received the status of a group and was given the previous name No. 90 (Signals) Group RAF , while No. 18 (Maritime) Group RAF became. In addition, on September 1, 1972, the previous Air Support Command ( RAF Air Support Command ) was subordinated to the Strike Command, from which the No. 38 (Tactical Support) Group RAF and No. 46 (Strategic Support) Group RAF .
In 1975 the then commander of the RAF Strike Command, Air Chief Marshal Denis Smallwood , was named Commander-in-Chief United Kingdom Air Forces (CINCUKAIR) within the NATO organization . Most recently, the British Air Force in the Federal Republic of Germany ( RAF Germany ) was subordinated to the Strike Command on April 1 , which then became No. 2 (Bomber) Group RAF were.
In a process and organizational investigation, it was finally suggested that the RAF Strike Command and the RAF Personnel and Training Command should jointly use the headquarters at RAF High Wycombe Air Force Base. Finally, on April 1, 2007, these two commands were amalgamated to form the single air command ( RAF Air Command ).
Commander
The RAF Strike Command was subordinate to a General ( Air Chief Marshal ) as Supreme Command AOCinC ( Air Officer Commander-in-Chief ) according to the NATO rank code OF-9 . To support and relieve the Commander-in-Chief, the post of Deputy Commander-in-Chief DeputyAOCinC ( Deputy Air Officer Commander-in-Chief ) was created in 1972 , who had the rank of Lieutenant General ( Air Marshal ) according to the NATO rank code OF-8.
Commander in Chief of RAF Strike Command
Start of term of office | Rank | Official |
---|---|---|
1968 | Air Chief Marshal | Wallace Kyle |
1968 | Air Chief Marshal | Denis Spotswood |
1971 | Air Chief Marshal | Andrew Humphrey |
1974 | Air Chief Marshal | Denis Smallwood |
1976 | Air Chief Marshal | Nigel Maynard |
1977 | Air Chief Marshal | David Evans |
1980 | Air Chief Marshal | Keith Williamson |
1982 | Air Chief Marshal | David Craig |
1985 | Air Chief Marshal | Peter Harding |
1988 | Air Chief Marshal | Patrick Hine |
1991 | Air Chief Marshal | Michael Graydon |
1992 | Air Chief Marshal | John Thomson |
1994 | Air Chief Marshal | Richard Johns |
1994 | Air Chief Marshal | Bill Wratten |
1997 | Air Chief Marshal | John Allison |
1999 | Air Chief Marshal | Peter Squire |
2000 | Air Chief Marshal | Anthony Bagnall |
2001 | Air Chief Marshal | John Day |
2003 | Air Chief Marshal | Brian Burridge |
2006 | Air Chief Marshal | Joe French |
2007 | Resolution of the command |
Deputy Commander in Chief of RAF Strike Command
Start of term of office | Rank | Official |
---|---|---|
1972 | Air Marshal | Nigel Maynard |
1973 | Air Marshal | Peter Horsley |
1975 | Air Marshal | Michael Beetham |
1976 | Air Marshal | John Stacey |
1977 | Air Marshal | Alan Davies |
1977 | Air Marshal | Alfred Ball |
1978 | Air Marshal | Robert Freer |
1979 | Air Marshal | Thomas Kennedy |
1981 | Air Marshal | Peter Bairsto |
1984 | Air Marshal | Joseph Gilbert |
1986 | Air Marshal | Brendan Jackson |
1988 | Air Marshal | Kenneth Hayr |
1989 | Air Marshal | John Kemball |
1993 | Air Marshal | Richard Johns |
1994 | Air Marshal | John Allison |
1996 | Air Marshal | Graeme Robertson |
1998 | Air Marshal | Timothy Jenner |
2000 | Air Marshal | Jock stirrup |
2002 | Air Marshal | Brian Burridge |
2003 | Air Marshal | Glenn Torpy |
2004 | Air Marshal | Clive Loader |
2007 | Resolution of the command |
Background literature
- Ashworth, Chris: RAF Coastal Command: 1936-1969 , Patrick Stephens Ltd, 1992, ISBN 1-85260-345-3
Web links
- RAF Home Commands formed between 1936-1938 on Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organization
- RAF Home Commands formed between 1958 - 2002 on Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organization
Individual evidence
- ↑ RAF Timeline 1960-1969 ( Memento of the original from April 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of the RAF
- ↑ Commander UK Air Forces appointed . In: Flight International of April 17, 1975
- ↑ RAF Timeline 1990-1999 ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of the RAF
- ↑ RAF Timeline 2000-2009 ( Memento of the original from February 19, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the homepage of the RAF