RAF Army Cooperation Command
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The RAF Army Co-operation Command was a short-lived
command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards * ...
of the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, comprising the army cooperation units of the RAF. The command was formed on 1 December 1940 when No. 22 (Army Co-Operation) Group, previously a part of
Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the 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. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britai ...
, was raised to command status. Initially it controlled two groups:
No. 70 Group RAF No. 70 Group (Army Co-Operation Training) RAF was a group of the Royal Air Force existing from November 1940 to July 1945. It was split from No. 22 Group RAF, Fighter Command, on 25 November 1940 to handle the increasing responsibility of training R ...
for training and No. 71 Group RAF for operations. In August 1941, 71 Group re-organized its squadrons into a Wing basis. Each wing was directly attached to a UK based Army regional Command. Its function was to act as the focus for activities connected with the interaction of the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
and the RAF, such as
close air support In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...
, tactical reconnaissance, artillery spotting and training of anti-aircraft defences. It was also responsible for developing tactics for the invasion of Europe, where direct air support proved to be decisive.Delve 1994, p. 100. Army Co-Operation Command proved to be controversial, with the
Chief of the Imperial General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial G ...
General Sir
Alan Brooke Field Marshal Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, (23 July 1883 – 17 June 1963), was a senior officer of the British Army. He was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), the professional head of the British Army, during the Sec ...
being an implacable foe of the command arrangement. It was disbanded on 31 March 1943, when most of its units were used to form the
Second Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, ...
. The command had only had one commander during its short existence, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Barratt.


Army Co-operation Command (April 1942)

No. 70 (Army Co-operation Training) Group – 1 December 1940 – 1 June 1943 (transferred to ADGB) * No. 41 OTU – Lysander / Tomahawk –
RAF Old Sarum Old Sarum Airfield is a grass strip airfield north-north-east of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. The adjacent areas are a mix of vacant land, residential and industrial sites. Residential areas are to the south and east, occupying the old air ...
*
No. 42 OTU Royal Air Force Operational Training Units (OTUs) were training units that prepared aircrew for operations on a particular type or types of aircraft or roles. OTUs ; No. 1 (Coastal) Operational Training Unit RAF (1 OTU): The Unit was formed in ...
– Various Aircraft –
RAF Andover RAF Andover is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station in England, west of Andover, Hampshire. As well as RFC and RAF units, units of the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, Royal Canadian Air Force, United States Army Air ...
*
No. 271 Squadron RAF No. 271 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was operational for two periods; a few brief months between 27 September 1918 and 9 December 1918 operating flying boats to protect shipping from German U-boats, and between 28 March 1940 and 1 December 19 ...
– Albatross / Dominie –
RAF Doncaster Royal Air Force Doncaster or more simply RAF Doncaster, also referred to as Doncaster Aerodrome, is a former Royal Air Force station near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. The first Aviation meeting in England In 1909, Doncaster and specif ...
*
No. 651 Squadron RAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...
– Taylorcraft I – RAF Old Sarum * Various other flights and minor training units. ;Wings * No. 32 Wing – Scottish Command – Edinburgh ** No. 309 (Polish) Squadron RAF – Lysander – RAF Dunino **
No. 614 Squadron RAF No. 614 Squadron was originally formed on 1 June 1937 as an army co-operation squadron unit of the Auxiliary Air Force. It served during the Second World War first in this role and later as a bomber squadron. Upon reformation it served as a fight ...
– Blenheim –
RAF Macmerry Royal Air Force Macmerry or more simply RAF Macmerry is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located west of Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland and east of Edinburgh. It was situated immediately to the north east of Macmerry on the nor ...
* No. 33 Wing – Northern Command – York ** No. 613 Squadron RAF – Tomahawk I/II – RAF Doncaster **
No. 4 Squadron RAF No. 4 Squadron, normally written as IV Squadron, of the Royal Air Force operates the BAE Hawk T2 in the training role from RAF Valley. History Formation and First World War IV Squadron formed at Farnborough in 1912 as part of the Royal Fl ...
– Tomahawk I/II –
RAF York Royal Air Force Clifton or RAF Clifton is a former Royal Air Force station located north west of York city centre and south west of Haxby, North Yorkshire, England. The airfield was opened in 1936 as a civilian airport but by 1939 the statio ...
* No. 34 Wing – Eastern Command –
Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
**
No. 140 Squadron RAF No. 140 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was a Second World War photo-reconnaissance squadron that operated between 1941 and 1945. History Briefly formed during the First World War on 1 May 1918 at RAF Biggin Hill as a home defence squadron with ...
– Spitfire PR.I –
RAF Benson Royal Air Force Benson or RAF Benson is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located at Benson, near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire, England. It is a front-line station and home to the RAF's fleet of Westland Puma HC2 support helicopters, use ...
**
No. 241 Squadron RAF No. 241 Squadron is a former squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) formed during the First World War. History No. 241 Squadron was formed in August 1918 from the former Royal Naval Air Service flights operating at the RNAS seaplane station a ...
– Tomahawk I/II –
RAF Bottisham Royal Air Force Bottisham or more simply RAF Bottisham is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. History RAF Fighter Command use RAF Bottisham opened in March 1940 and was first used by bomb-ar ...
**
No. 2 Squadron RAF Number 2 Squadron, also known as No. II (Army Co-operation) Squadron, is the most senior Squadron (aviation), squadron of the Royal Air Force. It is currently equipped with the Eurofighter Typhoon, Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 at RAF Lossiemouth, C ...
– Tomahawk I/II
RAF Sawbridgeworth Royal Air Force Sawbridgeworth or RAF Sawbridgeworth is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Harlow, Essex and east of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The airfield was used during the First World War as a night landing ground ...
**
No. 268 Squadron RAF No. 268 Squadron RAF was a Second World War Royal Air Force squadron that operated the North American Mustang on missions over occupied Europe and in support of the D-Day landings. History First World War No.268 Squadron Royal Air Force was orig ...
– Tomahawk I/II –
RAF Snailwell Royal Air Force Snailwell or more simply RAF Snailwell is a former Royal Air Force station located near to the village of Snailwell, Cambridgeshire, located north of Newmarket, Suffolk, England. History * USAAF 347th Fighter Squadron Opera ...
* No. 35 Wing – South Eastern Command –
Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...
**
No. 26 Squadron RAF No. 26 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was formed in 1915 and was disbanded for the last time in 1976. The squadron's motto is ''N Wagter in die Lug'' (Afrikaans) (A guard in the sky), and the badge is a springbok's head couped. History 1915 ...
– Tomahawk I/II –
RAF Gatwick Gatwick Airport was in Surrey until 1974, when it became part of West Sussex as a result of a county boundary change. The original, pre-World War II airport was built on the site of a manor in the parish of Charlwood. The land was first used as ...
**
No. 239 Squadron RAF No. 239 Squadron RAF was an anti-submarine squadron of the Royal Air Force during World War I. During World War II the squadron performed as an army co-operation squadron and later as a night intruder unit. After the war the squadron was disbande ...
– Tomahawk I/II – RAF Gatwick **
No. 400 Squadron RCAF The numero sign or numero symbol, №, (also represented as Nº, No, No. or no.), is a typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example, using the numero sign, t ...
– Tomahawk I/II –
RAF Odiham RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force station situated a little to the south of the village of Odiham in Hampshire, England. It is the home of the Royal Air Force's heavy lift helicopter, the Chinook, and of the King’s Helicopter Flight (TKHF) . I ...
**
No. 414 Squadron RCAF No. 414 Squadron RCAF is a Royal Canadian Air Force squadron. It is currently located in Ottawa and conducts electronic warfare support training for other units in the Canadian Armed Forces. History World War II On 13 August 1941, No 414 Army ...
– Tomahawk I/II –
RAF Croydon Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main ai ...
* No. 36 Wing – South Western Command –
Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
**
No. 16 Squadron RAF Number 16 Squadron, nicknamed ''the Saints'', is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force providing Elementary Flying Training (EFT) with the Grob Tutor T.1 from RAF Wittering. It formed in 1915 at Saint-Omer to carry out a mixture of offensi ...
– Tomahawk I/II –
RAF Weston Zoyland RAF Westonzoyland is one of the country's oldest airfields being established in the early 1920s. Somerset, England. The airfield is located approximately east-southeast of Bridgwater; about west-southwest of London. It was opened in 1925 ...
** 1492 TTF – Lysander – RAF Weston Zoyland **
No. 225 Squadron RAF No. 225 Squadron RAF is a former Royal Air Force squadron. History World War One No. 225 Squadron RAF was formed on 1 April 1918 at Alimini, Italy from part of No. 6 Wing RNAS, and was equipped with Sopwith Camels. The squadron disbanded on 18 ...
– Lysander –
RAF Thruxton Royal Air Force Thruxton or more simply RAF Thruxton is a former Royal Air Force station located west of Andover, Hampshire and about southwest of London. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air F ...
**
No. 13 Squadron RAF Number 13 Squadron, also written as XIII Squadron, is a squadron of the Royal Air Force which operate the General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle from RAF Waddington since reforming on 26 October 2012. The unit first formed as par ...
– Blenheim – RAF Odiham * No. 37 Wing – Western Command –
Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
** No active squadrons assigned. * No 38 Wing – Airborne Division –
RAF Netheravon The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
**
No. 296 Squadron RAF No. 296 Squadron RAF was an transport squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. With sister squadrons 295 and 297 it formed 38 Wing, which later expanded to create No. 38 Group RAF. History With the Airborne Forces No. 29 ...
– Hart/Hector – RAF Netheravon **
No. 297 Squadron RAF No 297 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was notable for being the first airborne forces squadron formed. With sister No 296 Squadron it formed No 38 Wing RAF in January 1942, joined in August by No 295 Squadron; the Wing ex ...
– Whitley – RAF Netheravon * RAF Northern Ireland
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
** No. 231 Squadron RAF – Tomahawk I/II –
RAF Maghaberry Royal Air Force Maghaberry or more simply RAF Maghaberry is a former Royal Air Force satellite airfield located north of Maghaberry, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The site of former RAF Maghaberry was transformed into HM Prison Maghaberry. His ...
** 1494 TTF – Lysander/Tomahawk –
RAF Long Kesh Royal Air Force Long Kesh or more simply RAF Long Kesh is a former Royal Air Force station at Maze, Lisburn, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is ...


See also

*
List of Royal Air Force commands This is a list of Royal Air Force commands, both past and present. Although the concept of a command dates back to the foundation of the Royal Air Force, the term command (as the name of a formation) was first used in purely RAF-context in 1936 w ...


References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Delve, Ken. ''The Source Book of the RAF''. Shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing Ltd., 1994. .


External links


"The Army's Wings are in the news"
contemporary reporting of Army Cooperation Command {{Royal Air Force
Army Cooperation Command The RAF Army Co-operation Command was a short-lived command of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, comprising the army cooperation units of the RAF. The command was formed on 1 December 1940 when No. 22 (Army Co-Operation) Group, ...
Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations of the Royal Air Force in World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1943 1940 establishments in the United Kingdom 1943 disestablishments in the United Kingdom