The Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three
tactical air forces within the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF) during and after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. It was made up of
squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other
British Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire
The B ...
air forces, and exiles from
German-occupied Europe
German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly military occupation, militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the governmen ...
. Renamed as British Air Forces of Occupation in 1945, 2TAF was recreated in 1951 and became
Royal Air Force Germany
Royal Air Force Germany, commonly known as RAF Germany, and abbreviated RAFG, was a List of Royal Air Force commands, command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and part of British Forces Germany (BFG). It consisted of units located in Germany, init ...
in 1959.
Formation
2TAF was formed on 1 June 1943 as HQ Tactical Air Force from
Army Co-operation Command, 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
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
in the field. Bomber Command provided
No. 2 Group with
light bomber
A light bomber is a relatively small and fast type of military bomber aircraft that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance.
The earliest light bombers were intended to dr ...
s; Fighter Command was split into the
Air Defence of Great Britain, retaining fighter units for home defence, and
No. 83 Group and
No. 84 Group operating aircraft, and
No. 85 Group controlling ground-based units, for the Second Tactical Air Force. In addition,
No. 38 Group for towing assault gliders and
No. 140 Squadron, providing strategic photo-reconnaissance, were also part of the tactical air force at its inception.
Second World War
2TAF's first commander was
Air Marshal 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
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
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
Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires ...
, into the doctrine of Second TAF.
No. 34 (Photo Reconnaissance) Wing, commanded by
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
Commodore E.C. Thornton, served as the air spotting pool for
naval gunfire support
Naval gunfire support (NGFS), also known as naval surface fire support (NSFS), or shore bombardment, is the use of naval artillery to provide fire support for amphibious assault and other troops operating within their range. NGFS is one of seve ...
throughout
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...
. The wing included
No. 2 Squadron RAF,
No. 26 Squadron RAF,
No. 63 Squadron RAF,
No. 268 Squadron RAF,
No. 414 Squadron RCAF,
808 Naval Air Squadron,
885 Naval Air Squadron,
886 Naval Air Squadron,
897 Naval Air Squadron and, briefly, the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
's
VOS-7.
By this late stage in the war, the German
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
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 (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allies of World War II, Allied forces in northwest Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. US General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the ...
's command. One notable exception was the last great attack of the Luftwaffe,
Operation Bodenplatte
Operation Bodenplatte (; "Baseplate"), launched on 1 January 1945, was an attempt by the German Luftwaffe to cripple Allies of World War II, Allied air forces in the Low Countries during the World War II, Second World War. The goal of ''Bodenpl ...
, mounted on
New Year's Day
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...
1945, when the Second TAF suffered serious losses on the ground.
On 20 January 1945, four
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneere ...
s jets from
616 Squadron were moved to
Melsbroek in Belgium and attached to the Second Tactical Air Force.
In February 1945
No. 87 Group RAF was established, a transport formation. It became part of 2nd TAF/BAFO, but was reduced to
No. 87 Wing RAF on 15 July 1946.
Post Second World War
The Second TAF was renamed as the British Air Forces of Occupation on 15 July 1945. It began as a large force of four groups (2, 83, 84, 85 Groups) but 2 Group disbanded on 1 May 1947.
By the end of 1947, the forces had shrunk to ten squadrons at three airfields, all directly under control of the Air Headquarters at
Bad Eilsen. In 1951, 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. 2 Group was transferred again to Second Tactical Air Force on 1 September 1951, but was disbanded on 15 November 1958. No. 83 Group RAF controlled 2TAF's southern area from 1952 to 1958. On 1 July 1956, No. 2 Group appeared to encompass wings at Ahlhorn (No. 125 Wing RAF),
RAF Fassberg (
No. 121 Wing RAF), Gutersloh (
No. 551 Wing RAF, under the control of Bomber Command),
Jever
Jever () is the capital of the district of Friesland (district), Friesland in Lower Saxony, Germany. The name Jever is usually associated with a major brand of beer, Jever Pilsener, which is produced there. The city is also a popular holiday res ...
(
No. 122 Wing RAF),
Laarbruch (34 Wing),
RAF Oldenburg (
No. 124 Wing RAF), and
RAF Wunstorf (
No. 123 Wing RAF), while No. 83 Group directed wings at
RAF Bruggen,
RAF Celle,
RAF Geilenkirchen,
RAF Wahn, and
RAF Wildenrath.
The Second Tactical Air Force was redesignated
Royal Air Force Germany
Royal Air Force Germany, commonly known as RAF Germany, and abbreviated RAFG, was a List of Royal Air Force commands, command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and part of British Forces Germany (BFG). It consisted of units located in Germany, init ...
on 1 January 1959, at which point C.-in-C. RAF Germany became commander of the NATO
Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2 ATAF).
Commanders
Second Tactical Air Force
* 1 June 1943
Air Marshal Sir
John D'Albiac
* 21 January 1944 Air Marshal Sir
Arthur Coningham
British Air Forces of Occupation
* 15 July 1945
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British i ...
Sir
Sholto Douglas
* 1 February 1946 Air Marshal Sir
Philip Wigglesworth
* 30 October 1948 Air Marshal Sir
Thomas Williams
Second Tactical Air Force
* 1 October 1951 Air Chief Marshal Sir
Robert Foster
* 3 December 1953 Air Marshal Sir
Harry BroadhurstBiography – Air Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst
/ref>
* 22 January 1956 Air Marshal The Earl of Bandon
* 1 June 1957 – Air Marshal Sir Humphrey Edwardes-Jones
Royal Air Force Germany
* 1 January 1959 – Air Marshal Sir Humphrey Edwardes-Jones
* 7 January 1961 – Air Marshal Sir John Grandy
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Grandy, (8 February 1913 – 2 January 2004) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He was the only officer who fought and commanded a squadron during the Battle of Britain to reach the post of Chie ...
* 25 June 1963 – Air Marshal Sir Ronald Lees
* 6 December 1965 – Air Marshal Sir Denis Spotswood
* 16 July 1968 – Air Marshal Christopher Foxley-Norris
* 10 November 1970 – Air Marshal Harold Brownlow Martin
Air Marshal Sir Harold Brownlow Morgan "Micky" Martin, (27 February 1918 – 3 November 1988) was an Australian bomber pilot and senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He took part in Operation Chastise, the RAF's "Dambusters" raid in ...
* 4 April 1973 – Air Marshal Nigel Maynard
* 19 January 1976 – Air Marshal Sir Michael Beetham
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Michael James Beetham, (17 May 1923 – 24 October 2015) was a Second World War bomber pilot and a high-ranking commander in the Royal Air Force from the 1960s to the 1980s. As Chief of the Air Staff during th ...
* 25 July 1977 – Air Marshal Sir John Stacey
* 30 April 1979 – Air Marshal Sir Peter Terry
* 2 February 1981 – Air Marshal Sir Thomas Kennedy
* 9 April 1983 – Air Marshal Sir Patrick Hine
* 1 July 1985 – Air Marshal Sir David Parry-Evans
* 13 April 1987 – Air Marshal Sir Anthony Skingsley
* 14 April 1989 – Air Marshal Sir Roger Palin
* 22 April 1991 – Air Marshal Sir Andrew Wilson
See also
* RAF First Tactical Air Force
* RAF Third Tactical Air Force
* List of Royal Air Force commands
References
External links
* https://www.raf.mod.uk/our-organisation/units/air-historical-branch/regional-studies-post-coldwar-narratives/the-raf-in-germany-1945-1978/
Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Overseas Commands
{{Authority control
Military units and formations established in 1943
Military units and formations of the Royal Air Force in World War II
Royal Air Force commands
British forces in Germany
Military units and formations disestablished in 1959
Tactical air forces