No. 1 Wing 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) an ...

was a

Wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

of aircraft squadrons which was originally established as the First Wing of the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

First World War

By November 1914 the Flying Corps had significantly expanded and it was felt necessary to create organizational units which would control collections of squadrons. Accordingly, the First Wing and the Second Wing were established. These two wings came into existence on 29 November 1914 and were the earliest RFC numbered wings to be formed. The wing's first commander was Hugh Trenchard who had been appointed a few days earlier. The 1st Wing was assigned to the support of the 1st Army in France. The wing saw action on the Western Front, including at the

Battle of Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive in ...

in May 1915. It was stood down on 5 March 1919.

Inter-war activity

During the years between the First and

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

s, No. 1 Wing was re-established and disestablished several times for several purposes. Only two months after its disbandment, the wing was re-established at Yatesbury on 15 May 1919. The wing was subsequently disbanded and was not re-established for the second time until 1 January 1926 which it acted as an Army Co-operation unit, controlling No. 4 Squadron and No. 13 Squadron whilst itself being subordinate to 7 Group RAF. This establishment was short-lived and the wing was stood down on 12 April 1926. The next period of the wing's existence came in 1937. On 23 September the wing was re-created, this time controlling No. 209 Squadron and No. 210 Squadron which acted in the general reconnaissance role during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

. Specifically, the wing was part of an Anglo-French force charged with countering submarine attacks on neutral shipping. The wing was disestablished later that year on 15 December.

Second World War

No. 1 Wing was briefly re-established once more just before the outbreak of the

on 9 May 1939 as a general reconnaissance wing. On 25 August 1939 it was reformed as a bomber wing in Egypt controlling No. 30 and No. 55 Squadrons, but was disbanded on 22 September. Between 24 January and 24 June 1940 it was in control of

barrage balloon A barrage balloon is a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe collision risk to aircraft, making the attacker's approach more difficult. Early barr ...

units in France.

Post war

No. 1 Wing's last reformation was as a signals wing between October 1958 and September 1961.

Commanders

*19 November 1914:

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Hugh Trenchard *19 August 1915: Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Ashmore. *1 November 1915: Lieutenant-Colonel

John Becke Brigadier general John Harold Whitworth Becke, (17 September 1879 – 7 February 1949) was an infantry officer in the Second Boer War and squadron, wing and brigade commander in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. He transferred to the R ...

*Late 1917: Lieutenant-Colonel T. W. C. Carthew *5 December 1917: Lieutenant-Colonel

Leslie Gossage Air Marshal Sir Ernest Leslie Gossage, (3 February 1891 – 8 July 1949) was an officer of the British Army and then of the Royal Air Force. He served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Balloon Command from 1940 to 1944. Early life Go ...

. *January 1919: Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Portal.

References