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 (Unix), a Unix command * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on A ...

of 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 ...

during 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 ...

, 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, was raised to command status. Initially it controlled two groups: No. 70 Group RAF 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 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 ...

and the RAF, such as

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 ...

, 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 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; he is also the Chair of the Executive Committee of the A ...

General Sir Alan Brooke 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 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 * No. 42 OTU – Various Aircraft – RAF Andover * No. 271 Squadron RAF – Albatross / Dominie – RAF Doncaster * No. 651 Squadron RAF – 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 – 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 n ...

* No. 33 Wing – Northern Command – York ** No. 613 Squadron RAF – Tomahawk I/II – RAF Doncaster ** No. 4 Squadron RAF – Tomahawk I/II – RAF York * No. 34 Wing – Eastern Command –

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

** No. 140 Squadron RAF – Spitfire PR.I – RAF Benson ** No. 241 Squadron RAF – Tomahawk I/II – RAF Bottisham ** No. 2 Squadron RAF – Tomahawk I/II RAF Sawbridgeworth ** No. 268 Squadron RAF – Tomahawk I/II – RAF Snailwell * 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 of 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'', and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The ea ...

** No. 26 Squadron RAF – Tomahawk I/II – RAF Gatwick ** No. 239 Squadron RAF – Tomahawk I/II – RAF Gatwick ** No. 400 Squadron RCAF – Tomahawk I/II –

RAF Odiham Royal Air Force Odiham or more simply RAF Odiham is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, 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 he ...

** No. 414 Squadron RCAF – Tomahawk I/II –

RAF Croydon Croydon Airport was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. It opened in 1920, located near Croydon, then part of Surrey. Built in a Neoclassical style, it was developed as Britain's main airport, handling more cargo, ...

* No. 36 Wing – South Western Command –

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

** No. 16 Squadron RAF – Tomahawk I/II –

RAF Weston Zoyland Royal Air Force Westonzoyland, or more simply RAF Westonzoyland, is located approximately east-southeast of Bridgwater, Somerset; about west-southwest of London. It was opened in 1925 with summer camps lasting from May until September each ...

** 1492 TTF – Lysander – RAF Weston Zoyland ** No. 225 Squadron RAF – Lysander – RAF Thruxton ** No. 13 Squadron RAF – Blenheim – RAF Odiham * No. 37 Wing – Western Command –

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

** No active squadrons assigned. * No 38 Wing – Airborne Division – RAF Netheravon ** No. 296 Squadron RAF – Hart/Hector – RAF Netheravon ** No. 297 Squadron RAF – Whitley – RAF Netheravon * RAF Northern Ireland –

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

** No. 231 Squadron RAF – Tomahawk I/II – RAF Maghaberry ** 1494 TTF – Lysander/Tomahawk – RAF Long Kesh

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 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

Army Co-operation Command (April 1942)

See also

References

External links