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Middle East Command was a
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 ...
(RAF) that was active 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 ...
. It had been preceded by RAF Middle East, which was established in 1918 by the redesignation of HQ Royal Flying Corps Middle East that had been activated in 1917Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Overseas Commands - Middle East & Mediterranean
although a small Royal Flying Corps presence had been operational in the region since 1914. RAF Middle East Command was formed on 29 December 1941 following the redesignation of RAF Middle East. During the early part of 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 ...
, the Command was one of the three British commands in the Middle East, the others being 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 ...
's
Middle East Command Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...
and the
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 ...
's
Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...
. On 15 February 1943, RAF Middle East Command became a major sub-command of the
Mediterranean Air Command The Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) was a World War II Allied air force command that was active in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) between February 18 and December 10, 1943 . MAC was under the command of Air Chie ...
(MAC), the Allied formation that also included non-RAF units.


RAF History in the Middle East

The RAF presence in the Middle East from the time of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
was similar to that of the
Middle East Command Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to ...
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 ...
, with operational responsibility for Egypt, the Sudan and Kenya, and administrative responsibility for Palestine and Transjordan. Separate RAF Commands held operational responsibility for Iraq and Aden while RAF Mediterranean held responsibility for
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
. However, interwar planning held that in times of war, Middle East Command would assume control over all of these commands. A small
Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...
presence was deployed to the Middle East in late 1914. By 1 July 1916 this force had grown sufficiently to be raised to a
brigade A brigade is a major tactical military unit, military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute ...
as Middle East Brigade. By December 1917 Middle East Brigade had grown to become HQ RFC Middle East which was renamed to RAF Middle East in April 1918. It renamed again to RAF Middle East Area in March 1920, then back to RAF Middle East in April 1922, and finally became RAF Middle East Command on 29 December 1941. From mid-February until MAC was disbanded on 10 December 1943, the Command consisted of the following sub-commandsRichards, D. and H. Saunders, The Royal Air Force 1939-1945 (Volume 2, HMSO, 1953). with their initial commanders indicated: * No. 201 (Naval Co-Operation) Group under Air Vice Marshal
Thomas Langford-Sainsbury Air Vice Marshal Thomas Audley Langford-Sainsbury, (23 November 1897 – 21 June 1972) was a senior Royal Air Force officer who commanded British Air Forces in Egypt during the Second World War. RAF career Educated at Radley College, Langford- ...
; * Air Headquarters (AHQ) Air Defences Eastern Mediterranean under Air Vice Marshal
Richard Saul Air Vice-Marshal Richard Ernest Saul, (16 April 1891 – 30 November 1965) was a pilot during the First World War and a senior Royal Air Force commander during the Second World War. Earlier years Saul was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1891. He ...
; *
9th Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...
under Major General
Lewis H. Brereton Lewis Hyde Brereton (June 21, 1890 – July 20, 1967) was a military aviation pioneer and lieutenant general in the United States Air Force. A 1911 graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he began his military career as a United States Army o ...
; * Headquarters (HQ) British Forces Aden under Air Vice Marshal Frank MacNamara VC (RAAF); * Air Headquarters (AHQ) East Africa under Air Vice Marshal Harold Kerby; * Air Headquarters (AHQ) Levant under Air Commodore Bernard McEntegart; and * Air Headquarters (AHQ) Iraq and Persia under Air Vice Marshal
Hugh Champion de Crespigny Air Vice Marshal Hugh Vivian Champion de Crespigny, (8 April 1897 – 20 June 1969), often referred to as Vivian Champion de Crespigny, was a Royal Flying Corps pilot who fought in France during the First World War, and senior Royal Air Force o ...
However, during this period of 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 ...
, Middle East Command was distinct from the other major sub-commands of MAC: *
Northwest African Air Forces Northwest African Air Forces (NAAF) was a component of the Allied Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) during February–December 1943. It was responsible primarily for air operations during the Tunisian Campaign and bombing of Italy. Its command ...
under Lieutenant General
Carl Spaatz Carl Andrew Spaatz (born Spatz; 28 June 1891 – 14 July 1974), nicknamed "Tooey", was an American World War II general. As commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe in 1944, he successfully pressed for the bombing of the enemy's oil productio ...
; *
AHQ Malta Air Headquarters Malta (AHQ Malta or Air H.Q. Malta) was an overseas command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. It was established on 28 December 1941 by renaming RAF Mediterranean under Air Vice Marshal Hugh Lloyd. RAF W ...
under Air Vice Marshal Sir
Keith Park Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand-born officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the Second World War, his leadership of the RAF's No. 11 Group RAF, No. 11 Group was pivotal to t ...
; and *
RAF Gibraltar Royal Air Force Gibraltar or more simply RAF Gibraltar (also formerly known as North Front) is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station on Gibraltar. No military aircraft are currently stationed there, but RAF and aircraft o ...
under Air Vice Marshal
Sturley Simpson Air Vice Marshal Sturley Philip Simpson, (13 June 1896 – 28 April 1966) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. RAF career Simpson was commissioned into the Bedfordshire Regiment in 1915 during the First World War. Awarded the Military Cross ...
. Accordingly, Middle East Command was primarily responsible for operations in the Eastern part of the Middle East during the war. It was during the critical campaigns in Egypt and Libya during 1942 that Air Chief Marshal Sir
Arthur Tedder Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder, (11 July 1890 – 3 June 1967) was a British Royal Air Force officer and peer. He was a pilot and squadron commander in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and h ...
, as Air Commander-in-Chief of RAF Middle East, successfully coordinated his ''strategic'', ''coastal'', and ''tactical'' air forces consisting primarily of No. 205 (Heavy Bomber) Group, No. 201 (Naval Co-operation) Group, and especially Air Vice Marshal Arthur Coningham's Air Headquarters (AHQ) Western Desert, respectively. The success of the Tedder-Coningham air interdiction during the desert war was the model upon which the
Northwest African Air Forces Northwest African Air Forces (NAAF) was a component of the Allied Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) during February–December 1943. It was responsible primarily for air operations during the Tunisian Campaign and bombing of Italy. Its command ...
were created at the Casablanca Conference in January 1943. Earlier, Tedder had been Churchill's default choice as Air Officer Commanding in Chief of RAF Middle East when his first choice, Air Vice-Marshal Owen Boyd was captured. But soon after Tedder assumed command in June 1941, he made the following statement that not only characterized his mission in the Middle East, but the organization of the
Mediterranean Air Command The Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) was a World War II Allied air force command that was active in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) between February 18 and December 10, 1943 . MAC was under the command of Air Chie ...
in early 1943 and nearly all future air forces:
''"In my opinion, sea, land and air operations in the Middle East Theatre are now so closely inter-related that effective coordination will only be possible if the campaign is considered and controlled as a combined operation in the full sense of that term."''
The concept itself was certainly not a new one, but putting it into practice under the military dogma and commander egos of the day was easier said than done. Throughout 1942 in particular, the coordination and flexibility exercised between Coningham's Western Desert Air Force (WDAF) and the 8th Army has been contrasted with the more rigid relationship between the
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 ...
and German ground forces. During the first week of July, 1942, WDAF flew 5,458 sorties against Axis forces,Hall, David Ian, Learning how to fight together, The British experience with joint air-land warfare, Research Paper 2009-2, Air Force Research Institute, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL, 2009, p. 18. using the innovative tactic of ''leap-frogging'' airfields, and
Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...
informed
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
on 4 July that he was abandoning his El Alamein offensive to concentrate on defence. Later, the tactic of bombing known as ''
Tedder's carpet Carpet bombing, also known as saturation bombing, is a large area bombardment done in a progressive manner to inflict damage in every part of a selected area of land. The phrase evokes the image of explosions completely covering an area, in th ...
'' was developed.


1943

On 15 February 1943, the Command under Air Chief Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas became a major sub-command of the
Mediterranean Air Command The Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) was a World War II Allied air force command that was active in the North African and Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) between February 18 and December 10, 1943 . MAC was under the command of Air Chie ...
(MAC), the official Allied air force reorganisation established at the
Casablanca Conference The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) or Anfa Conference was held in Casablanca, French Morocco, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the Allies of World War II, Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. The main disc ...
in January 1943.Craven, Wesley F. and James L. Cate. The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume 2, Chicago, Illinois: Chicago University Press, 1949 (Reprinted 1983, ). Douglas took over Middle East Command when its previous commander, Air Chief Marshal Sir
Arthur Tedder Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder, (11 July 1890 – 3 June 1967) was a British Royal Air Force officer and peer. He was a pilot and squadron commander in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and h ...
was named Air Commander-in-Chief of MAC. For Middle East operations, Tedder reported to the British Chiefs of Staff.


1945

Middle East Command was absorbed into
RAF Mediterranean and Middle East The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (R ...
on 1 August 1945.


Commanders-in-Chief

HQ RFC Middle East * Major General Sir William Sefton Brancker, 14 December 1917 * Major General Sir William Geoffrey Hanson Salmond, 3 January 1918 RAF Middle East * Major General/Air Vice Marshal Sir William Geoffrey Hanson Salmond, 18 March 1920 RAF Middle East Area * Air Vice Marshal Sir William Geoffrey Hanson Salmond, 1 April 1918 * Air Vice Marshal
Edward Ellington Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Edward Leonard Ellington, (30 December 1877 – 13 June 1967) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served in the First World War as a staff officer and then as director-general of military aeronaut ...
, 23 February 1922 RAF Middle East * Air Vice Marshal
Edward Ellington Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Edward Leonard Ellington, (30 December 1877 – 13 June 1967) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served in the First World War as a staff officer and then as director-general of military aeronaut ...
, 1 April 1922 * Air Vice Marshal
Oliver Swann Air Vice Marshal Sir Oliver Swann, (born Schwann; 18 November 1878 – 7 March 1948) was a British military commander who was a leading figure in the Royal Naval Air Service and senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the first half of th ...
, 27 November 1923 * Air Vice Marshal
Tom Webb-Bowen Air Vice-Marshal Sir Tom Ince Webb-Bowen, (17 January 1879 – 29 October 1956) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the first half of the 20th century. Early life Tom Ince Webb-Bowen was born on 17 January 1879, the son of T ...
, 5 November 1926 * Air Vice Marshal Francis Scarlett, 12 October 1929 * Air Vice Marshal Cyril Newall, 26 September 1931 * Air Vice Marshal
Cuthbert MacLean Air Vice Marshal Cuthbert Trelawder MacLean, (18 October 1886 – 25 February 1969) was a Royal Air Force officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Middle East Command from 1934 to 1938. RAF career Educated at Wanganui Collegiate ...
, 21 September 1934 * Air Vice Marshal
Hazelton Nicholl Air Vice Marshal Sir Hazelton Robson Nicholl, (14 January 1882 – 14 August 1956) was a Royal Air Force officer who served as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Middle East from 1938 to 1939. Military career Nicholl served as a private soldi ...
, 10 March 1938 RAF Middle East (Air Officer's Commanding in Chief) * Air Marshal - Air Chief Marshal Sir William Mitchell, 1 April 1939 * Air Chief Marshal Sir
Arthur Longmore Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Murray Longmore, (8 October 1885 – 10 December 1970) was an early naval aviator, before reaching high rank in the Royal Air Force. He was Commander-in-Chief of the RAF's Middle East Command from 1940 to 1941. E ...
, 13 May 1940 * Air Marshal - Air Chief Marshal Sir
Arthur Tedder Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder, (11 July 1890 – 3 June 1967) was a British Royal Air Force officer and peer. He was a pilot and squadron commander in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and h ...
, 1 June 1941 * Air Chief Marshal Sir
Arthur Tedder Marshal of the Royal Air Force Arthur William Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder, (11 July 1890 – 3 June 1967) was a British Royal Air Force officer and peer. He was a pilot and squadron commander in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and h ...
, 29 December 1941 Middle East Command * Air Chief Marshal Sir Sholto Douglas, 11 January 1943 * Air Marshal Sir
Keith Park Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, (15 June 1892 – 6 February 1975) was a New Zealand-born officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the Second World War, his leadership of the RAF's No. 11 Group RAF, No. 11 Group was pivotal to t ...
, 14 June 1944 * Air Marshal Sir
Charles Medhurst Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Edward Hastings Medhurst, (12 December 1896 – 18 October 1954) was a First World War Royal Flying Corps pilot on the Western Front and later a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. RAF career After education at ...
, 8 February 1945


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

{{Reflist Royal Air Force overseas commands Military units and formations of the Royal Air Force in World War II