Signals Command was the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

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 ...

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 ...

responsible for control of signals units from 1958 to 1969. It was based at

RAF Medmenham RAF Medmenham is a former Royal Air Force station based at Danesfield House near Medmenham, in Buckinghamshire, England. Activities there specialised in photographic intelligence, and it was once the home of the RAF Intelligence Branch. Durin ...

near Marlow,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...

History

Originally, on 24 April 1946,

No. 90 (Signals) Group RAF No. 90 Group was a group of the Royal Air Force. No. 26 (Signals) Group RAF and No. 60 Group RAF were amalgamated to form No. 90 (Signals) Group on 24 April 1946 under the administrative control of British Air Forces of Occupation and Transport C ...

was formed at Danesfield Court,

Medmenham Medmenham () is a village and civil parish in south-west Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the River Thames, about southwest of Marlow and east of Henley-on-Thames. The parish also includes Danesfield, a housing estate predominantly for RA ...

, Marlow, taking over the functions of No 26, 60 (the home air defence radar stations, originally Chain Home and Chain Home Low) and 100 Groups (airborne electronic warfare) and No. 80 Wing RAF (electronic warfare). Signals Command was formed on 3 November 1958 by raising 90 Group to Command status.Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - RAF Home Commands formed between 1958 - 2002
Three

De Havilland Comet The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four ...

2s were modified for RAF use in radar and electronic systems development, initially assigned to No. 90 Group (later Signals Command).Swanborough 1962, p. 48. In service with No. 192 and No. 51 Squadrons, the 2R series was equipped to monitor

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...

signal traffic and operated in this role from 1958. The 2R ELINT series was operational until 1974, when replaced by the Nimrod R1, the last Comet derivative in RAF service.Walker 2000, p. 159. Signals Command was relatively short-lived, lasting only until 1 January 1969, when it was absorbed by Strike Command by being reduced to group status. It had five Air Officers Commanding during its existence. In 2006, various elements of the RAF Signals trades and sections were combined at RAF Leeming to form No. 90 Signals Unit with the same badge and motto as No. 90 (Signals) Group and Signals Command.

Aircraft

Avro Lincoln The Avro Type 694 Lincoln is a British four-engined heavy bomber, which maiden flight, first flew on 9 June 1944. Developed from the Avro Lancaster, the first Lincoln variants were initially known as the Lancaster IV and V; these were renamed L ...

Mk.4 **

No. 116 Squadron RAF No. 116 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron first formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. Reformed as part of the RAF during the Second World War it served as an anti-aircraft calibration unit and also operat ...

** No. 151 Squadron RAF **

No. 192 Squadron RAF No. 192 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron operational during the First World War as a night training squadron and during the Second World War as a radar countermeasure unit. After the war the squadron served again in the Electronic Int ...

** No. 199 Squadron RAF ** No. 527 Squadron RAF

Commanders in Chief

*3 November 1958 -

Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

Sir Leslie Dalton-Morris *1 March 1961 - Air Vice-Marshal A Foord-Kelcey (temporary appointment) *9 June 1961 - Air Vice-Marshal Sir Walter Pretty *1 February 1964 - Air Vice-Marshal

Sir Thomas Shirley Sir Thomas Shirley (1564 – c. 1634) was an English soldier, adventurer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1584 and 1622. His financial difficulties drove him into privateering which culminated in his captu ...

*7 May 1966 - Air Vice-Marshal Sir Benjamin Ball

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

History of the RAF Signals Service, 1945 - 1975
Purported book in preparation. , - Signals Command Air force communications units and formations Military units and formations established in 1958 Organisations based in Buckinghamshire 1958 establishments in the United Kingdom {{RAF-stub