This is a list of

military communications Military communications or military signals involve all aspects of communications, or conveyance of information, by armed forces. Examples from '' Jane's Military Communications'' include text, audio, facsimile, tactical ground-based communica ...

('Signals') units and formations 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 ...

. In the Royal Air Force sense, wings, groups, and commands can be considered formations. A formation is defined by the

US Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

as "two or more aircraft, ships, or units proceeding together under a commander". "Formations are those military organisations which are formed from different speciality Arms and Services troop units to create a balanced, combined combat force." Higher level communications formations in the Royal Air Force included

RAF Signals Command Signals Command was the British Royal Air Force's command responsible for control of signals units from 1958 to 1969. It was based at RAF Medmenham near Marlow, Buckinghamshire. History Originally, on 24 April 1946, No. 90 (Signals) Group RA ...

, which was later reduced to group status and incorporated into

RAF Strike Command The Royal Air Force's Strike Command was the military formation which controlled the majority of the United Kingdom's bomber and fighter aircraft from 1968 until 2007 when it merged with Personnel and Training Command to form the single Air ...

. Nos 26 and No. 60 Group RAF were established in the 1940s. No. 26 Group was reformed on 12 February 1940 within

RAF Training Command Training Command was 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 ...

, and transferred to

RAF Technical Training Command Technical Training Command was an organization within the Royal Air Force which controlled units responsible for delivering aircraft maintenance training and other non-flying training, initially in Berkshire and then in Cambridgeshire. History ...

on 27 May 1940. It was transferred to

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the Strategic bombing during World War II#Europe, strategic bombing of Germany in W ...

on 10 February 1942, and then amalgamated with No. 60 (Signals) Group to form No. 90 (Signals) Group RAF on 25 April 1946. The Radio Warfare Establishment (RWE) was established 21 July 1945 at

RAF Swanton Morley Robertson Barracks, formerly RAF Swanton Morley, is a military installation near Swanton Morley in Norfolk. It is home to 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards and is set to close in 2029. History RAF Swanton Morley RAF Swanton Morley was a new stat ...

, and later became the Central Signals Establishment (CSE). The CSE was formed 1 September 1946 at

RAF Watton Royal Air Force Watton or more simply RAF Watton is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located southwest of East Dereham, Norfolk, England. Opened in 1937 it was used by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) an ...

, equipped with Dominie and

Tiger Moth The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...

, and disbanded there on 1 July 1965. When the establishment disbanded, the Research Wing and civilian parts of the "..Installation Squadron became the RAF Signals Command Air Radio Laboratories, and the training and service elements of Installation Squadron became the EW Support Wing."Air of Authority
Other Establishments - Experimental and Administrative
accessed May 2020. Many files regarding the CSE are accessible in the

National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

at Ke

Radio units and formations

Radio Establishment

Radio Schools

Radio Flights

Signals units and formations

Wings

Squadrons

Units

Schools

Calibration units and formations

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Communications units of the Royal Air Force Air force communications units and formations, United Kingdom RAF Lists of Commonwealth air force units RAF Signals units of the Royal Air Force