Wing leader, or wing commander (flying), denotes the tactical commander of a
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
military
wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...
on flying operations. The terms refer to a position, not a rank, although the role was usually taken by an officer ranked
wing commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence.
Wing commander is immediately se ...
. The position was also distinct from the
commanding officer
The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...
of the wing, generally a higher-ranked officer. The first wing leaders were appointed in 1941, and the position remained in use until the 1960s.
History
The role of wing leader originated in 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) during World War II, when senior fighter pilots, usually of
wing commander
Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence.
Wing commander is immediately se ...
rank, were given responsibility for coordinating the operations of several
squadrons—originally three, later as many as five—in combat. Previously, such formations were led by the most senior or experienced commander of the squadrons involved.
[Bowyer, ''Fighter Pilots of the RAF'', p. 151][Franks, ''Fighter Command's Air War'', "Chapter 1: What will the New Year bring?"] The "
Big Wing" had been conceived as a defensive measure against German air raids during the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
in 1940, when Squadron Leader
Douglas Bader
Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, (; 21 February 1910 – 5 September 1982) was a Royal Air Force flying ace during the Second World War. He was credited with 22 aerial victories, four shared victories, six probables, one shared ...
led the prototypical
Duxford Wing in combat, though the distinct "wing leader" position had not yet been devised. In December 1940,
RAF Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...
began preparing for offensive fighter sweeps over France, using massed formations under the tactical command of wing leaders, also known as wing commanders (flying).
[Sarkar, ''The Spitfire Manual'', "Introduction: Spitfire!"][Cooper, ''Darwin Spitfires'', pp. 100–101] Two of the first wing leaders appointed, in March 1941, were Wing Commander Bader at
RAF Tangmere
Royal Air Force Tangmere or more simply RAF Tangmere is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain.
It was one of several stations near Chichester, West Sussex. The Seco ...
and Wing Commander
"Sailor" Malan at
RAF Biggin Hill
London Biggin Hill Airport is a minor commercial airport serving Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located south-southeast of Central London. It specialises in general aviation, handling a spectrum of traffic from private aviati ...
.
[ Each led a wing of three ]Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...
squadrons.
Several of the early wing leader appointees were, like Bader and Malan, veterans of the Battle of Britain. Their average age in 1941 was twenty-eight to twenty-nine; in 1942 it was twenty-six to twenty-seven. Norman Franks
Norman Leslie Robert Franks (1940 – 21 May 2023) was an English militaria writer who specialised in aviation topics. He focused on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II.
Biography
Franks published his first book in 1976. H ...
has contended that, to be successful, appointees had to possess "clear fighting ability and an equally tactical ability to command more than one squadron in the air".[ Wing leaders did not have administrative or command responsibility for their formations; that role was reserved for a more senior officer, generally a ]group captain
Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence.
Group cap ...
.[Sarkar, ''Spitfire Ace of Aces'', "Wing commander (flying): Greycap Leader"][Cooper, ''Darwin Spitfires'', pp. 20–21] According to Johnnie Johnson, wing leader at RAF Kenley
Royal Air Force Kenley, more commonly known as RAF Kenley, is a former List of former Royal Air Force stations, station of the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War and the Royal Air Force, RAF in the Second World War. It played a significa ...
and, later, of No. 144 (Royal Canadian Air Force) Wing:[
Wing leaders were permitted to use their initials on their aircraft in place of the usual squadron codes, to help identify them to their formation. Johnson, who displayed his initials JE-J on the fuselage of his Spitfire Mk IX, thought this was "really something, you really knew then that you had made it", though he had to override his intelligence officer's fear that it made him an attractive target for the enemy.][
Members of other Commonwealth air forces who led RAF wings included New Zealander Al Deere at Biggin Hill in 1943, and Canadian Howard Blatchford at ]RAF Coltishall
Royal Air Force Coltishall more commonly known as RAF Coltishall is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located north-north-east of Norwich, in the England, English Counties of the United Kingdom, county ...
, also in 1943. RAF wing leaders in the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre
The Mediterranean and Middle East theatre was a major theatre of operations during the Second World War. The vast size of the Mediterranean and Middle East theatre saw interconnected land, naval, and air campaigns fought for control of the Med ...
included wing commanders Ian Gleed
Wing Commander Ian Richard Gleed (3 July 1916 – 16 April 1943), nicknamed "Widge," was a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot and flying ace credited with the destruction of 13 enemy aircraft during the Second World War. He served in the Battle of Fran ...
and "Cocky" Dundas, who led No. 244 Wing in North Africa in 1943 and in Italy in 1944, respectively. 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 ...
also employed wing leaders—generally lieutenant commanders or major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
s in the Royal Marines
The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
—to control Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...
(FAA) wings, which could comprise up to five naval air squadrons. Among the FAA's wing leaders was Lieutenant Commander Dickie Cork, who was appointed to lead a Vought F4U Corsair
The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Vought, Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production con ...
wing aboard in 1943.
The Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
(RAAF) adopted the RAF concept of large fighter formations led by wing leaders for operations in the South West Pacific theatre, starting in the North-Western Area in 1943, with an air defence campaign that the RAAF saw in terms of another Battle of Britain.[ Wing Commander Clive Caldwell was appointed wing leader of No. 1 (Fighter) Wing, comprising three Spitfire squadrons, at Darwin, Northern Territory. The wing came under the overall command of Group Captain ]Allan Walters
Air Vice Marshal (Australia), Air Vice Marshal Allan Leslie Walters, Order of the Bath, CB, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Air Force Cross (United Kingdom), AFC (2 November 1905 – 19 October 1968) was a senior commander in ...
and Caldwell was responsible for flying operations.[ RAAF wings were also used on offensive operations in the Pacific, including No. 81 Wing, consisting of three Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk squadrons led by Wing Commander Dick Cresswell in 1944–45.
The RAF continued to employ wing commanders (flying) during the early years of the ]Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, among them Wing Commander Alan Rawlinson, who was responsible for the flying operations of three de Havilland Vampire squadrons based at 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 ...
in 1949–52 and Johnson, who was appointed to lead the Vampire wing at RAF Fassberg in 1951. 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 ...
also appointed wing leaders during the early Cold War period, although the title was modified to wing commander (operations) and the role encompassed training as well as air operations. The position of wing commander (flying) was still in use in the RAF in the early 1960s.
Notes
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Command and control
Titles
Wing leaders