Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

No. 1 Group RAF

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Country
  
Part of
  
Motto(s)
  
"Swift to attack"

Branch
  
Garrison/HQ
  
Active
  
1918–19261927–19391940–present

No. 1 Group of the Royal Air Force is one of the two operations groups in Air Command, the other being the No. 2 Group. Today, the group is referred to as the Air Combat Group, as it controls the RAF's combat fast-jet aircraft and has airfields in the UK plus RAF Support Unit Goose Bay in Canada, which is used extensively as an operational training station. The group is located alongside Air Command at RAF High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The current Air officer commanding No 1 Group is Air vice-marshal Gerry Mayhew.

Contents

Subordinate stations

The following stations and squadrons are under the command of No 1 Group:

  • RAF Coningsby: No 3 Squadron RAF, No. 11 Squadron RAF, 29(R) and 41(R) Squadrons and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
  • RAF Leeming: 100 Squadron
  • RAF Lossiemouth: No. 1 Squadron RAF, No. 2 Squadron RAF No. 6 Squadron RAF Squadrons
  • RAF Marham: No. 9 Squadron RAF, No. 31 Squadron RAF, No. 12 Squadron RAF Squadrons
  • First World War

    No 1 Group was originally formed on Saturday 1 April 1918 in No 1 Area, which was renamed the South-Eastern Area on 8 May 1918, Southern Area on 20 September 1919 and Inland Area on 1 April 1920.

    The Group was renumbered as No. 6 Group on 19 May 1924 at RAF Kenley, and was reformed on the same day at RAF Kidbrooke. Two years later on 12 April 1926 the Group disappeared from the order of battle by being renumbered as No. 21 Group.

    The next year the Group was reformed on 25 August 1927 by the renaming of Air Defence Group. This designation lasted until 1936 when it became No. 6 Group again. As in 1924 the Group was reformed the same day, this time as a bomber formation.

    By this time the Group had shrunk to ten squadrons, all equipped with Fairey Battle aircraft and located in pairs at RAF Abingdon, RAF Harwell, RAF Benson, RAF Boscombe Down and RAF Bicester.

    Second World War

    On receipt of orders to move to France in 1939, Headquarters No. 1 Group became Headquarters Advanced Air Striking Force and the station headquarters and associated squadrons became Nos. 71, 72, 74, 75 and 76 Wings respectively. The Group re-emerged a few days later within Bomber Command on 12 September, but only lasted just over three months, being dropped on 22 December 1939.

    It was reformed at RAF Bawtry on 22 June 1940 where No. 1 Group was based for 44 years and has been continuously active in the RAF ever since inception. During the Second World War, 1 Group was primarily based at airfields in north Lincolnshire, like RAF Swinderby. Among others, No. 1 Group included Polish Bomber Squadrons Nos. 300, 301, 304, 305. During Bomber Command's Second World War campaign, No. 1 Group dropped a higher tonnage of bombs per aircraft than any other group, this was mainly due to Air Commodore Edward Rice who was determined to maximise bomb loads, though it was a policy which contributed in no small measure to No. 1 Group having higher than average losses.

    Cold War

    By June 1948 1 Group consisted of:

  • 9 Sqn, RAF Binbrook, Avro Lincoln B.2
  • 12 Sqn, RAF Binbrook, Lincoln B.2
  • 101 Sqn, RAF Binbrook, Lincoln B.2
  • 617 Sqn, RAF Binbrook, Lincoln B.2
  • 83 Sqn, RAF Hemswell, Lincoln B.2
  • 97 Sqn, RAF Hemswell, Lincoln B.2
  • 100 Sqn, RAF Hemswell, Lincoln B.2
  • 50 Sqn, RAF Waddington, Lincoln B.2
  • 57 Sqn, RAF Waddington, Lincoln B.2
  • 61 Sqn, RAF Waddington, Lincoln B.2
  • 109 Sqn, RAF Coningsby, de Havilland Mosquito B.35
  • 139 Sqn, RAF Coningsby, Mosquito B.35
  • During the cold war, No. 1 Group also operated the Thor ballistic missile between 1958 and August 1963, with ten squadrons each with three missiles being equipped with the weapon. When Bomber Command was subsumed into the new Strike Command on 1 April 1968, No. 1 Group took on the old role of the command, holding the bomber and strike aircraft of Strike Command. In around 1984, Headquarters No. 1 Group moved from RAF Bawtry in South Yorkshire to RAF Upavon in Wiltshire.

    On 1 April 1996 No. 2 Group RAF was disbanded by being absorbed into No. 1 Group.

    Post 2000

    In January 2000 the RAF was restructured and the Group took on its present role. The Group is responsible for UK air defence operations through QRA North at RAF Leuchars and QRA South at RAF Coningsby. However, since the disestablishment of Combined Air Operations Centre 9 at RAF High Wycombe, actual control of the fighters is now carried out from a NATO Combined Air Operations Centre in Denmark, CAOC 1 at Finderup. However, High Wycombe retains an air defence direction capability, and the UK Representative there could take back control over QRA South if it was necessary to respond to a terrorist threat from the air.

    Air Officer Commanding

    Air Officers Commanding have included:

    References

    No. 1 Group RAF Wikipedia


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