Active 1940–1943 Branch Royal Air Force Founded 1940 | Country United Kingdom Type Command | |
Role Cooperation with the British Army Similar RAF Second Tactical A, RAF Transport Command, Desert Air Force, RAF Fighter Command, RAF Advanced Air Strikin | ||
The RAF Army Co-operation Command was a short-lived major command of the Royal Air Force during World War II, comprising the army cooperation units of the RAF.
The command was formed on 1 December 1940 when No. 22 (Army Co-Operation) Group, previously a part of Fighter Command, was raised to command status. Initially it controlled two groups: No. 70 Group RAF for training and No. 71 Group RAF for operations. In August 1941, 71 Group re-organized its squadrons into a Wing basis. Each Wing was directly attached to a UK based Army regional Command.
Its function was to act as the focus for activities connected with the interaction of the British Army and the RAF, such as close air support, tactical reconnaissance, artillery spotting, training of anti-aircraft defences. It was also responsible for developing tactics for the future invasion of Europe, where direct air support proved to be decisive.
Army Co-Operation Command proved to be a controversial command, with the Chief of the Imperial General Staff General Sir Alan Brooke being an implacable foe of the command arrangement. It was disbanded on 31 March 1943, when most of its assets were used to form the Second Tactical Air Force.
The command had only had one CO during its short existence, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Barratt.