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RAF Home Command 
Summary
RAF Home Command was the Royal Air Force command that was responsible for the maintenance and training of reserve organisations[2] from formation on 1 February 1939 as RAF Reserve Command with interruptions until it ceased to exist on 1 April 1959.
| Home Command | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1 February 1939–27 May 1940 1 May 1946–1 April 1959 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Air Force |
| Garrison/HQ | Wantage Hall, University of Reading |
| Motto(s) | Support[1] |
History
editThe Command was formed as RAF Reserve Command on 1 February 1939.[3] It was absorbed into RAF Flying Training Command on 27 May 1940 but reformed again on 1 May 1946.[3] It was then renamed RAF Home Command on 1 August 1950 and absorbed into RAF Flying Training Command again on 1 April 1959.[3]
The command's communications squadron, the Home Command Communication Squadron, was formed on 1 August 1950 at RAF White Waltham and disestablished on 1 April 1959, still at White Waltham, becoming the Flying Training Command Communication Squadron RAF.[3]
The command operated a number of units:[4]
- Home Command Examining Unit (1950–51 & 1951–59)
- No. 1 Home Command Gliding Centre (1955–59)
- No. 2 Home Command Gliding Centre (1958–59)
- Home Command Gliding Instructors School (1950–55)
- Home Command Instrument Training Flight (1950–52)
- Home Command Major Servicing Unit (1950–54)
- Home Command Modified Officer Cadet Training Unit (1953–56)
- Home Command Training Flight (1950)
Groups of Home Command
edit| RAF group | dates active | notes |
|---|---|---|
| No. 61 Group RAF | 1940 1946–1959 |
No. 61 Group was first formed on 1 July 1940 in Northern Ireland, and was raised to command status and renamed RAF in Northern Ireland on 1 August 1940. Reformed as No. 61 (Eastern Reserve) Group on 2 May 1946 within Reserve Command, it was renamed No. 61 (Eastern) Group on 1 August 1950 and transferred to Home Command. It was renamed No. 61 (Southern Reserve) Group on 1 January 1957, and disbanded 31 May 1959.[5] |
| No. 62 Group RAF | 1946–1957 | No. 62 (Southern Reserve) Group was formed on 15 May 1946 within Reserve Command, and renamed No. 62 (Southern) Group on 1 August 1950 when transferred to Home Command. It was absorbed into 61 Group on 1 January 1957.[5] |
| No. 63 Group RAF | 1946–1957 | No. 63 (Western & Welsh Reserve) Group was formed on 2 May 1946 within Reserve Command, and renamed No. 63 (Western & Welsh) Group on 1 August 1950 when transferred to Home Command. It disbanded on 1 February 1957.[5] |
| No. 64 Group RAF | 1946–1958/59 | No. 64 (Northern Reserve) Group was formed on 2 May 1946 within Reserve Command, and was renamed No. 64 (Northern) Group on 1 August 1950 when transferred to Home Command. It disbanded in 1958 or 1959.[5] |
| No. 65 Group RAF | 1946–1950/51 | No. 65 (London Reserve) Group was formed on 2 May 1946 within Reserve Command, and renamed No. 65 (London) Group on 1 August 1950 when transferred to Home Command. It disbanded in 1950 or 1951.[5] |
| No. 66 Group RAF | 1946–1956/57 | No. 66 (Scottish Reserve) Group was formed on 2 May 1946 within Reserve Command and renamed No. 66 (Scottish) Group on 1 August 1950 when transferred to Home Command. It disbanded in 1956 or 1957.[5] |
| No. 67 Group RAF | 1950–1957 | No. 67 (Northern Ireland Reserve) Group was formed on 31 March 1950 from RAF in Northern Ireland. It was renamed No. 67 (Northern Ireland) Group on 1 August 1950 when transferred to Home Command. It disbanded on 28 February 1957.[5] |
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief
editAir Officer Commanding-in-Chief included:[3]
RAF Reserve Command
- 1 February 1939 Air Marshal Sir Christopher Courtney
- 28 August 1939 Air Chief Marshal Sir John Steel
- 22 April 1940 Air Vice Marshal Sir William Welsh
- Note: The Command was not in existence from May 1940 to May 1946
- 1 May 1946 Air Commodore E D H Davies (Temporary)
- 20 May 1946 Air Marshal Sir Alan Lees
- 1 October 1949 Air Marshal Sir Robert Foster
RAF Home Command
- 1 August 1950 Air Marshal Sir Robert Foster
- 31 Mar 1952 Air Marshal Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman
- 1 October 1952 Air Marshal Sir Harold Lydford
- March 1956 Air Marshal Sir Douglas Macfadyen
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Pine, L.G. (1983). A dictionary of mottoes (1 ed.). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 226. ISBN 0-7100-9339-X.
- ^ John D. Rawlings, 'The History of the Royal Air Force,' Temple Press Aerospace, Feltham, Middlesex, 1984, p.180
- ^ a b c d e Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – RAF Home Commands formed between 1939 – 1957 Archived 11 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Sturtivant & Hamlin 2007, p. 165.
- ^ a b c d e f g Barrass, M.B. (2015). "Groups 50 – 67". RAFWeb.org. Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
- Sturtivant, R.; Hamlin, J. (2007). Royal Air Force flying training and support units since 1912. UK: Air-Britain (Historians). ISBN 978-0851-3036-59.